A furious Daniel Ricciardo tried and failed to contain himself about the pitstop debacle that most likely cost him a win at the Monaco Grand Prix.

World champion Lewis Hamilton won his first race of the season after taking a bold gamble to stay out on wet tyres on a drying track, although he only gained the lead by a matter of metres after Ricciardo had to endure a pitstop that took 13.6 seconds when his tyres were not ready. Hamilton then held the Red Bull off for the rest of the race.

"Save it," a disheartened Ricciardo said on team radio immediately after crossing on the line. "Nothing you can say will make that any better. Save it,"

The Australian cut a forlorn figure on the podium, despite Hamilton paying tribute to his skills and saying he was the best driver he had raced against.

"I don't want to comment on the race to be honest," Ricciardo said after the presentations.

"The tyres should have been ready. It hurts, it really hurts.

"Two weeks in a row I have been screwed. It sucks. I didn't make the call. I got called, so they should have been ready. It hurts ... I felt I was quickest all weekend in all conditions."

Red Bull motosport chief Helmut Marko said there had been a miscommunication between the team strategists and the garage, saying, "It was a human mistake."

For his part, Hamilton admitted he'd gambled to win, having to finish the race on the ultrasoft tyre as rain threatened to fall again.

"That was the longest run on ultrasofts," he said. "It was crazy. They were about to drop off."