Lewis Hamilton pulled off a tactical masterstroke and benefited from a Red Bull pit-stop blunder to win the Monaco Grand Prix and get his championship challenge firmly back on track.

Pole-sitter Daniel Ricciardo crossed the line of a fascinating weather-hit race in second while Force India’s Sergio Perez completed the podium places.

Championship leader Nico Rosberg struggled in the early wet conditions – at one stage he was instructed by Mercedes to move over for a much-faster Hamilton – and finished seventh, 93 seconds behind his team-mate, after Nico Hulkenberg pipped him on the line.

It allowed Hamilton, who ended an eight-race losing streak here, to dramatically slash the gap to Rosberg to 24 points in his quest to become the only British driver to win four championships.

Sebastian Vettel was fourth for Ferrari with Jenson Button completing a double-points finish for McLaren on their 50th anniversary after he crossed the line in ninth.