AFP IS NOW CLOSING THIS LIVE REPORT of the Monaco Grand Prix, where Mark Webber was victorious for the second time in three years in his Red Bull ahead of Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who seizes the championship lead.
1400 GMT: We also should not forget the job done by Ferrari today, as two-time world champion Fernando Alonso comes in third to go to the top of the drivers' standings. These are the updated drivers' standings: 1. Fernando Alonso 76 points, 2. Sebastian Vettel 73, 3. Mark Webber 73, 4. Lewis Hamilton 63, 5. Nico Rosberg 59, 6. Kimi Raikkonen 51, 7. Jenson Button 45.
1357 GMT: And lest we forget that, with Sebastian Vettel winning here last year, Red Bull have now won in Monaco in each of the last three years!
1355 GMT: Red Bull team chief Christian Horner tells the BBC: "Mark was fantastic today. His strategy paid off. His tyres were worn but he gave it everything. He owes the pit guys a lot today. Monaco in the rain is a tricky place. When you're the leader it is the hardest thing because the guys behind get to judge." That may be true but of course with Webber's win the pole-sitter has now won 8 of the last 11 Monaco Grands Prixs.
1353 GMT: These are the final standings from the 70th Monaco Grand Prix: 1. Webber, 2. Rosberg, 3. Alonso, 4. Vettel, 5. Hamilton, 6. Massa, 7. Di Resta, 8. Hulkenberg, 9. Raikkonen, 10. Senna, 11. Perez, 12. Vergne, 13. Kovalainen, 14. Glock, 15. Karthikeyan.
1350 GMT: Webber wins here for the second time in three years and becomes the sixth different man to win in six races this season - that has never happened before. "It wasn't particularly straightforward but we'll take it," says Webber on team radio.
MARK WEBBER WINS THE MONACO GRAND PRIX!
Lap 78/78: Into the final lap it's Webber around 0.6sec ahead of Rosberg. Alonso is third, Vettel fourth, Hamilton fifth...
Lap 77/78: No changes to the front six as the race heads towards its climax. Webber looks on course to win here for the second time in three years.
Lap 75/78: Further down the field there is a terrific scrap going on between Heikki Kovalainen and Sergio Perez for 12th place. Jenson Button is out of the race after hitting Kovalainen. A miserable day for the McLaren man. Meanwhile Jean-Eric Vergne's gamble to to go into the pits and change tyres in the hope that more rain would come appears to have backfired badly. He has disappeared down the field.
Lap 72/78: It is INCREDIBLY tight at the front. Webber continues to lead. How will the leading pack's tyres cope in the remaining laps?
Lap 69/78: Webber continues to lead from Rosberg and Alonso. Down the field, Kimi Raikkonen is now in the points in 10th place. The conditions on the track are deteriorating in the rain.
Lap 66/78: Michael Schumacher has stepped out his car. The fastest man on Saturday has become the sixth man to pull out of the race. Ayrton Senna's record of six wins in Monaco remains intact.
Lap 65/78: It is beginning to rain now as Rosberg closes to under a second of Webber. Schumacher is really struggling and is into the pits. This could be the end of his race...
Lap 63/78: Michael Schumacher has technical problems - of which his team have said they are aware - and has been overtaken by the Toro Rosso-Ferrari of Jean-Eric Vergne. Schumie is now back down to 8th place. The 43-year-old could be about to make a pit stop here.
Lap 62/78: Webber is maintaining a lead of around 1.3sec from Rosberg, whose father Keke Rosberg won the Monaco Grand Prix in 1983.
1323 GMT: Mark Webber remains on course to win his first Grand Prix of the season. Remember five different drivers have won the five races so far. Jenson Button triumphed in Australia, Fernando Alonso was victorious in Malaysia, Nico Rosberg won in China, Sebastian Vettel took the chequered flag in Bahrain and then Maldonado recorded that famous wn in Spain two weeks ago.
1320 GMT: Massa was 0.6 sec behind Hamilton at the last checkpoint by the way. There are still 19 cars running, while five have gone.
Lap 57/78: Lewis Hamilton has just been told by his team radio that Felipe Massa is 'looking after his tyres to the end of the race and is planning to attack'
Lap 55/78: Webber's lead from Nico Rosberg is 1.6 seconds. Meanwhile, the yellow flag was just up at Turn 14 due to debris on the track.
1315 GMT: This is the situation in the 52nd lap: 1. Webber, 2. Rosberg, 3. Alonso, 4. Vettel, 5. Hamilton, 6. Massa, 7. Schumacher, 8. Vergne, 9. Di Resta, 10. Hulkenberg, 11. Raikkonen, 12. Senna, 13. Kovalainen, 14. Button, 15. Ricciardo, 16. Glock, 17. Perez, 18. Pic, 19. Karthikeyan
Lap 50/78: Sergio Perez is again the fastest man on track. He has just gone round in 1min 17.2sec. That is a good couple of seconds quicker than the leading drivers, but the Mexican is way down in 17th.
Lap 48/78: The expected rain has not arrived, save for a few minor spots. Kimi Raikkonen has just been told on his team radio that no rain is likely to come between now and the end of the race. Who will look after their tyres best in the remaining 29 laps. Only five seconds cover the leading five cars. It's incredibly tight.
