Lewis Hamilton emulated his hero
Ayrton Senna by winning the Monaco Grand Prix in tricky conditions, but had to thank an early brush with the barriers for the break which put him in position to win.
Once in front, not even a late safety car period could prevent the Briton from fulfilling what many believed to be his destiny, although it did provide a moment that helped reshape the look of the world championship.
Despite being out-gunned in qualifying by
Ferrari, Hamilton immediately set about redressing the balance in his quest to show that
McLaren deserved to be pre-race favourites by jumping a slow-starting
Kimi Raikkonen to slot in between the two scarlet cars on the run to Ste Devote.
The first three, and the rest of the field, made it cleanly through, despite rain during the build-up making the track greasy and tyre choice fraught, but the incidents began at the hairpin, with
Fernando Alonso being tapped by
Nico Rosberg. The German thus began a procession of drivers heading for the pits over the opening laps, his
Williams requiring a new wing.
Jenson Button followed suit, having collected
Nick Heidfeld at the Swimming Pool, while
Timo Glock had to complete an entire lap before making his call fourth time around after an error at Antony Noghes.
The leaders were taking full advantage of their clear track, lapping anything up to ten seconds faster than those mired in the seething midfield, but were about to lose one of their number, as Hamilton clanged the barriers on the exit of Tabac.
The Briton had run slightly too deep into the quick left-hander, running wide and clipping the armco with his right rear wheel. The impact was enough to dislodge the tyre from the rim, but not, apparently, sufficient to damage the suspension, and the McLaren made it back to the pits at reasonable speed. The Woking team then made the tactical decision to brim its tanks and send Hamilton back out on another set of standard
Bridgestone wets, despite the conditions worsening.
