George Russell of Mercedes finishes fifth at Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix

Mercedes' George Russell retained his streak of being the only Formula 1 driver to finish every Grand Prix this year in the points after a fifth-place finish in Monaco.

Bouncing issues had led to Russell finding himself eighth and sixth in the two Friday practice sessions, ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton in both outings.

Things did not improve for Russell in Saturday morning’s session, setting a lap time only good enough for ninth.

Qualifying was slightly better for the former Wisbech Grammar School student as he qualified in sixth position - lining up on the grid alongside his Formula 2 rival Lando Norris, two places ahead of his seven-time world champion team-mate.

The start to Sunday’s race was delayed due to heavy rainfall, with Russell and his fellow drivers doing two formation laps behind the safety car on the full wet tyres before the race was red-flagged due to the extreme conditions.

After an hour of waiting in the pits, the racing action commenced with a rolling start.

Later in the race, Russell began to mount a charge on McLaren driver Norris but was shown a black and white flag for missing the apex and going straight on at the Nouvelle chicane, which breached track limits rules.

A bold decision on tyre strategy, with Russell switching straight from the full wets to the hards, then left him above Norris in fifth position.

Following this, Russell set the fastest lap of the Grand Prix until it was taken by Norris.

The racing action was interrupted once again after Mick Schumacher of Haas had a serious crash, bringing out the red flag for the second time.

When racing resumed, Russell held his fifth position after a switch to the medium compound tyres during the red flag period.

Russell leaves Monaco fourth in the Drivers’ Championship after another valiant performance.

The Formula 1 season continues with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix over the weekend of June 10-12.