How Mercedes’ rivals hopes imploded in Monaco

All three of Mercedes’ main Formula 1 rivals watched their hopes of an upset implode at different speeds at the Monaco Grand Prix.Max Verstappen’s bid to win barely survived the formation lap due to a Red Bull engine problem that ended his race when the lights went out.Lewis Hamilton was easily beaten by championship leader Kimi Antonelli in the race after Ferrari’s strong practice form could not be converted in qualifying, and his team-mate Charles Leclerc crashed out of the race late on.And McLaren, which has been building such a threat to Mercedes in the last few events, was long since out of the picture by that point. It suddenly fell to a distant fourth-best this weekend and was nowhere near the lead fight from the first practice session.So …