MONACO GENTLEMAN NICO
Wolff paid tribute to Rosberg , winner of the previous three races in the principality , for giving up the position and understanding what was at stake .
The German , who won the first four races of the season and had led by 39 points before Monaco , had his advantage over Hamilton slashed to 24 – less than a race win – with 15 grands prix remaining .
He said it had been a very difficult afternoon , with the tyres cold due to the rain , “ At the time it was pretty simple because it ’ s a rule that we ’ ve had since many , many years now . It was pretty damn obvious at the time that I ’ m not going to be able to fight for a win with that pace .”
“ They gave me a warning , ‘ try and up the pace ’, and I wasn ’ t able to . The next step is ‘ let Lewis by ’ and I think the final result made it worthwhile for the team because Lewis wouldn ’ t have won otherwise .”
Monaco , with its tight and twisty layout , is hard enough to overtake on without the additional problem of spray and poor visibility .
Although conditions improved during the race , Ricciardo would likely have disappeared into the distance without Rosberg ’ s action .
“ Very painful , that ’ s clear , but easy to decide to do that ,” said Rosberg . “ I ’ m not thinking about the championship . I ’ m disappointed because I wanted to win Monaco . I wanted to win my home race , it ’ s the most exciting race of the year and that ’ s what I was out there to do .”