It was a dramatic race, with Lewis Hamilton just holding off Daniel Ricciardo to finish second. Here is a round-up of the driver's reactions: For a detailed look at the race weekend and a guide to the Circuit de Monaco, see my preview. You can also take a look back at previous races with my blog's F1 Flashback, Richland F1's One Year Rewind and my Formula 1 Blog 'Remember When' feature. See what the teams and drivers got up to prior to the start of the on-track action with my Wednesday Snapshot. Missed any of the Monaco Grand Prix action? Catch up with my Weekend Report. Ricciardo pleased with third:
"The race really came to life towards the end. It started off not so well and it’s a really short run to Turn 1, so that was frustrating. Then we got Seb due to his reliability and Kimi had a puncture and we sort of got back to where we were hoping to be.
"After the re-start we were just saving the tyres to the point that we could get to the end and then, with 20 laps to go, I thought they would be okay so I pushed. It was the first time in the whole race that I felt like I was really driving the car and we caught Lewis. It was fun but I couldn’t get him, so I have to say the race finished better than it started."
"It was a tough race out there today but I am absolutely delighted to have won my second Monaco Grand Prix in succession. It's an amazing feeling and I'm proud to have done it at home, in front of my family and friends who were all here this afternoon. The race started well and I was comfortable but then we had to manage my fuel consumption and Lewis was pushing really hard behind me.
"We were able to be in control of the fuel with a few laps of lift and coast. It was important for me to break Lewis' momentum of winning the last four races this weekend. That worked out very well, but it was a really tough weekend. I'm so happy for the team that we had another one-two finish and look forward to the party tonight."
Alonso encouraged by Ferrari pace:
"Finishing just off the podium today was a good result, especially after a difficult start and the various incidents during the race. At the start, something in the motor didn’t work, but even if I’d had full power, there was no room to overtake. The three cars ahead of me deserved to be there as they were really uncatchable.
"I am pleased with fourth place, because we were able to manage a race in which you had to always maintain the highest level of concentration as there were plenty of tense moments. Our pace was good and that means that, bit by bit, we are improving. Sure, the gap to the leaders is still significant, because like us, they are still moving forward on the development front. Therefore we must always try to do better, starting with the next race in Canada."
"We don’t know yet precisely what happened. The engine switched off after 30 seconds. When we did out laps to the grid the car and the power unit were working well. We need to work to find out what the problem was.
"It is disappointing and I was expecting a solid race, we had a good strategy in place, I love this circuit where I have been competitive in the past. We have already worked hard on performance and reliability but today it was not to be. This afternoon we’re not happy but we are keeping focused on improving."
Magnussen believes things are moving forward at McLaren:
"Despite a lot of things going against us today – the long hold due to traffic at my pitstop, the unsafe release in front of me in the pitlane, and the engine issue – I can draw a lot from the fact that our car felt really good. That’s a real positive: it might be hard to see from the outside, but things are moving forward within the team.
"There were lots of little issues – Jean-Eric’s team probably didn’t calculate his release properly – it’s never the driver’s fault – it’s just one of those things that happens. And it was a pity I didn’t get to finish the battle with Nico [Hulkenberg]; I’d been saving my tyres in the expectation that Nico would struggle, but then I had a problem with my power-unit, which dropped me back.
"I’m still not really sure what happened with my car at the end of the race. And I didn’t see what happened with Kimi – I went to the inside to block his entry into the hairpin, but he chose to make a move anyway. It’s hard to overtake here, but he tried and it didn’t work. That’s racing."
"Ten points today is a great reward after such a difficult race. The last twenty laps were really tricky because my supersoft tyres were at the end of their life and it was hard to hold off the cars behind me and stay away from the barriers. There were a few close moments when I kissed the wall, but I survived and managed to hold on to fifth place.
"Fortunately my car was quick in the right places – going into the tunnel and also through the final corner. There were some enjoyable moments in the race, especially my move on Magnussen. He had to let the Toro Rosso back through and he lost a bit of momentum so I saw my opportunity to stick my nose down the inside of turn eight. On a track like Monaco it gives you a big smile to make the move stick."
Painful mistake cost Gutierrez points:
"Unfortunately, I could not finish the race. It was probably the most painful mistake in my career. I touched the guardrail in Rascasse on the entry to the corner and spun, that was the end of the race. Today we had a great chance to earn some points.
"The start was great, as I was able to gain some positions during the first few laps which gave me a good basis for our race strategy. During the race I needed to take care of the tyres, but we also had to push because we had quick cars coming from behind. It is very disappointing. I really want to say sorry to everyone in the team because they all did a great job today."
"It’s disappointing that I had to retire today, especially because we looked competitive all weekend and had a good chance of finishing in the points here. I was able to hold my position at the start of the race and even move up to eighth before I had to retire. Unfortunately these things happen and I will now switch my focus to the next race where I hope we can carry over this momentum."
Bottas frustrated with power-unit issue:
"We had an issue with the power unit which is frustrating. There are some investigations to do to find out exactly what happened. After the start I was quickly in the points so it could have been a good weekend. Felipe finished seventh so the team can walk away with something. We now look towards Canada where we hope to be strong due to the nature of the track."
Bianchi ecstatic to score Marussia's first points:
"Wow. What a race and what a result for the whole Team. I am just incredibly happy, but first of all I have to pay credit to everyone at the Marussia F1 Team for making this possible. Nobody knows just how much work and determination goes into our races, so today I am thrilled that I have helped them to achieve their long-held target of our first points.
"To achieve them together makes me very proud. This gave us the confidence to push and we certainly did that here this weekend. It was not an easy race; there were some enjoyable highs along the way, but also a couple of concerning moments too. What matters at the end is that we got there and we can savour the highlights for a long time to come."
Ericsson pleased with 11th:
"For me that was good, even though the whole team is obviously disappointed about the way it ended. It was an amazing experience finishing my first Monaco Grand Prix and the fact we’ve equalled the team’s best ever finish today is great, it’s just a shame it didn’t mean more after the fantastic job everyone did today. After starting from the pitlane I was pretty quickly up with the second Marussia when the safety car came out.
"The balance was okay and I was in a good rhythm, ahead of Sutil and Grosjean for a few laps but couldn’t do anything to hold back Sutil when he passed me in turn six. When the safety car came out again we stopped for the first time for a new set of supersofts and I could really push. The whole second stint was good, as was the final one on the second set of supersofts, giving me the chance to push to the flag. I held off Raikkonen for the last couple of laps and finished 11th which, for me, is a pretty cool way to end Monaco."
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