Formula 1 result: Liam Lawson equals career-best finish, takes fifth in chaotic Monaco Grand Prix

Crossing the line completed a dramatic afternoon for the Kiwi, who faced a fight to even reach the start line after a fault saw his car disassembled and put back together by the Racing Bulls mechanics, less than an hour from lights out.

Despite that, Lawson was able to complete the 78-lap affair without incident, and was never at risk of losing any of the places he’d made up, thanks Max Verstappen and Lando Norris retiring with mechanical issues, Leclerc’s crash, and the pair of Mercedes’ George Russell and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly being penalised after the chequered flag.

Lindblad made it a double-points weekend for Racing Bulls, as he also earned a career-best sixth place, behind his teammate, to send their team sixth in the constructors championship. His result, though, was built on being able to change his tyres during the red flag, after starting 15th.

“I’m very happy,” said Lawson post-race. “It’s been a very good day. To have a P5 and P6 is great, especially [from] where we started.

“We struggled at the start of the weekend, and we’ve now got quite a competitive car.

“With the way these races are going, with a lot of cars retiring, it’s for us to capitalise on. We did it in Canada, and we did it here.”

At the front of the grid, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli converted pole position into his fifth straight win, and further extended his advantage at the top of the world championship. Already the youngest driver to lead the race for the title, the 19-year-old is now 68 points clear of teammate George Russell, who finished 13th.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton added his second second-place in as many races, despite being penalised earlier, while Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar crossed the line third to complete the podium, a result which stood despite an investigation for an alleged safety car infringement.

Sergio Perez appeared to have scored Cadillac’s first point by finishing 10th, only to be handed a 10-second penalty for a false start after the race.

Antonelli’s lead at the top of the championship has extended to 66 points from Hamilton, who overtook Russell in the standings with his podium.

With Monaco’s tight nature making it the most difficult track to overtake on in motorsport, the start was vital in deciding the finishing order. And when Verstappen stalled at lights out, Lawson avoiding a collision with the Red Bull, saw him climb into ninth.

While Lawson trailed Norris by less than a second in the early laps, the world champion’s pace advantage saw him pull away. In Lawson’s favour, pushing his own advantage over Williams’ Alex Albon behind left him under little to no threat of being overtaken from behind.

At the halfway stage, Lawson was still managing his first set of tyres. Albon pitted on lap 45 attempting to undercut the Kiwi, who responded by stopping one lap later, and gained a place when Norris was forced to retire with a power unit failure.

Once Leclerc hit the wall on lap 68, the resulting red flag and delay meant a standing start on the resumption, putting Lawson under pressure from his teammate with eight laps to go.

Both Racing Bulls survived the restart in seventh and eight, before Russell and Gasly’s penalties were applied to see both Lawson and Lindblad gain another two places apiece, as the final laps were completed.

Formula One continues next week, with the Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the second of a run of five races in seven weeks.

Did not finish: Carlos Sainz - Williams, Charles Leclerc - Ferrari, Lance Stroll - Aston Martin, Lando Norris - McLaren, Ollie Bearman - Haas, Valtteri Bottas - Cadillac, Max Verstappen - Red Bull

Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.