Lap 47/78: Vettel has just been in the pits and came out JUST in front of Lewis Hamilton. Webber leads from Rosberg and Alonso. Vettel is now fourth ahead of Hamilton, but that is still not bad at all for someone who started from ninth on the grid. The mark of a champion, and of a team strategy that is working nicely...
Lap 46/78: Meanwhile, Vitaly Petrov (RUS/Caterham-Renault) has dropped out of the race. Sergio Perez (MEX/Sauber-Ferrari) has served a drive-through penalty for impeding Heikki Kovalainen at his entry to the pits.
Lap 43/78: Welcome back. We have had one or two technical issues so thanks for your patience. Sebastian Vettel is 17.2 seconds clear of Red Bull teammate Mark Webber and looking good at the moment.
Lap 31/78: Ferrari's Fernando Alonso has now come in for his first stop of the race. Lewis Hamilton has the lead now
Lap 29/78: As we wait for the rain to come, Webber and his fellow Red Bull Sebastian Vettel make their first pit stop. They all have slick tyres on but if the rain comes strategies could well change...
Lap 27/78: Rosberg has closed to within 1.5 seconds of Webber in front. And now the German goes into the pits for his first stop of the day, allowing Lewis Hamilton to take second place!
1237 GMT: This is what Kamui Kobayashi, whose Sauber crashed out early on, told BBC television a moment or two ago: "The problem was the suspension. I didn't expect it to happen like that (going over the kerb). Its disappointing."
Lap 22/78: Still no pit stops for the leading drivers. The tyres are hanging on well. Rosberg is almost 2.3 seconds down on leader Webber
1227 GMT: AFP's Daniel Ortelli at the track has confirmed for us that the drivers who cut the opening Sainte Devote corner to avoid the spinning Grosjean will not face any punishment
Lap 17/78: These are the leading race positions: 1. Webber, 2. Rosberg, 3. Hamilton, 4. Alonso, 5. Massa, 6. Vettel, 7. Raikkonen, 8. Schumacher, 9. Hulkenberg, 10. Senna, 11. Di Resta
Lap 15/78: Sergio Perez has just set the fastest lap of the race so far in his Sauber. Meanwhile, Grosjean has just been speaking about his disappointment at seeing his race come to such a premature end: "I'm very disappointed obviously. I just was caught blind coming into the corner and got hit from behind," he said.
Lap 13/78: Mark Webber is controlling this race at the moment, but we can expect the first pit stops anytime now. Meanwhile, the weathermen are telling us that rain could appear in the next little while. That will have an impact on tyre strategy of course.
Lap 11/78: Schumacher - five teams a winner here in Monaco - is still in 8th position. The only man to win here six times is a certain Ayrton Senna. The legendary Brazilian's nephew Bruno is racing here for Williams-Renault today and is tenth just now.
Lap 8/78: Meanwhile, out on the track, Webber is holding his position nicely. Grosjean - strongly fancied by some to win here - is out, along with Pedro De La Rosa (ESP/HRT-Cosworth), Kamui Kobayashi (JPN/Sauber-Ferrari) and of course the unfortunate Maldonado (VEN/Williams-Renault)
1211 GMT: The Monaco Grand Prix is undoubtedly the most picturesque, but also one of the toughest in the F1 calendar. Here's a reminder of the circuit thanks to the AFP graphics team:
LAP 4/78: Webber still leads and is trying to stretch his advantage over Nico Rosberg in second. Schumacher has slipped down to 8th.
LAP 2/78: Webber came through all that unscathed and holds on to first place. Jenson Button, who started from the sixth row, may just have been touched by Grosjean at the first turn and has lost time. Not a good start for the 2009 world champion...
LAP 1/78: A crazy start. Romain Grosjean went spinning right at the first turn. Pastor Maldonado, winner in Barcelona two weeks ago, is out already. The safety car is on track...
1202 GMT: And it's GO GO GO! We're off in the 70th Monaco Grand Prix...
1201 GMT: The cars are on their warm-up lap. We're nearly ready to go here...
1152 GMT: This race always attracts a host of celebrities from around the world. The German national football team are here today - they are preparing for Euro 2012 in the south of France but are having a day off today after losing 5-3 to Switzerland in a friendly last night.
1149 GMT: The man on pole position has a bigger advantage than usual in Monaco. Seven of the last ten Monaco Grands Prixs have been won by the driver that started the race on pole. The man in that position today is Mark Webber - the Aussie is looking to repeat his victory here in 2010.
1144 GMT: The top ten grid positions are: Front row: Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull-Renault), Nico Rosberg (GER/Mercedes-AMG); 2nd row: Lewis Hamilton (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes), Romain Grosjean (FRA/Lotus-Renault); 3rd row: Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari), Michael Schumacher (GER/Mercedes-AMG); 4th row: Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari), Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Lotus-Renault); 5th row: Sebastian Vettel (GER/Red Bull-Renault), Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Force India-Mercdes)
1140 GMT: Remember coming into this, the sixth race of the season, defending world champion Sebastian Vettel is top of the drivers' standings with 61 points alongside Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. Britain's Lewis Hamilton follows on 53 points, with Kimi Raikkonen (49) and Mark Webber (48) next.
WELCOME TO OUR LIVE REPORT of the Monaco Grand Prix, one of the world's most glamorous sporting events. Australia's Mark Webber starts from pole despite coming in second-fastest in Saturday's qualifying. Michael Schumacher rolled back the years with the quickest time but a five-place grid penalty means he starts from sixth. Schumacher's Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg joins Webber on the front row.
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