As it happened: 2011 Monaco - The Race

• 12:03

  Hello and welcome to the Factbyte Factbox for the Monaco Grand Prix.

• 12:04

  It's that time of year again - when we watch 20+ cars winding their way through the streets of Monaco, hoping to get to the end of the race unscathed.

• 12:06

  The most important news, though, is that Pérez is doing well. A few updates have come in this morning, mostly positive.

• 12:06

  Tweet from @NobleF1: Perez will remain in hospital for another night, and will undergo another brain scan on Monday. Recovery going well though

• 12:07

  He was involved in a big accident yesterday. If you missed any of the action, I recommend catching up with the FBFB highlights from qualifying: https://sidepodcast.com/post/monaco-2011-qualifying-highlights

• 12:07

  Whilst we're talking links, there's also a 60 second news catchup of qualifying: https://sidepodcast.com/news/sebastian-vettel-adds-pole-position-at-monaco-to-his-growing-collection

• 12:09

  If you're following the action today, I recommend joining in the comments at Sidepodcast: https://sidepodcast.com/dashboard

• 12:09

  The direct thread has a fabulous poll as well - do you think we'll see a safety car today? https://sidepodcast.com/post/live-monaco-2011-the-race

• 12:10

  So far, the majority of people are voting yes, there is likely to be a safety car today. If there isn't one in Monaco, then Bernd may as well retire!

• 12:12

  After qualifying yesterday, Lewis Hamilton had his one and only time deleted for cutting the chicane. It dropped him back to 9th on the grid.

• 12:15

  Qualifying Position

  1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull
  2	Jenson Button	McLaren
  3	Mark Webber	Red Bull
  4	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
  5	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes
  6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
  7	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
  8	Pastor Maldonado	Williams
  9	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren
  10	Sergio Pérez	Sauber

• 12:16

  Pérez won't be racing today, though.

• 12:18

  Interview with Monisha Kaltenborn on Pérez: "He's doing very well. He had a good night's stay at the hospital. We know that he has a concussion and a bruised thigh. He'll be kept another day in hospital for observation, that's fairly normal. But he's in good spirits which is important."

• 12:18

  Monisha on whether he'll be back for Montreal: "It's too early to say that. We are confident but it's the FIA's decision."

• 12:22

  Hamilton on his qualifying strategy: "I think we've been driving well all weekend. I had the pace for pole, I'm certain of that. Engineers advised that we should do one lap at the end of Q3, I didn't contest it."

• 12:24

  Circuit Data

  Circuit de Monaco
  Local timezone	+0200 GMT
  First race	1950
  Number of laps	78
  Circuit length	3.340km
  Race distance	260.520km
  Start offset	0.000km

• 12:25

  There is some confusion over whether the grid from 11th down will move up because Pérez is not starting. The BBC say yes.

• 12:27

  Timo Glock ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix.

• 12:28

  Mark Webber talks tyres: "The grip is lower this year. Over a longer run, we know the grip of the tyres is degrading more than we've had in the past... than ever, in any of our Formula One careers. People say why don't you just look after them? It's all understanding how the tyre works and getting more out of it."

• 12:31

  The pitlane has opened, engines are firing up throughout the garages.

• 12:34

  Tweet from @MyTeamLotus: Right... 30 minutes until lights out. The grid is starting to fill up and the stars are out in force in the pitlane. Time to go to work..

• 12:39

  Turn 6 - otherwise known as the hairpin.

  Braking Analysis

  Turn 6
  (forecast data from Brembo)
  Initial speed	144km/h
  Final speed	54km/h
  Stopping distance	45m
  Braking time	1.73s
  Maximum deceleration	2.07g
  Maximum pedal load	49kg

• 12:41

  Mark Webber on the grid, talking track conditions and getting past Jenson Button: "The track is good, in good shape. Some junior categories here today, the track's always in good shape come Sunday. We'll know in the first two seconds if it's possible, depending how the launch goes. Long Grand Prix, 78 laps, gotta stay concentrated for the full two hours. He's pretty keen to stay where he is, we'll see what happens."

• 12:42

  Sebastian Vettel on the grid: "We have to look ourselves but they will push very hard, so it's not a walk in the park for us."

• 12:42

  Lotus exit the pitlane towards the grid.

• 12:43

  Tweet from @clubforce: The Monaco grid starts to come together. Good luck to both Paul and Adrian. It's hot out there!

