Alonso Takes Historic Monaco Win

Fernando Alonso won the first Monaco GP of his career on Sunday after an exciting race that saw Schumi start from the back of the grid. Schumacher who had claimed pole position in the qualifying session on Saturday was sent to the back of the grid at the start after race stewards found him guilty of intentionally blocking the track and hindering Alonso's lap.

Alonso got off to a good start maintaing his lead through St Devote at a circuit where ovetaking is impossible. Mark Webber followed him in second place, while Raikkonen went through the corner in third, before taking advantage of a mistake by Webber to get into second position. At a circuit where technology is secondary to a driver's skill, Raikkonen heaped the pressure on Alonso. However, Alonso kept his head on his shoulders knowing that Raikkonen couldn't get past and controlled his pace with a champion's guile.

After the first pit stops, Mark Webber's retirement necessitated the intervention of the Safety-Car. It was then that Raikkonen's chance of winning his first GP of the season went up in smoke, quite literally, when one of the Mclaren's heat shields caught fire. This meant Alonso went unchallenged for the rest of the race.

Michael Schumacher, meanwhile drove an absolutely flat-out race, never giving up and finishing fifth after starting from the pitlane and executing his one-stop startegy to perfection. By the end of the race Schumacher had caught up with Barrichello and was challenging him for fourth place and in the process setting the fastest lap of the race. Giancarlo Fisichella drove a lacklustre race to finish 6th and the second Ferrari of Felipe Massa finished 10th, also starting from the back of the grid.

But it was not to be Ferrari's day as, after Raikkonen's retirement, Alonso cruised to the chequered flag. Juan Pablo Montoya kept Mclaren honours by finishing second while jubilant David Coulthard, sporting a Superman cape took Red Bull Racing's first podium ever.

The outcome of the Monaco GP puts Alonso 21 points ahead of second-placed Michael Schumacher, making it tougher for the German to take back the World Championship. But with only six rounds of the season done and dusted, the German remains in the hunt for a record eighth World Championship.