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A tactical error by his Renault team has cost Australia's Daniel Ricciardo a stronger finish at the Monaco Grand Prix.
A Renault team error has cost a frustrated Daniel Ricciardo a shot at a podium finish at the Monaco Grand Prix won by Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.
Ricciardo finished 10th, later adjusted to ninth, but the defending race champion would have been gunning for something more respectable had his team not misjudged a pit stop during an early safety car period.
When Ferrari's Charles Leclerc crashed on lap 11 trying to pass Nico Hulkenberg, the top four cars pitted and Renault decided to bring the Australian, who was running fifth, in as well.
It was costly as Ricciardo slipped five places as other cars stayed out and climbed through the field.
He was then stuck in traffic and for an agonising stretch behind the Alfa Romeo of Kimi Raikkonen, who was able to compile an extended opening stint despite starting on soft tyres.
"It was a very frustrating race to be honest," Ricciardo said.
"We had a great start, jumped Kevin Magnussen (Haas) on the outside for fifth and had a strong turn one.
"Then we pitted under the safety car, which is where we missed out. We definitely could have done better and got a great result as we had all the cards in our hand."
Ricciardo said his car was good despite not being able to fully use the speed at his disposal.
"We'll look at what happened and address it for future races," he added.
Team principal Cyril Abiteboul said Renault had done everything required in qualifying to set up for a good result.
"Unfortunately, the single most important decision of the day was to stop Daniel under the safety car," he conceded.
"It turned out to be the wrong one.
"It's clearly a missed opportunity that does not reward the hard work of the team and the drivers to improve the competitiveness of the package," he added.
Hamilton nursed his worn tyres around the famously windy French principality circuit to cross ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel with Max Verstappen third for Red Bull.