• 12:43

  Paul Hembery of Pirelli: "We didn't know what we were going to come into, being a road circuit for the first time. The supersoft seems to be working well. We're looking at a one stop, two stop, I think."

• 12:48

  Tweet from @gcreighton: An untimely SC deployment could ruin even the perfect strategy, so expect to see a dramatic rush for the pitlane if it does emerge today.

• 12:49

  Lap Data

  (data from Williams F1)
  Fuel consumption	21.8kg/lap
  Fuel laptime penalty	0.2s/10kg
  Top speed	293kph
  Average speed	161kph
  Pit lane loss	21s
  Pit lane length	316m

• 12:50

  Ten minutes to go, here are some links you may need. Live timing: http://www.formula1.com/live_timing/

• 12:51

  The Autosport live text is underway: http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/354

• 12:52

  You can also watch the BBC stream and text updates here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9499726.stm

• 12:52

  There'll be live telemetry and the like from http://mclaren.com/formula1 and http://mercedes-gp.com as well.

• 12:53

  Tweet from @easonF1: A word for the absentees: Sergio Perez and Robert Kubica. Perez 1 more night in hospital while Kubica is watching from his Monaco apartment

• 12:55

  Live timing does confirm that the drivers have moved up with no gap for Pérez.

• 12:56

  

  23°C

  Track	42°C
  Humidity	62%
  Wind speed	1.1mps

• 12:57

  The grid is a lot emptier now, just engineers surrounding their cars, and marshals wandering up and down.

• 12:57

  Race Control confirm that DRS is disabled for the start of the race.

• 12:58

  Comment from Alex Andronov: Lewis can start on any tyre he likes because his time was deleted

• 12:58

  The poll is closed and 88% believe it is a dead cert there will be a safety car at some point today.

• 13:00

  Tweet from @OfficialLRGP: So, it's all to do for us today. Vitaly starts from 10th on the grid, Nick from 15th. Overtaking's notoriously difficult here...

• 13:00

  The grid clears and the formation lap is underway. All the cars get away safely.

• 13:01

  All of the top ten starting on supersoft tyres, except for Lewis Hamilton who's going for the softs.

• 13:02

  Team radio from Button: "The steering is really heavy for some reason, I don't know why."

• 13:03

  The cars are lined up on the grid.

• 13:03

  Race started.

• 13:03 Lap 1

  Clean start from all, Alonso had a great start up to third, Rosberg also a great start, up to fifth.

• 13:03 Lap 1

  Vettel sprinted away from the grid, Alonso is chasing Button for second.

• 13:03 Lap 1

  Michael Schumacher dropped to tenth, but passes Hamilton at the hairpin!

• 13:04 Lap 2

  Team radio from Hamilton: "I've been hit by Schumacher, I have a flat right rear tyre."

• 13:04 Lap 2

  They said they'd look into it, but he's still going at the moment.

• 13:05 Lap 2

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver
  1	0	Sebastian Vettel
  2	0	Jenson Button
  3	1	Fernando Alonso
  4	-1	Mark Webber
  5	2	Nico Rosberg

• 13:06 Lap 2

  Vettel continues to fly away at the front, he's already round the next corner as Button gets to the hairpin.

• 13:06 Lap 3

  Race Control confirm DRS is now enabled.

• 13:07 Lap 4

  TedNews: Everything is fine with Hamilton's tyres - no puncture. But he's already 12 seconds behind the lead, that's going to be crucial.

• 13:07 Lap 4

  Replays of the start show Schumacher got away so slowly that Rosberg just nipped round him to move forward.

• 13:08 Lap 4

  The contact between Hamilton and Schumacher happened at the first corner - it looks like Schumacher's front wing is damaged.

• 13:09 Lap 5

  Further down the order, Kovalainen dropped backwards to 19th, with teammate Trulli and Alguersuari ahead of him.

• 13:09 Lap 5

  For Renault, Petrov is up to eighth, having started tenth, whilst Heidfeld is down in 15th.

• 13:10 Lap 6

  Already a sizeable gap for Vettel.

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	VET	1:19.537
  2nd	BUT	+4.6
  3rd	ALO	+6.2
  4th	WEB	+7.7

• 13:11 Lap 7

  More replays of the Hamilton/Schumacher incidents show that it was likely the rear wing of the McLaren rather than the front wing of the Mercedes with damage.

