At the halfway stage, the gap between Parente and Vettel was down to six tenths. The Portuguese driver was however able to respond: he grabbed the fastest race lap and stretched his lead again. Hit by a gearbox problem, Vettel made a minor error at the second chicane at Swimming Pool: he lost eight tenths, but caught it up in no time.
Alvaro Barba, who was outside of the points, snatched the fastest race lap. He came into the pits to put on a fresh set of tyres and make sure of holding onto the best time.
With 20 of the 25 laps gone, it was as you were, with the leading three of Parente-Vettel-Piccione separated once again by less than two seconds.
But a twist in the tail then saw Piccione make a costly error as he exited Sainte-Dévote. Salvador Duran thus inherited the final podium spot and Marco Bonanomi moved into the points.
At the front, the scrap for victory was not quite over. Parente and Vettel went into the last two laps with less than five tenths between them. The German, quicker at that point, waited in vain for Parente to make a mistake. But his fading hopes were dashed as the yellow flags came out after Celso Miguez went off at the Swimming Pool.
“I had a good start and I stayed on the inside line to defend my position,” reflected Parente. “The car was under-steering a little on the slow corners, but the grip was good and I was able to run my race without any problems.”
“You have to say that Alvaro had a great race,” conceded Vettel, who remains top in the championship, thanks to his runners-up spot. “We were extremely close in terms of pace, but he didn't make any mistakes despite the pressure I put him under. I had to fight with the car, but that's normal for such a demanding race.”
![Sebastian Vettel - Carlin Motorsport [pic credit: Renault Sport media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/249809.jpg)
