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Brawn GP’s Jenson Button won the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, capturing his fifth victory in six races to extend his Formula One championship lead.
Button finished 7.6 seconds ahead of teammate Rubens Barrichello at the famed street circuit race for his fourth start-to-finish victory of the season.
Button leads with 51 points. Barrichello has 35 after his fourth runner-up finish at Monaco. Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull, who crashed out after 16 laps, is third with 23 points.
Australian team-mate Mark Webber finished fifth on Sunday to rise to fourth in the championship with 19.5.
“We’ve got Monaco, baby,” said Button, whose Monaco victory was the first for a Briton since Jackie Stewart 36 years ago. “I think we’ve proven this weekend that our package has worked and we’re looking very strong for the next couple of races.
“This was a massive win.”
Kimi Raikkonen earned Ferrari its first top-three finish of the season by taking third ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa.
“I’m not happy with the third but for the team it’s still a good result,” Raikkonen said.
Brawn GP became the first team in its inaugural season to win in Monaco since Wolf’s Jody Scheckter accomplished the feat 32 years ago.
Defending F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 Monaco winner, came 12th after starting last on the grid.
Brawn GP leads the constructors’ title with 86 points. Red Bull is next with 42.5 and Toyota has 26.5 after its two drivers finished near the tail of the field.
Button easily held his pole position out of the start and slowly pulled away. The Briton, whose previous best result at Monaco was runner-up five years ago, maintained a double-digit advantage nearly to the end.
“I got off the line clean. It didn’t really change much from there except for some traffic,” Button said. “The last 15 laps were tough because you can easily lose your concentration. You start thinking, ‘If I keep this together I’m going to win in Monaco.’ It’s the worst thing to do. I had to really concentrate.”
Barrichello breezed past the KERS-boosted Ferrari of Raikkonen to sit second after the first turn and eventually finished 5.8 seconds ahead of the Finn at the end.
“It’s not the first time I’ve lost second place. It seems to be very slippery on that side,” Raikkonen said. “It’s not that nice to see because we were faster than Rubens, but there was no chance to pass him.”
Barrichello said a seat-belt problem changed his race.
“I had to start driving differently,” the Brazilian said. “I’m proud of what we achieved today.”
Massa earned 11 points for Ferrari for its best single race total this season in what has been its worst start.
Vettel’s championship hopes were hit by sliding into a corner and damaging his rear suspension, an identical accident to Hamilton’s on Saturday that left the McLaren driver starting at the back of the grid.
Rosberg finished sixth, Renault’s Fernando Alonso was seventh and Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais took the last point in eighth.
Robert Kubica’s disappointing weekend for BMW Sauber ended after 16 laps, one of six drivers to retire. The Pole remains without a point this season.
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