• 13:13 Lap 8

  One to Watch

  Heidfeld	vs.	Buemi
  15th	+0.4s	16th

• 13:13 Lap 8

  Hamilton is closing up behind Schumacher, and desperately looking for a way past.

• 13:14 Lap 9

  Even through the DRS zone, it seems impossible for the McLaren to get past.

• 13:14 Lap 9

  Team radio from Schumacher: "My rear tyres grained."

• 13:16 Lap 10

  Hamilton makes the pass and is freed to chase down Petrov.

• 13:16 Lap 11

  Going down the main straight, Lewis had the DRS enabled, and had enough momentum to get past. Schumacher gave him enough room, although they were close to touching wheels.

• 13:17 Lap 11

  Recent Lap Times

  J Button
  Lap 2	1:21.034
  Lap 3	1:20.329
  Lap 4	1:20.113
  Lap 5	1:19.854
  Lap 6	1:19.719
  Lap 7	1:19.580
  Lap 8	1:19.543
  Lap 9	1:19.403
  Lap 10	1:19.630

• 13:18 Lap 12

  Button's times were getting faster and faster, but for the first time since the start, he lost a bit of pace on lap 10.

• 13:19 Lap 12

  Rubens Barrichello has also passed Michael Schumacher, and now there's a Force India closing up to the Force India.

• 13:19 Lap 13

  Barrichello made the pass ahead of the hairpin, with the slow corner stopping any kind of return from Schumacher.

• 13:19 Lap 13

  Schumacher has dived into the pitlane - the first stop of the day.

• 13:20 Lap 14

  He's taking on a new front wing, and another set of supersoft tyres. The Mercedes mechanics seemed a little surprised at the early stop.

• 13:20 Lap 14

  One to Watch

  Rosberg	vs.	Massa
  5th	+0.1s	6th

• 13:21 Lap 14

  It looks like Massa made contact with Rosberg, and a piece of bodywork - endplate of the front wing - flew off.

• 13:21 Lap 14

  Yellow flags.

• 13:22 Lap 15

  Massa makes the pass on Rosberg, and as the Mercedes goes defensive, Maldonado gets through as well.

• 13:23 Lap 16

  Jenson Button pits from second place, another set of supersoft tyres for the McLaren.

• 13:23 Lap 16

  Track is clear.

• 13:24 Lap 16

  I'm assuming those yellows were for collecting debris, as there was no incident to be seen.

• 13:24 Lap 16

  Nico Rosberg pits for his first stop.

• 13:24 Lap 17

  Sebastian Vettel pits from the lead, it's a massively slow stop for Red Bull. He's bolted on soft tyres.

• 13:25 Lap 17

  Mark Webber follows his teammate into the pits - his is also a relatively slow stop. Were the mechanics confused about which car they were looking at?

• 13:26 Lap 17

  Fernando Alonso pits from the lead of the race.

• 13:26 Lap 18

  That gives Jenson Button the genuine lead of the race, Alonso returns to the track behind Vettel.

• 13:27 Lap 18

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	J Button
  Team	McLaren
  Pit lane	25.280s
  Stopped	4.0s

• 13:27 Lap 19

  Button's stopped time was 4 seconds dead, whilst Vettel's was 6.9. A crucial three second advantage for the McLaren.

• 13:29 Lap 20

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	1	Jenson Button	1
  2	-1	Sebastian Vettel	1
  3	1	Fernando Alonso	1
  4	2	Felipe Massa
  5	3	Pastor Maldonado

• 13:30 Lap 21

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	M Webber
  Team	Red Bull
  Pit lane	37.735s
  Stopped	15.5s

• 13:30 Lap 21

  Whilst the bungled pit stops ruined Vettel's lead, they screwed Webber more. 15 seconds stopped has left him down in 13th position.

• 13:31 Lap 21

  It seems Red Bull reacted to Button's stop, bringing Vettel in early, when Webber was due to come in anyway.

• 13:31 Lap 22

  Lewis Hamilton, down in 7th, is chasing Petrov for 6th place - neither having stopped yet.

• 13:32 Lap 22

  Button is stretching out a lead for himself, almost 10 seconds up on Vettel already.

• 13:33 Lap 23

  Lewis Hamilton pits, but the McLaren mechanics weren't ready for him and scramble with his tyres.

