FORMULA ONE MONACO GRAND PRIX:MARK WEBBER grabbed his second victory in a week with a dominant lights-to-flag victory in Monaco yesterday, with team-mate Sebastian Vettel following him home to give Red Bull Racing total control of both the drivers' and constructors' championships.

Apart from a slightly fluffed start in which he was slow to get away Webber drove a faultless race, guiding his RB6 through four safety car periods to take the full 25 points and vault from fourth in the championship standings after last Sunday’s win in Barcelona to the top of the standings on 78 points, ahead of team-mate Vettel only by virtue of having two race wins.

“It’s the greatest day of my life,” Webber said after winning Formula One’s blue riband event. “To win in Monaco is a dream for any Formula One driver. It’s a very, very special race. To win on the streets here is a real special moment. You know, yesterday I was reminded that Jack Brabham won here in 1959, so it’s been a while for Australians.”

As required on the narrow streets of the principality, Webber had controlled proceedings throughout the weekend, e before delivering a Saturday qualifying lap three tenths quicker than Renault’s Robert Kubica to seal the all-important pole position on a track where overtaking is nigh on impossible.

And having held on to that pre-eminence on the exit of turn one on race day, Webber was left to control his own destiny, managing an always secure gap to those behind, the only uncertainty arising from the interruptions of the safety car.

The first came on the opening lap. With Webber leading and Vettel having snuck past Kubica after the Pole spun his wheels at the start, the field snaked through Löew’s Hairpin and toward the tunnel, the front wing of Nico Hulkenberg’s Williams failed, pitching the German into wall.

For Webber, it was a minor upset. For Fernando Alonso, however, it was the answer to his prayers. The Spaniard had dumped his car into the barriers in Saturday practice, damaging it so much he was forced to sit out qualifying and start the race from pit lane. But when Hulkenberg crashed it gave Alonso a golden opportunity.

Alonso pitted immediately, took on the harder compound tyre and trundled back to the tail of the field. When racing resumed he’d lost no time but would also not need to stop again. All he needed to do was find a way past backmarkers.

The Spaniard was imperious, muscling through the smallest gaps to clamber to a position that would, when the rest of the field made their pit stops, propel him to sixth and the six points that keep him third in the title race.

The first safety car, though, saw the end of Jenson Button’s race, and his championship lead. The defending champion’s mechanics had inadvertently left a bung in the sidepod of his McLaren leading to his car overheating and his engine failing.

The final safety car intervention though had the most impact on the race result. With a handful of laps remaining, Jarno Trulli attempted to pass Karun Chandhok on the inside at Rascasse. The pair tangled and Trulli’s Lotus ended up on top of the Indian driver’s HRT car.

The safety car remained in play until the final lap, peeling off just as the cars rounded Rascasse and headed for the finish line. As Webber took the chequered flag, sixth-placed Alonso slid and was instantly passed by Michael Schumacher, though the German was later found to have contravened safety car regulations and was hit with a 20-second penalty.

Alonso had his sixth place back and Schumacher dropped out of the points.