After failing to do so in 2015, Lewis Hamilton finally managed to take the chequered flag in Monaco on Sunday.
The delight was clear to see as he celebrated with his engineers – and some kid called Justin – after overcoming the most testing conditions F1 can produce.
He took on the soggy streets of Monte Carlo and came out on top all while holding off a fiery Australian.
A year ago it wasn’t the same story, in fact the past two years it had been Hamilton with a glum look after following Nico Rosberg for 78 laps in 2014 and a disastrous late pit-stop dropping him from first-to-third in 2015.
Fast forward to 2016, however, and the three-time champion was back on good terms with the most iconic race on the F1 calendar.
Ironically enough, having been unable to beat his teammate Nico Rosberg, it was a race he and Mercedes perhaps weren’t supposed to win.
For what was arguably the second time in the V6 era, Mercedes didn’t have the best package on the grid.
After seeing a new teammate come in and win his first race in Spain, a pumped-up Daniel Ricciardo and his ever-improving Red Bull looked set to conquer the mighty Silver Arrows.
But, just as poor strategy denied him in Spain, the ‘honey badger’ was at the mercy of errors from his own team as a botched pit stop dropped him out of an early lead.
For all the talk of “how Red Bull lost it” in Monaco, the role the Mercedes team played in giving Hamilton his best chance will often be overlooked.
With Ricciardo storming off into an early lead in the wettest race conditions seen in Monaco in two decades, a struggling Nico Rosberg was clearly holding up his teammate unable to find a way by.
Such was the German’s pace and the seeming likelihood of Barcelona part two if something wasn’t done. Toto Wolff and Paddy Lowe issued the order for their two drivers to swap placed.
While the willingness of Rosberg to obey a team order given to let Hamilton past could be argued over, given their championship battle, his action kept the race from being a Red Bull walk in the park.
Now in second, Hamilton maintained the gap to Ricciardo ahead and was about to use the uniqueness of Monte Carlo to turn the tide.
Usually going from the extreme or full wet tyres, as they are more often called, to the slick dry tyres necessitates a period on the intermediate rubber as the deep grooves of the full wets are unable to cope with the drying surface.
However, as the field made that switch to the intermediates, Hamilton stayed out, along with Ricciardo, and this is where Red Bull’s first error occurred.
Pitting the Australian and fitting intermediates gave up what is the most crucial part of being successful in Monaco, track position.
Add to that a clear dry line appearing around the circuit and no real threat from anyone other than Hamilton it would be a vital turning point.
Mercedes and Lewis’ smart thinking came into effect as they saw the times being set by those on intermediates weren’t much faster than those on the full wets.
While Ricciardo closed in very quickly on Hamilton, he was able to hold off the Red Bull and wait to make a rare switch from full wets to slicks.
This not only saved them a pit-stop over the field but quickly forced Red Bull’s hand again to pit Ricciardo and ultimately ended with the Aussie sat in his box with no tyres waiting for him.
The rest, as they say, is history as Hamilton controlled the pace, pushed when he had to, and managed to make his ultrasoft Pirelli’s last the 40+ laps to the finish.
Monaco success not only marked a key success for Hamilton and his previously under-fire engineers but also marked a key moment in the championship battle.
As a team, Mercedes moved on from the events in Spain and for Hamilton, it marked his first win of the season after a tough first five races.
After complying with the team order, Rosberg’s day didn’t get any better as the championship leader endured his worst race since Austin last year.
Last lap rain saw Nico drop to a lowly seventh place finish and his lead in the Drivers’ Championship almost halved with 24 points now separating him from Lewis Hamilton.
The swing also comes ahead of one of the Briton’s strongest circuits of the year in Montreal, a place Lewis has won at four times in his career, and also where the challenge from Red Bull may ease thanks to its long straights.
But for now Hamilton can sit back and reminisce over a win that combined everything that it takes to be successful: a great driver, a great team and yes a little bit of luck.