• 13:34 Lap 23

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	L Hamilton
  Team	McLaren
  Pit lane	31.445s
  Stopped	9.7s

• 13:34 Lap 23

  Meanwhile, replays show Timo Glock missing the chicane, and behind Michael Schumacher slowing to avoid the Virgin, with teammate Rosberg narrowly missing colliding with the other Mercedes.

• 13:34 Lap 24

  Glock has since pitted for new tyres.

• 13:36 Lap 25

  Tyre Stint Comparison

  Driver	Compound	Laps
  Schumacher	Super soft	14
  Button	Super soft	16
  Vettel	Super soft	16
  Alonso	Super soft	16

• 13:37 Lap 26

  Paul di Resta makes a late dive into the hairpin to pass Alguersuari, and the pair collide, bits of Force India scattering the track.

• 13:38 Lap 27

  He makes the place stick though, meaning:

  Inter-Team Battle

  Toro Rosso
  Sébastien Buemi	10th
  Jaime Alguersuari	16th

• 13:38 Lap 27

  Tweet from @HispaniaRacing: After 25 laps, both our drivers are still in the race and are yet to come in for a pitstop #F1 #HispaniaRacing

• 13:38 Lap 27

  Race Control: Incident involving Di Resta and Alguersuari under investigation by the stewards.

• 13:39 Lap 27

  Felipe Massa has pitted for the first time, as has Karthikeyan (disregard that last tweet!)

• 13:39 Lap 28

  Race Control: Paul di Resta gets a drive through penalty for an avoidable accident.

• 13:40 Lap 28

  Button has the entire length of the start/finish straight to himself.

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	BUT	1:19.429
  2nd	VET	+14.9
  3rd	ALO	+17.5

• 13:40 Lap 29

  Paul di Resta pits for his drive through - getting it out the way as quick as possible.

• 13:41 Lap 30

  Vitaly Petrov pits, releasing both Massa and Hamilton - Lewis chasing the Ferrari for 10th place.

• 13:42 Lap 30

  Thirty laps complete, no safety car yet.

• 13:42 Lap 30

  One to Watch

  Massa	vs.	Hamilton
  10th	+0.2s	11th

• 13:43 Lap 31

  Michael Schumacher passes teammate Nico Rosberg again at the hairpin, a carbon copy of his overtaking move earlier.

• 13:43 Lap 31

  Jaime Alguersuari pits towards the back of the field.

• 13:44 Lap 32

  There's a massive chain behind Buemi in 8th, Webber follows then Massa and Hamilton - all less than half a second from each other.

• 13:45 Lap 32

  Buemi still has to stop, so when he pits for the first time, it should release them.

• 13:45 Lap 32

  Tweet from @autosportlive: Kobayashi, Sutil, Heidfeld and Buemi are all looking at a one-stop plan and are yet to visit the pits.

• 13:45 Lap 33

  Barrichello also may be favouring the one stop strategy.

• 13:46 Lap 33

  Tweet from @Chrislee12: @factbytefactbox #buemibus?

• 13:46 Lap 33

  Sebastian Vettel is starting to overturn Button's lead.

• 13:46 Lap 33

  Yellow flags.

• 13:47 Lap 33

  Timo Glock has pulled the Virgin car off to the side of the track in the vicinity of the swimming pool.

• 13:47 Lap 33

  Button pits, as does Barrichello.

• 13:47 Lap 34

  It's more supersoft tyres for Button - he still has the soft compound to use.

• 13:48 Lap 34

  No safety car for the stricken Virgin Racing car, it's offline and Glock climbs from the car safely.

• 13:48 Lap 34

  Lewis Hamilton tries to do a Schumacher at the hairpin, but crashes into the side of Felipe Massa. There's bodywork from one of the cars.

• 13:48 Lap 34

  Safety car deployed.

• 13:48 Lap 34

  SAFETY CAR!!!

• 13:49 Lap 35

  Felipe Massa has stopped on track, his wheels hanging off, and he climbs from the car as the mechanics go to work.

• 13:49 Lap 35

  Schumacher has also stopped on track.

• 13:49 Lap 35

  Schumacher has stopped at Rascasse. I'm saying nothing.

• 13:49 Lap 35

  The car is steaming, but the marshals are pushing him into the pitlane out of the way.

• 13:50 Lap 35

  Replays show Schumacher just came to a halt after rounding the Rascasse corner, Fernando Alonso narrowly avoiding him to dive into the pitlane.

