Lewis Hamilton's first victory in more than seven months is "just what the doctor ordered", his Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has said.
Hamilton finally got the defence of his championship up and running after his fantastic triumph in a compelling Monaco Grand Prix.
It brought to an end an agonising 217-day wait for the Briton who, before Sunday's race, had last tasted victory in October's United States Grand Prix - the scene of his third title triumph.
But following his first win of the campaign, Hamilton, whose year has largely been blighted by bad luck, can now legitimately set his sights on reeling in his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg and become the first British driver to win a quartet of titles.
Indeed the Briton slashed the gap from 43 points to just 24 after Rosberg, woefully off the pace, crossed the line in a lowly seventh at the principality.
"The last couple of weeks have strengthened him and strengthened our relationship," said Wolff of the 31-year-old Englishman. "If you go through really bad times together it builds the relationship and gives it more strength.
"We had many discussions and difficult moments and in the end this is just what the doctor ordered. We needed that win, and he needed that win."
An engine problem in qualifying contributed to Hamilton starting the rain-hit race only third behind pole-sitter Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Rosberg.
But with the conditions at their worst in the opening phase of the race, and Hamilton vastly superior to his team-mate, Mercedes took the dramatic decision to order Rosberg to move out of Hamilton's way.
Hamilton then began his pursuit of Ricciardo and his gamble to stay out on the extreme wets, while those around him pitted for intermediate tyres, paid dividends. The Briton took charge of the race before a pit-stop gaffe by Ricciardo's Red Bull team gift-wrapped the victory for Hamilton.
For Rosberg, a winner in Monaco for the last three years, his miserable afternoon was completed when he was pipped on the line by Force India's Nico Hulkenberg. He finished a staggering 93 seconds behind his team-mate.
"For him it was a messy day," said Wolff of the championship leader. "Not only did he let his team-mate pass - who is his biggest rival for the championship - he also had a scrappy pit stop and a car that did not have any pace.
"So, for him all the bad luck came in one race and this is why he finished only seventh. I am extremely happy for Lewis but equally it was such a bad race for Nico I am in two minds."
Source: PA
