Rosberg Claims Mercedes' First Season Win

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Nico Rosberg followed in his father’s footsteps to earn victory at the action packed Monaco Grand Prix, ahead of the Red Bull duo of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in a fantastic weekend for German motorsport.

Keke Rosberg claimed victory at the famous circuit in 1983 and Nico’s win this afternoon – after starting from pole position and leading the entire race – lifted the Mercedes man to sixth in the drivers’ championship with Mercedes’ maiden first-place finish.

In the tight street circuit, all the cars got off the grid safely with pole-sitter Rosberg maintaining his lead ahead over team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who was closely followed by Sebastian Vettel.

But the green lights were the calm before a epic storm, as there was a multi-car pile-up at the hairpin, with Giedo van der Garde ramming into the back of Pastor Maldonado, before Adrian Sutil damaged his front wing on the back of Jenson Button’s McLaren.

And that was just the beginning of the drama in Monte Carlo.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa endured a nightmare third practice session yesterday as he hit the wall at Turn One and suffered a carbon copy of the incident this afternoon, as his race came to a spectacular end on lap 30.

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Surprisingly, it was the first time in this season’s six races the safety car has been deployed but Massa’s crash damaged Hamilton’s race, as he found himself behind the Red Bulls of Vettel and Webber, while team-mate Rosberg remained in front.

Maldonado was the next driver to be involved in a serious incident, as the Williams driver careered into the barriers following a collision with Max Chilton, while Jules Bianchi was also caught up in the accident.

The incident, which saw the red flags come out, gave the teams a chance to work on the cars and – more importantly – change tyres as the waited on the grid for the re-start.

When the race got underway again, Fernando Alonso was forced to relinquish a place to Sergio Perez, after unfairly overtaking the McLaren man before Maldonado’s crash.

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But the Spaniard seemed to be in an especially generous mood as he allowed Adrian Sutil past two laps later, with little resistance.

Kimi Raikkonen was on course for his 23rd successive points finish, with the Finn just two short of Michael Schumacher’s record, but his hopes looked to have ended as he shut out Perez on a tight corner and came into contact with the McLaren.

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But in a superb final few laps, the Lotus man fought his way back from 15th to snatch a point ahead of Nico Hulkenberg.

There was less drama at the front of the field, with Rosberg crossing the chequered flag ahead of Vettel and Webber, with Hamilton in fourth.

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