• 13:50 Lap 35

  More replays show that Massa and Hamilton were side by side through the tunnel, Massa got onto the marbles and ended up in the barrier.

• 13:50 Lap 35

  No wonder there's a safety car!

• 13:52 Lap 36

  Team radio to and from Hamilton: "Lewis, do you think your front wing is damage?"

  "I think it's okay. I went on the inside and he turned in on me. That was on purpose."

• 13:52 Lap 36

  I mean, he's entitled to his opinion, but he was going around the inside at the hairpin. It's a tricky move to justify.

• 13:53 Lap 37

  Tweet from @InsideFerrari: Felipe was heavily attacked by Hamilton who damaged his car and then he crashed

• 13:53 Lap 37

  Always two sides to every story.

• 13:53 Lap 37

  TedNews: Button's stop may have cost him the race, as Vettel has used all the compounds he needs to and JB has not.

• 13:54 Lap 37

  Interview with Timo Glock: "I just came into the chicane in the harbour and drove over the normal line over the kerb and suddenly the rear suspension collapsed and that was it."

• 13:54 Lap 37

  It's dark in there but you can see there's carnage happening.

• 13:55 Lap 38

  The aftermath, a Ferrari with serious broken suspension.

• 13:55 Lap 38

  Vettel is leading behind the Safety car, with three lapped cars - Heidfeld, Buemi and Barrichello - between he and second place Button.

• 13:56 Lap 38

  Race Control: Safety Car in this lap.

• 13:56 Lap 38

  Track is clear.

• 13:56 Lap 39

  Race Control: DRS disabled for the restart.

• 13:57 Lap 39

  Button gets slightly held up trying to pass Barrichello, blue flags have the desired effect.

• 13:59 Lap 40

  Race Control: Incident involving Hamilton and Massa under investigation by the stewards.

• 13:59 Lap 40

  Race Control: DRS enabled.

• 13:59 Lap 40

  The stewards, including Allan McNish, are doing a snappy job today, compared to yesterday's slow penalty handouts.

• 14:01 Lap 42

  Comment from Alex Andronov: Looks like the FBFB needs a Race Control Icon :)

• 14:01 Lap 42

  Vettel, Button and Alonso have all passed the backmarkers now and have a nice clear circuit ahead of them.

• 14:02 Lap 43

  Button has reduced Vettel's lead, and is now just half a second behind the Red Bull.

• 14:03 Lap 43

  Race Control: Drive through penalty for Hamilton for causing a collision.

• 14:04 Lap 44

  Button needs to make the best of this stint, as he still needs to put on the soft compound - the lesser of the two.

• 14:04 Lap 45

  Hamilton stops to take his drive through penalty.

• 14:05 Lap 45

  The top three, Vettel, Button, Alonso, have a massive gap ahead of third place Sutil - 17 seconds to third place.

• 14:05 Lap 45

  Team radio to Hamilton: "You are P9, you have lost two positions."

• 14:06 Lap 46

  Yellow flags.

• 14:06 Lap 46

  Track is clear. Not sure what that was for.

• 14:07 Lap 47

  Replays show Paul di Resta hit the back of D'Ambrosio at the hairpin - a bit of bodywork flapping off the Force India.

• 14:08 Lap 47

  Team radio to Button: "It looks like Vettel's going to stay out a few more laps. If we want to win this race, I'm afraid we're going to have to overtake him on track."

• 14:08 Lap 47

  Driver Analysis

  Driver	K Kobayashi
  Team	Sauber F1
  Position	7
  Started	13
  Stops	1
  Last lap	1:21.562
  Best lap	1:21.172

• 14:09 Lap 48

  Jarno Trulli pits from 14th place.

• 14:09 Lap 48

  Everyone behind Lewis Hamilton in 9th has been lapped.

• 14:10 Lap 49

  Jenson Button pits from second place, the mechanics have his soft tyres ready for him. Good stop from McLaren.

• 14:12 Lap 50

  Lewis Hamilton pits from 9th place.

