Ok, you've twisted my arm. Taking into mechanical failures, Nico Rosberg wins the 2016 Monaco GP. If he didn't have a faulty car, MB wouldn't have applied team orders to benefit Hamilton. As Ricciardo proved last year, you can have a significantly faulty and still defend your position for a large portion of the race.

To say that Ricciardo was hammered by Verstappen is to say that Ricciardo has been diminished. But he's not diminished, and is still recognised as a top tier driver.

Feel free to analyse all of Ricciardo's dnf and speculate where he would/could've finished had they not occurred. I'll be interested to read it.