McLaren-Mercedes takes the points in Monaco

McLaren-Mercedes took the one-two victory at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, where Fernando Alonso won the race after an intense battle of wills with his team mate Lewis Hamilton.Scuderia Ferrari's Felipe Massa crossed the line in third place, reflecting the starting grid line-up.Saturday morning in Monaco was greeted by unglamorous drops of rain; a wet practice session proceeded by dry weather in the afternoon made for a complicated and uncertain qualifying session, as rain clouds loomed throughout.
It is generally agreed that grid position is everything at Monaco as overtaking opportunities are few and far between.

The race would therefore be a challenge for Ferrari; Lap times were very close between the top three drivers and fractions of second separated Alonso who took pole, followed by Hamilton and Massa.

During the second qualifying window Kimi Räikkönen touched the barrier on exiting the Swimming Pool sector, damaging the car. Unable to take part in the final qualifying session he was allocated 16th position on the grid.

On Sunday the rain had backed off and all three frontrunners held position as they dived into Sainte Devote and streamed up into Casino Square.

Massa maintained a strong pace behind Hamilton and by lap five was only 1.6 seconds adrift. Like the McLarens he also ran a two stop strategy and comfortably held onto his position.

However, whilst both McLarens came through the traffic of back markers relatively unscathed, the Brazilian was held up, losing valuable seconds.