• 14:12 Lap 50

  Comment from Lukeh: Maldonado is still doing a fab job in the points, well done him :)

• 14:13 Lap 51

  Tyre Stint Comparison

  Driver	Compound	Laps
  Button	Super soft	16
  Button	Super soft	17
  Button	Super soft	15

• 14:14 Lap 52

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	0	S Vettel	1
  2	2	F Alonso	2
  3	-1	J Button	3
  4	11	A Sutil	1
  5	8	K Kobayashi	1
  6	-3	M Webber	1
  7	1	P Maldonado	1
  8	3	V Petrov	1
  9	0	L Hamilton	3
  10	6	N Heidfeld	1

• 14:16 Lap 53

  Sebastian Vettel still has not stopped yet, which seems slightly odd. If he's not stopping again, that's a massive distance on these tyres.

• 14:17 Lap 54

  Jenson Button is able to get to the finish of the race, not sure about Alonso, but if Vettel stops again, he's likely to come out behind both of these.

• 14:17 Lap 54

  Sebastian Vettel stopped on lap 16, if he is one-stopping, that's 38 laps on his current set of tyres.

• 14:18 Lap 55

  Heikki Kovalainen pits from 18th place.

• 14:18 Lap 55

  David Coulthard, on the BBC commentary, says if they pit Vettel now, he'll finish third. If they don't, he may be able to keep the lead by dint of track position - regardless of what his tyres do.

• 14:19 Lap 55

  Rosberg and Maldonado both stop, Pastor from 8th place.

• 14:19 Lap 56

  Tweet from @EliGP: Once again, I'm sad to report that the only thing I'm sure about at this point is that Heidfeld will not win

• 14:20 Lap 56

  Mark Webber pits from 6th place - a tough race for the Australian. At least this pit stop is a bit quicker - 4.9 seconds.

• 14:21 Lap 57

  Top Speeds

  Sector 1	J Button	204kph
  Sector 2	J Button	190kph
  Sector 3	P Di Resta	268kph
  Speed trap	L Hamilton	286kph

• 14:22 Lap 57

  Team radio between Button and pitwall: "Is he going to stay out?"

  "We're honestly not sure, he may try. We're a lot quicker than him, we can still get him."

• 14:22 Lap 58

  TedNews: "The fight for fourth and fifth, neither Sutil nor Kobayashi need to stop again. They both started on the soft, they're now running the supersoft. They're involved in a massive battle, they're racing together very hard. If it finishes like this, they'll secure fourth and fifth."

• 14:23 Lap 58

  Jaime Alguersuari pits from 13th place.

• 14:23 Lap 59

  One to Watch

  Vettel	vs.	Alonso
  1st	+0.4s	2nd

• 14:25 Lap 60

  Recent Lap Times

  S Vettel
  Lap 50	1:19.314
  Lap 51	1:19.471
  Lap 52	1:19.399
  Lap 53	1:19.587
  Lap 54	1:19.827
  Lap 55	1:19.508
  Lap 56	1:19.963
  Lap 57	1:19.345
  Lap 58	1:19.218
  Lap 59	1:19.071

• 14:25 Lap 60

  Sebastian Vettel is picking up the pace again.

• 14:27 Lap 62

  A moment of calm finally, as Alonso continues to chase Vettel at the front.

• 14:28 Lap 62

  The gap between the top three and the rest is massive, over half a minute now. And still only the top nine are on the lead lap.

• 14:29 Lap 63

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	VET	1:19.627
  2nd	ALO	+0.3
  3rd	BUT	+0.7

• 14:29 Lap 63

  The three are catching up to Paul di Resta - the next backmarker to clear. He moves out the way nicely.

• 14:30 Lap 64

  Sébastien Buemi pits from 11th place.

• 14:31 Lap 65

  The Red Bull has great traction out of the corners, each time they round the first corner, Vettel disappears into the distance.

• 14:31 Lap 65

  However, his tyres are running out, and there are still 13 laps to go.

• 14:33 Lap 66

  Retirements

  Driver	Reason	Lap
  Timo Glock	Suspension	33
  Felipe Massa	Accident	34
  M Schumacher	Stopped on track	34

• 14:34 Lap 66

  Replays show Sutil and Kobayashi made a bit of contact, and Kobayashi has passed the Force India.

• 14:34 Lap 67

  Championship Prediction

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Vettel	143
  2	Hamilton	79
  3	Button	76
  4	Webber	73
  5	Alonso	69

• 14:35 Lap 68

  Mark Webber has passed Adrian Sutil for fifth place - the Force India losing positions rapidly.

• 14:36 Lap 68

  Ten laps to go and three cars fighting for the lead.

