“I got quite a good start, and was challenging the guys on the second row into Turn One, but it just wasn’t possible to make a move stick.
“It’s virtually impossible to overtake around here, especially when the guys in front of me were as fast as I was. After the result in Barcelona, I didn’t want any further mishaps, so I just looked after the car and went for the points.
“It was quite a straightforward race for me, and fifth was the maximum possible, but I’m not complaining; we need those points.
“I know we’re working hard to bring improvements to the car for Turkey, and I’m sure we’ll be able to make up the gap to the front at some stage soon.”
MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“Lewis scored a useful 10 points as a consequence of his solid run to fifth place – which, since overtaking is notoriously difficult here at Monaco and since there was no attrition in front of him, was as good a result as he could realistically have hoped for from his fifth position on the grid. He drove faultlessly, in fact, looking after his brakes and tyres throughout."
