

Palmer makes a mess of it



Jolyon Palmer made a faltering start to his first Grand Prix in Monaco by crashing in two of the three practice sessions, but come raceday it would only get worse. Having spent the first seven laps behind the safety car, the Briton didn't even make it to Ste Devote before crashing - in fact he didn't even make the start line before losing the rear of his Renault and slewing into the barriers. Conditions were treacherous, and, as you can hear, Palmer happened to pick up wheelspin at exactly the wrong point - on one of the painted white lines where there was no grip - which effectively made him a passenger. Even so, for a man who has won twice in Monte Carlo in GP2, it was a messy end to a weekend to forget.



Silky smooth Gutierrez slips past Raikkonen



Casino Square is the place where Monaco’s high rollers go in an attempt to win big, though this year the biggest gamble didn’t come on the blackjack table but on the other side of the Armco where Esteban Gutierrez rolled the dice with an ambitious pass on Kimi Raikkonen midway around lap 8 - the first proper racing lap. As the video shows, the Haas driver began his move by bravely ducking around the outside of the Ferrari at Massenet - the same spot where Verstappen would later shunt his Red Bull - before completing it through the right hander. Frustrating for the Iceman - but his day was about to get a lot worse… Wrong place, wrong time for Grosjean as Raikkonen wings it



Sometimes a driver's race can be undone through no fault of his own - as was proved on lap 10 in Monaco, when Romain Grosjean lost out massively behind a wounded Ferrari. The incident was of Kimi Raikkonen's making - having been passed by Gutierrez for 10th (see above), the Finn appeared to push slightly too hard into the hairpin - and that proved disastrous. At agonisingly slow speed his understeering car speared into the wall, dislodging his front wing and forcing those behind to take emergency evasive action. As Raikkonen tried to limp on, his wing entrenched itself under his front wheels, leaving him unable to steer properly - bad news for Grosjean trying to pass on the outside, who was forced to stop and wait for the Finn to get going again. The Iceman eventually somehow managed to get his SF16-H pointing in the right direction, but after a slow-speed, spark-ridden trip through the tunnel, he wisely parked up at the chicane. Sparks fly at Rascasse



For the second race in a row, Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr found themselves quarrelling for position - but this time their scrap spilled into something far bigger. Ericsson in 16th was once again the pursuer, Nasr the defender, and - perhaps sensing trouble brewing - the team decided to intervene and ask Nasr to move aside. The Brazilian wasn't sold on that idea, however, prompting Ericsson to take matters into his own hands. Rascasse was the site for the inadvisible move which, as you can see from the video, was never really on. Nasr retired almost on the spot, while Ericsson stayed out for three more laps before also heading for an early bath - and a severe dressing down from the team.



Last-gasp Hulkenberg compounds Rosberg's pain



Nico Hulkenberg and Nico Rosberg's races followed a similar trajectory in many ways - both started ahead of their team mates, but found themselves behind on the track, and down from their starting positions, as the end neared. There is no doubt who finished the race the happier though, as late rain provided a final twist in an already chaotic Grand Prix. Hulkenberg was the beneficiary: on fresher rubber, he swarmed all over Rosberg as the latter struggled to generate any sort of heat or grip between his worn rubber and a sodden circuit. Into the final corner, Anthony Noghes, Hulkenberg was still behind, but a better exit - and better traction - sent him rocketing around the outside, with just 0.291s splitting the pair at the flag.



Bottas and Gutierrez tangle two corners from home