Seb's Monaco delightposted in F129 | 05 | 2011
RED BULL'S Sebastian Vettel extended his lead in the world championship when he clinched a gutsy victory in a fairly chaotic Monaco Grand Prix. Following a red flag caused by a crash involving Vitaly Petrov's Renault, the race was restarted with only six laps remaining.
Against all expectations, Vettel had gained track position after opting not to pit during a mid-race safety car period and ran 56-laps on the super soft rubber; the decision elevated him ahead of Fernando Alonso's Ferrari and the McLaren of Jenson Button.
But just as the race was heading to a thrilling finale, with less than a second covering all three leading drivers with 12 laps remaining, any hope of a dazzling conclusion ended with Petrov's crash.
Though the Russian was uninjured after careering into the crash barriers following the chain reaction which also involved Jaime Alguersuari and Lewis Hamilton — and was triggered by Pastor Maldonado passing Adrian Sutil for sixth place at Tabac — the incident essentially sealed the result.
With all the cars free to fit new tyres for the restart and the closing six laps , Vettel comfortably held off his two chasers to win in the Principality for the first time.
"It's fantastic," said Vettel, who has now won five out of six races this year and leads nearest challenger Hamilton by 58 points, admitted. "It was a very long race and a long way to the chequered flag and at some stage the victory seemed quite far away.
"The safety car came out and we got back in the lead but it was quite difficult to stay ahead. It is difficult to pass here but they had such better grip. I called to box and I said I wanted to stay out as it was the only chance to win the race.
"It was getting close and with six laps to go before we had a suspended race. Obviously I was struggling with my tyres but I think we could have made it to the end.
"Then I saw the red flag and it was good to hear Vitaly was fine, and we were able to change tyres as I could get rid of these old tyres and then had another short sprint race to the chequered flag.
"We took the risk. We wanted to win and we got the reward. I am happy and it is an extreme honour. It is one of the best grands prix all year and surely a nice one to win."
It was a miserable afternoon for Bathgate's Paul di Resta. The 25-year-old Scot was involved twice in incidents, one of which led to him receiving a drive-though penalty after clipping the Toro Rosso of Jaime Alguersuari at the Hairpin. Di Resta eventually finished 12th.
CLICK HERE to see Paul di Resta walk the Monaco circuit with David Coulthard
Monaco Grand Prix, Results (Provisional):
1. Vettel, Red Bull-Renault — 2h09:38.373
2. Alonso, Ferrari — +1.138
3. Button, McLaren-Mercedes — +2.378
4. Webber, Red Bull-Renault — +23.100
5. Kobayashi, Sauber-Ferrari — +26.900
6. Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes — +27.200
7. Sutil, Force India-Mercedes — +1 lap
8. Heidfeld, Renault — +1 lap
9. Barrichello, Williams-Cosworth — +1 lap
10. Buemi, Toro Rosso-Ferrari — +1 lap
11. Rosberg, Mercedes — +1 lap
12. Di Resta, Force India-Mercedes — +2 laps
13. Trulli, Lotus-Renault — +2 laps
14. Kovalainen, Lotus-Renault — +2 laps
15. D'Ambrosio, Virgin-Cosworth — +2 laps
16. Liuzzi, HRT-Cosworth — +3 laps
17. Karthikeyan, HRT-Cosworth — +3 laps
18. Maldonado, Williams-Cosworth — +5 laps
Fastest lap: Webber, 1:16.234
Drivers World Championship standings, (After 6 of 19):
1. Vettel 143
2. Hamilton 85
3. Webber 79
4. Button 76
5. Alonso 69
Keep up-to-date with all the latest news by following us on twitter.com/scotcars
Craig James
Photo: Getty Images