• 14:36 Lap 68

  Fernando Alonso misses the chicane, he won't get a penalty for it, but it drops the Ferrari back from Vettel, towards Button.

• 14:36 Lap 69

  Tweet from @JRobertsF1: TENSE!

• 14:37 Lap 69

  TedNews: McLaren say - In about two or three laps time, we think Vettel will hit the cliff and then he will be two to three seconds per lap slower than he is now.

• 14:37 Lap 69

  Safety car deployed.

• 14:38 Lap 70

  I don't know how to describe what just happened. The three made their way through a lot of backmarkers and it ended in carnage. Let's see...

• 14:38 Lap 70

  Maldonado passed Sutil.

• 14:38 Lap 70

  That sent Sutil offline and into the barrier, he lost the right rear, and went slowly.

• 14:39 Lap 70

  Alguersuari jumped the kerb to avoid a slow Lewis Hamilton. He caught Petrov which sent them both into the wall. They are both out of the race.

• 14:39 Lap 70

  Button was lucky to avoid the rebounding Alguersuari. The top three all got through okay, though.

• 14:40 Lap 70

  Ooh, missed a bit. To clarify, Hamilton was going slow because Sutil was going slow. Also, Alguersuari just narrowly missed the back of the McLaren in his kerb-jumping.

• 14:41 Lap 71

  Replays show the broken rear wing of Alguersuari did hit the back of Hamilton, but Lewis is still going at the moment.

• 14:41 Lap 71

  That has definitely ruined the tense race at the front.

• 14:42 Lap 72

  Team radio from Button: "I can't get close to Alonso because he can use DRS."

• 14:42 Lap 72

  There's an ambulance on track, although it's not clear who for.

• 14:43 Lap 72

  Race over?

• 14:44

  It looks like Petrov is the one in need of the ambulance and that will be the reason for the red flag.

• 14:44

  Lewis Hamilton is circulating with a broken rear wing.

• 14:45

  The race may not be over. All the mechanics are running to the grid for the cars to line up in case of a restart.

• 14:46

  Tweet from @OfficialLRGP: Petrov hits barrier, safety car out, Nick changes to new set of supersofts, Vitaly is talking in the car."

• 14:47

  Race Control: Race will be resumed when track is clear.

• 14:47

  On the grid, Button sprays something into his eyes - all that concentration must be a strain on the eyeballs.

• 14:48

  TedNews: They're going to try and fix Hamilton's rear wing on the grid, they've got spanners out and everything.

• 14:49

  Ted reports that Petrov may have been knocked unconscious briefly. He's being extracted from the car now.

• 14:50

  Fixing Lewis' rear wing. It doesn't look safe!

• 14:50

  The marshals are pushing the Renault off track now. Petrov is loaded into the ambulance.

• 14:51

  Tweet from OfficialLRGP: Vitaly is talking to us, reporting pain, not getting out of car without medical assistance

• 14:51

  Tweet from @MyTeamLotus: The boys are working hard to get everything back onto the grid. It looks like the race will be resumed

• 14:53

  The marshals are sweeping the track clear and the ambulance is about to head off.

• 14:54

  Race Control: Race will restart at 16:04 local time.

• 14:54

  The ambulance moves away, as McLaren mechanics are running a new front wing to the grid.

• 14:55

  Eric Boullier: "He is okay, he is just complaining about leg injuries, which apparently the doctors told me it's not fractured or anything, just bruising. Because it's a leg injury it takes time to extract him from the car, and now he's going for observation."

• 15:00

  Tweet from @clubforce: Adrian will be in P8 for the restart and Paul in P13. Race will restart behind the safety car

• 15:01

  Three minutes until the restart. Drivers getting their concentration faces on again.

• 15:02

  Tweet from @autosportlive: A fresh rear wing is now in place on Hamilton's car, with the work supervised by FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer.

• 15:04

  Track is clear.

• 15:04 Lap 73

  The Safety Car leads them away for one lap.

• 15:05 Lap 73

  Teams have been allowed to change tyres, so Vettel's problems are solved. It's all about who can keep it clean for the final five laps.

• 15:06 Lap 73

  The Safety Car pulls in as Vettel drops back to build himself a gap for speeding up.

• 15:06 Lap 74

  He leads them away, with Alonso close behind. Button didn't get a great restart.

• 15:06 Lap 74

  Yellow flags.

