Shady deal under the sun costs Lewis Hamilton at Monaco Grand Prix

Monte Carlo, so said English playwright W Somerset Maugham, is a sunny place full of shady people.

Sunday afternoon, under an incandescent ball in the sky, Lewis Hamilton was robbed of victory in the Monaco Grand Prix because of a strategic error by his Mercedes-GP team.

The reigning world champion had led from the start on the streets of the principality and had built up a gap of 21 seconds when a safety car was employed with 14 laps remaining following a crash involving Max Verstappen of Toro Rosso.

Confusion resulted in Mercedes calling Hamilton into the pits, but with neither teammate Nico Rosberg nor Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel stopping, the Briton relinquished the lead.

– Photo gallery: Cristiano Ronaldo watches as Nico Rosberg wins Monaco Grand Prix

“We’ve lost this haven’t we?” Hamilton asked his radio engineer as he rejoined the field in third place.

He had. Rosberg took his second straight win of the season and a third successive victory in Monaco, the city in which he went to school.

There were no allegations of anything underhand at play, but it was clear that the fallout will be severe: heads could roll.

Niki Lauda, Mercedes’ non-executive chairman, said the mistake was “totally unacceptable”, while Toto Wolff, the marque’s motorsport boss, apologised profusely on behalf of the team.

“We have lost Lewis the grand prix,” Wolff said. “We thought the gap was different to what it actually was. A complete misjudgement. I am just so sorry. It was a win for Lewis to take home – an easy run – and we have just screwed it up for him. There is nothing we can do but apologise, apologise and apologise.”

Hamilton, to his credit, spoke calmly – even if his actions betrayed his even temper.

After stopping on track after the chequered flag, he crawled slowly back to parc-ferme, where he knocked over his third-place parking board with the nose of his car.

As his teammate sprayed the Mercedes team with bubbles, Hamilton walked away alone with a face as stony as the rocks that loom over the lavish harbour.

“The team has done amazing all year long and we win and we lose together, so I’m just grateful for the job that I did and congratulations to Nico and Sebastian,” Hamilton, 30, said curtly. “This is a race that’s been close to my heart for years and it’s special to me, so I really wanted to win. The team have been brilliant all year, so I don’t blame them.

“We’ll analyse and work out what went wrong, but we’ll do that collectively and try to improve for the future. I always say to my team and my fans, we win and we lose together. You live to fight another day.”

Rosberg conceded he had been gifted the win, which closed the gap at the top of the drivers’ standings to 10 points.

The German said he must improve before the next race of the season in Canada on June 7.

“That was my luckiest experience in racing so far – what a crazy race,” he said. “Until the safety car Lewis has done a perfect job. He was better than me over the weekend, so he definitely deserved the win. I know how horrible he must feel now.

“For sure, I feel happy to win again here in Monaco. It’s always so special and one part of me will celebrate that victory because a win is a win.

“This weekend was a warning for me though that I have to work even harder for the next race in Montreal.”

Monaco Grand Prix report card

Star performer Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) The world champion did not put a foot wrong all afternoon and deserved to take the victory. He led for 64 laps before his team made a massive mistake and called him in to the pits, resulting in him being jumped by both teammate Nico Rosberg and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

Underperformer Fernando Alonso (McLaren) Received a five-second time penalty for a first-lap collision with Nico Hulkenberg and his afternoon got worse when a gearbox problem saw the two-time champion's race end prematurely.

Key moment With only 14 laps left, Max Verstappen's attempted pass on Lotus's Romain Grosjean resulted in the nose of the Dutchman's Toro Rosso buried in a barrier and a safety car, which changed the shape of the podium as Hamilton slipped back and Rosberg climbed to the front ahead of Vettel.

Low point Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado continued his lamentable 2015 race record after colliding with Felipe Massa on the opening lap, resulting in the Venezuelan being forced to retire for the fifth time in six races this season.

Move of the race Daniel Ricciardo's tight pass on Kimi Raikkonen in the late stages earned the Australian a fifth-place finish and a round of applause from the fans, who had been desperate for some on-track action since the lights went out.

Our verdict There is a sense of disillusionment surrounding the Monaco Grand Prix. A fantastic atmosphere surrounds the race weekend, but when the lights go out it is ultimately an annual letdown. A poor call from Mercedes should not mask what was a dull race.

gmeenaghan@thenational.ae

Shady deal under the sun costs Lewis Hamilton at Monaco Grand Prix

Confusion resulted in Mercedes calling Hamilton into the pits. There were no allegations of any­thing underhand at play, but it was clear that the fallout will be severe: heads could roll, writes Gary Meenaghan.

Confusion resulted in Mercedes calling Hamilton into the pits. There were no allegations of anything underhand at play, but it was clear that the fallout will be severe: heads could roll, writes Gary Meenaghan.