Webber makes history as sixth different early winner

Mark Webber celebrated the eighth win of his Formula 1 career as history was made in yesterday’s Monaco Grand Prix.

For the second time in three years Webber triumphed around the streets of the principality, leading home a train at the end of the 78 laps as the top six were covered by just a few seconds.

Significantly, and for the first time in F1’s 62 years, the season has now witnessed six different winners in the opening six races.

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Webber was followed home by Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso, reigning champion Sebastian Vettel in his Red Bull, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari.

Alonso now leads the championship standings by three points to Vettel and Webber, with Hamilton 13 points down in fourth, and Rosberg 17 points adrift in fifth.

However, there may yet be a protest against the Red Bull by one of the other teams as the car is understood to be sporting an illegal floor.

It was not one of the most exciting races in Monaco’s history, despite the closeness of the leading sextet, although it at least began with a bang.

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Within seconds Romain Grosjean’s race was run, the Frenchman in his Lotus initially clipping Alonso, forcing him across to the left and into Michael Schumacher in his Mercedes.

The seven-time champion, who had set the fastest qualifying time only to incur a five-place grid penalty for running into the back of Williams’s Bruno Senna in Spain a fortnight ago to drop to sixth, was squeezed against the barrier.

The contact between the two broke the left-rear suspension of Grosjean’s car, forcing him into a spin and oncoming traffic at the first corner, Ste Devote.

Neither Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi, nor Williams’s Pastor Maldonado, winner in Barcelona a fortnight ago, were able to take avoiding action.

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Maldonado hit the back of HRT’s Pedro de la Rosa and ultimately came to a halt later in the lap, bringing out the safety car as he parked his Williams into a barrier.

Vettel was the beneficiary of Grosjean’s accident, the 24-year-old forced to cut the first corner, allowing him to move up to sixth after starting ninth.

Unlike the eight drivers who had started ahead of him on supersoft tyres, Vettel began the race on the soft rubber, allowing him to run for longer.

A number of teams suggested rain was on its way at one stage, which would have thrown a spanner in the works, but it never materialised until a few light spots in the closing stages.

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Instead, it came down to a one-stop strategy, with the Pirelli tyres able to last around Monaco – as opposed to previous races this season – given the slower speeds and lighter loads.

With the rain finally arriving 15 minutes after the finish, there was obvious delight and relief from Webber.

“I feel incredible,” said Webber. “It was a very interesting race, reasonably straightforward at the start, just managing the gap to Nico. But then the weather was threatening at the first pit-stop window, but Nico went for it, and people had to react.”

He added: “I’m really glad to have won here again, a great victory for me.”

New championship leader Alonso said: “Our strategy was to finish in front of Sebastian and Lewis, and we did that.”