• 15:07 Lap 74

  Lewis Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado come together, with the Williams crashing off into the barriers.

• 15:07 Lap 75

  It looked like another aggressive overtaking move from Hamilton that went wrong.

• 15:08 Lap 75

  Race Control: Incident involving Hamilton and Maldonado under investigation by the stewards.

• 15:09 Lap 76

  Three laps to go, Vettel has 0.9 seconds on Alonso.

• 15:09 Lap 76

  Further back, Mark Webber is chasing Kobayashi for 4th place. Lewis Hamilton is behind them, keen to get past as well.

• 15:10 Lap 76

  Race Control: DRS enabled.

  I'd forgotten it had been disabled.

• 15:10 Lap 77

  Two laps to go, Alonso isn't making any headway.

• 15:11 Lap 78

  Kobayashi misses the chicane, as Webber makes it, so the Sauber has to give the position to Webber. Red Bull now looking at a 1-4 finish.

• 15:11 Lap 78

  The final lap.

• 15:12 Lap 78

  Sebastian Vettel wins the Monaco Grand Prix!

• 15:13

  Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button will join the German on the podium.

• 15:14

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	0	S Vettel	1
  2	2	F Alonso	2
  3	-1	J Button	3
  4	-1	M Webber	2
  5	8	K Kobayashi	1
  6	3	L Hamilton	3
  7	8	A Sutil	2
  8	8	N Heidfeld	2
  9	3	R Barrichello	2
  10	7	S Buemi	2

• 15:15

  Race Winner

  Driver	Sebastian Vettel
  Team	Red Bull
  Race time	2:09:38.373
  Race distance	260.520km
  Average speed	120.574km/h

• 15:15

  2011 Race Wins

  Pos	Driver	Total
  1	Sebastian Vettel	5
  2	Lewis Hamilton	1

• 15:16

  It's a career best finish for Kobayashi, picking up a handful of points for Sauber in 5th place.

• 15:16

  Team radio to Button: "We went for first, which was the most important thing. Great job."

• 15:20

  The drivers have their trophies and are standing to attention for the National Anthems.

• 15:20

  Tweet from @antdavidson: Wow what a race. Big confusion there at the end with red flag. Shame they're allowed to work on the cars. Ruined a great scrap to the end.

• 15:23

  The Monaco podium.

• 15:24

  Vettel sprays champagne... right into the face of the nearby guard chap, who didn't even flinch.

• 15:27

  Tweet from @OfficialLRGP: Update on Vitaly - Conscious. Talks. Complains about leg pain but no fracture. Goes to hospital. #F1

• 15:28

  Mark Webber: "We didn't really go long enough on the first stint, that's pretty normal with me on those tyres. That compromised me, when I arrived at the pits they didn't have any tyres out. There was obviously a communication problem. They called me in, so when you wait around here, you lose track position, you have to wait behind people for the majority of the race. Not bad to get fourth from there."

• 15:29

  Fastest Laps

  Driver	Lap	Time
  Mark Webber	78	1:16.234
  Sebastian Vettel	78	1:16.267
  Fernando Alonso	77	1:16.471
  Fernando Alonso	76	1:16.931

• 15:31

  Apologies for the crush, but even in just a few laps to the finish, the front three pulled out a sizeable gap.

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	VET	1:16.267
  2nd	ALO	+1.1
  3rd	BUT	+2.3
  4th	WEB	+23.1
  5th	KOB	+26.9

• 15:35

  The Monaco Grand Prix is over then, extended by a red flag period, but now complete. Sebastian Vettel adds the principality to his list of winning venues.

• 15:35

  The change of tyres and the subsequent restart took away all of the tension at the end of the race, but until then it had been excellent.

• 15:35

  Scrappy racing from those you expect to be better, and stylish moves from those who have yet to show class this year.

• 15:37

  Great finish for Kobayashi, and for Barrichello, who finally gets some points on the board for Williams.

• 15:37

  Hoping that Petrov is okay, although it all seems more precautionary than anything else.

• 15:38

  The stewards are still investigating some of the incidents that occurred in those last ten laps, so keep your eyes on https://sidepodcast.com for any updates.

• 15:38

  The next race is in Canada, two weeks from now. How will the new regulations fare around the circuit in Montreal?

• 15:39

  I hope you'll join me back here for all the action from Canada. Have a fab fortnight, fact fans.