Was Raikkonen sacrificed for Vettel?

The problem is a pressing one, not least because the Sochi and Monaco circuits at which he has experienced difficulties share characteristics with the next round in Canada on 11 June.

Lewis Hamilton believes the Monaco GP showed Ferrari are prioritising Sebastian Vettel over Kimi Raikkonen in the battle for the F1 2017 world title.

"I like the notion of underdog because the underdog is the one that people want to see win", Hamilton's Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said. A lot of people including Hamilton believed that Ferrari used this strategy on goal to let Vettel get ahead to boost his title chances.

When Vettel pitted on lap 40 he came out just ahead of Raikkonen, taking the race lead as the Finn slipped into the distance.

The first leader to pit was Verstappen from fourth after 32 laps followed immediately by Bottas whose Mercedes' crew did their job 0.8 seconds quicker than the Dutchman's.

It is the constructor's first win at Monaco in 16 years.

Vettel's victory marked the first time a Ferrari drive won the Monaco Grand Prix since 2001, when legend Michael Schumacher captured first place. That was during Ferrari's dominant era. "How close do I have to get?" said the Finn. "With the season we've had, the Ferrari fans and the Ferrari flags are increasing". What made it all the more disappointing was that he had a few good overtakes in the race before that collision.

"I haven't spoken to the team and don't plan to", Hamilton added. At the moment, both are officially on an equal footing and free to compete fully against each other - as Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were over the last three years. "Bit by bit we will try to chip away". "We must make sure we keep the momentum up in the next couple of races".

Vettel said: "It feels unbelievable". Raikkonen was +3.145 back and away by +3.745, Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull took the third place.

"Unbelievable. It was a very tense race".

Vettel let out a whoop of delight after crossing the finish line with bright sunshine gleaming off the famed red of Ferrari. As the German national anthem played, Vettel stood atop the podium with his eyes closed as he sang along. Previous "Driver of the Day" winners from earlier in the season, Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen, were fourth and fifth.

By lap seven, Raikkonen was two seconds clear of Vettel and 5.2 ahead of third-placed Bottas. "I got the bad end of the story today".

The Williams of Felipe Massa went ninth, and the second Haas of Kevin Magnussen took the last place in the points. "The team got a one-two, which is great for the team, but the rest - until we have meetings and we can see all the graphs I don't know".

Whatever the strategy was, Ferrari will not mind after securing maximum points.

"It is not like we came here unprepared. When you get safety auto, these tires are like driving on ice". The collision made for the safety vehicle on track.