'Really bad': Horrifying moment rocks Monaco Grand Prix

Sergio Perez says he was "very lucky" to avoid hitting two marshals during the Monaco Grand Prix when they ran in front of his Racing Point Formula 1 car.

The incident occurred at the pitlane exit during the early safety car period.

Perez had emerged from a tyre change and was accelerating out of the pits when he encountered two marshals running across the track before Ste Devote.

One marshal managed to get across in front of his car to the inside barriers, while a second managed to stop - and fortunately Perez was able to get between them without incident.

Speaking on his team radio immediately after the incident, a shocked Perez said: "What was wrong with those marshals? I nearly killed him."

Following the race, Perez suggested it was pure good fortune that he had not struck either marshal.

"I don't know if you saw but in the safety car I had a marshal running and I nearly ran over him - coming out of the pits in Turn 1," said Perez.

"That was really bad. They were running back and I was coming out of the pits.

"I had to brake and was very lucky - they were lucky I avoided them.

"They're usually very good, but it's safety at the end of the day - and most important is safety for the marshals and drivers."

Perez finished the race in 13th.

Hamilton wins for Lauda

Lewis Hamilton won the Monaco Grand Prix for Mercedes, nursing his car's worn tyres to the finish in a nail-biting victory worthy of the team's late great Niki Lauda.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was runner-up, ending Mercedes's run of five successive one-two finishes, with Hamilton's team mate Valtteri Bottas third.

Max Verstappen crossed the finish line second for Red Bull but dropped to fourth due to a five-second penalty imposed for an earlier unsafe release and collision with Bottas in the pitlane.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who won the event last year for Red Bull, finished ninth overall.

"That was definitely the hardest race I've had but nonetheless I really was fighting with the spirit of Niki," said Hamilton, who dived into the trackside swimming pool after the podium formalities.

"I know he will be looking down and taking his hat off. I was trying to stay focused and make him proud," he added of the Austrian, the triple world champion and Mercedes team's non-executive chairman, who died on Monday aged 70.

with Autosport and AAP

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