Webber hails greatest triumph as Hill exacts revenge over old rival

As last season's winner Jenson Button remarked last week, it is the first race every driver wants to win, the glittering jewel in Formula 1's crown.

And Webber emulated his feat in Spain a week ago with a lights-to-flag triumph, meaning the 33-year-old has led for a total of 144 consecutive laps.

More importantly, Webber is now in possession of the championship lead by virtue of two victories to one over Red Bull Racing team-mate Sebastian Vettel, with whom he is tied on 78 points.

In taking the chequered flag he became the first Australian to win in Monte Carlo since three-times champion Sir Jack Brabham in 1959.

In adding his name to the role of honour of winners such as six-times king Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and 'Mr Monaco' Graham Hill, who won five times, Webber said: "To win here is a very special day.

"It is absolutely incredible, the greatest day of my life today. To win in Monaco is a dream for any Formula 1 driver.

"Every Formula 1 victory is special, but to win on the streets here fair and square off pole, no attrition again, it's fantastic.

"And to join such great winners here, like Ayrton and those guys, is a real special moment for me.

"I was also reminded yesterday Jack Brabham won here in 1959, so it has been a while for the Australians."

In celebration of their one-two, Red Bull's second this year that has also lifted the team into the lead in the constructors' championship, Webber and Vettel jumped in Monaco harbour.

The party atmosphere continued later when team boss Christian Horner was thrown in the swimming pool that is on the upper deck of their floating motorhome.

Assessing his day's work, Webber added: "It started yesterday with qualifying when it went well, but this place is such a test for two hours. I knew I had a lot of work to do. We had back markers and a lot of safety cars, so we were tested quite often with restarts and the like.

"All the basics that could test you were in front of us, so this is a very, very rewarding win. I'm just absolutely elated."

Michael Schumacher suffered another dose of Monaco Grand Prix misery after being handed a 20-second penalty.

Schumacher passed Ferrari's Fernando Alonso at the final corner going into Rascasse and out of Anthony Noghes – after a safety car had peeled into the pits on the final lap – to claim sixth place.

But the race stewards, which included 1996 world champion Damon Hill who lost the 1994 title to Schumacher after being shunted off the track at Adelaide by the German, decided he had breached the rules.

Schumacher was given a retrospective drive-through penalty which, as it occurred in the final five laps of the race, means 20 seconds has been added to his time, relegating him out of the points to 12th.

Schumacher's Mercedes' team, however, have decided to appeal against the stewards' decision.

It was four years ago in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix that Schumacher feigned an accident at Rascasse in an attempt to block Alonso, who was behind on the same lap, from claiming pole.

Explaining his actions yesterday, Schumacher said: "I got the message the track was clear.

"The team told me on the radio the safety car had passed line one and I was allowed to overtake. The line is right in front of the entrance to the garages. The spot of the accident was clear, the cars were gone, so I don't see any reason why this (his move) should not be allowed."

There were four safety cars in total, the first at the end of lap one when Nico Hulkenberg ploughed his Williams into a concrete wall in the tunnel at 180mph due to a component failure on the front wing.

On a bad day for Williams, Rubens Barrichello suffered an issue with the rear of his car that resulted in him hurtling into a barrier at 150mph going up the hill through Beau Rivage.

The Brazilian rebounded across the track and hit the opposite barrier before coming to rest in the middle of the circuit facing the wrong way, minus his front and rear wing.

In an understandable fit of pique Barrichello, who celebrates his 38th birthday next Sunday, tossed his steering wheel out of the cockpit and onto the track where it was hit by Hispania's Bruno Senna.

The third safety car came in bizarre circumstances due to a loose drain cover at turn three, Massanet. Then four laps from home a foolish overtaking manoeuvre from Lotus' Jarno Trulli on Karun Chandhok at Rascasse resulted in the Italian bouncing up, over and landing on top of the HRT car.

When the safety car pulled in after the final turn on the closing lap, Webber and Vettel finished just 0.4secs apart, with Renault's Robert Kubica third, followed by Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren.

The first safety car accounted for Button, who retired on lap three as his engine overheated after a cooling cover on the left-hand sidepod over the radiator was not removed at the start.

"It probably would have been fine if we hadn't had a safety car," said Button, who is now fourth in the championship, eight points behind the leaders.

"My car quickly began to overheat and I started losing engine power. Today was just one of those days. It was human error, a mistake, and that's all there is to it."