Webber wins tight Monaco race

Mark Webber managed to hold five competitors at bay in Monaco on Sunday to win the race for the second time in his career. Mercedes GP's Nico Rosberg, a specialist on the narrow twisty streets where he grew up, finished second but was unable to make a pass for the lead. The race was dramatic and dominated by constant predictions of rain, which only materialized after the 78 laps of the principality were completed.

"I'm feeling incredible. It was a very interesting race," Webber told reporters in the winners' press conference. "It was reasonably straightforward at the start, getting the gap on the super soft [tire compound] and just managing the gap with Nico."

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso rounded out the podium in third with another impressive drive, taking the lead in the driver's title as a result.

Defending champion Sebastian Vettel, displaced by Alonso at the top of the overall tree, rolled in fourth as the lead cars crossed the line nose-to-tail. Vettel tried an alternative pit strategy to the leaders, running the harder tire compound first and stopping later in the race - at one stage he looked like a dark horse for the win, as Webber noted.

"I thought it was getting interesting and didn't want Seb [Vettel] to get the magic 20 seconds so he could do the stop and get the victory. That wasn't part of the plan," Webber said.

Red Bull extend advanatage

When Vettel's strong recovery from ninth on the grid and Webber's win from pole are combined, the pair's Red Bull team extended their advantage in the constructors' championship over second-placed McLaren.

Lewis Hamilton bagged fifth for McLaren, while his teammate Jenson Button retired seven laps from the end after a miserable race mired in the midfield unable to pass slower cars. Felipe Massa was sixth for Ferrari, the under-fire Brazilian's best result of the season, and was only six seconds adrift of Webber at the front.

After setting the fastest time in Qualifying on Saturday, Michael Schumacher had a difficult day in the second Mercedes. He tangled with Lotus-Renault's Romain Grosjean on lap 1 but survived the incident largely unscathed and was running with the leaders for much of the race. The multiple champ's pace dropped in the latter stages and he was ultimately forced to retire with fuel pressure problems.

German driver Nico Hülkenberg was able to pick up points for Sahara Force India, finishing eighth just behind his Scottish team mate Paul di Resta. The fifth and final German challenger, Timo Glock, was consigned to another day near the back in his Marussia-Cosworth, finishing second-to-last and one lap off the pace.

Mark Webber became the sixth winner in six races this season, while Red Bull became the first team to secure a pair of wins - after Sebastian Vettel took the top spot two races ago in Bahrain. Six drivers have not won the opening six races since 1951.

Author: Mark Hallam
Editor: Chuck Penfold