Monaco certainly continued the thrills experienced so far in the 2011 Formula One season. From red-flag restarts to strategy changing on the fly, the smallest track on the schedule delivered in a big way.
The rules and gadgets put in place for this season were there to ensure that last season's excitement would continue.
It has, but one driver has managed to spoil the party. Sebastian Vettel became the 32nd driver to win the most prestigious race on the schedule, and in turn continued to tighten his hold on a second title.
Having won all but one race this season, Vettel has given himself a 58-point advantage in the standings, and even if Lewis Hamilton wins the next two events without Vettel scoring a single point, the defending champion would still be the leader.
It's a relatively new phenomenon for an F1 driver to win five of the first six events. Since 1992, it's happened six times. Before that, fans only witnessed it twice in the initial 42 seasons.
The red-flag period undoubtedly aided Vettel as he was able to get fresh rubber and stave off the fast-approaching cars of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button. But good fortune should not take away from an excellent drive by Vettel, as Red Bull team principal Christian Horner noted, "Over the last seven days I would say he has produced the two best drives of his career."
Red Bull has much to beam about. The constructor has now won consecutive events at Monaco, only the second team to do so (McLaren) over the past 16 seasons.
The weekend itself was certainly chaotic, as it sent Sergio Perez to the hospital in qualifying and Vitaly Petrov there during the race.
Both were later released, and Kamui Kobayashi's fifth-place result likely provided a needed boost for the Sauber squad after Perez's accident.
Kobayashi did an excellent job managing his tires, and therefore pitted just once. It was his best career finish, and the fifth straight race in which he earned points.
The man who tops the active list of consecutive races earning points is Fernando Alonso, who has added to his points total in 12 straight races dating back to 2010. Monaco was a track that allowed for Ferrari to compete at a closer level to Red Bull, and Alonso took advantage.
Without a late red-flag period, Alonso may have won, but his second-place finish is certainly a welcome one. It gave Ferrari its 47th podium in Monte Carlo, nearly double the next-closest opponent.
The only other driver with a true shot at the victory was Jenson Button. The 2009 Monaco champion led 16 laps in the middle portion of the race, and it's not a huge surprise that he finished on the podium. As one of the smoothest operators on the grid, Button is among the best at conserving tires. Monte Carlo stressed that immensely this year, and Button capitalized.
It was a tough weekend for the constructor fifth in the standings, Mercedes.
The team failed to collect any points for the second time this year, which already eclipses the total from all of last season. Michael Schumacher started fifth, but was uncompetitive and ultimately retired.
Teammate Nico Rosberg looked primed for a good result early on, but was the third-earliest driver to pit and ultimately had to try and salvage a respectable finish from that point on.
Fans of Hamilton were also left sorely disappointed following Monaco.
He was penalized for cutting a chicane in qualifying, and that was only the beginning. Hamilton finished sixth, but was penalized for collisions with both Felipe Massa and Pastor Maldonado during the race. Since his win at Monaco in 2008, he's yet to return to the podium.
If there's any consolation, it's the fact that Canada is next on the calendar.
Tire wear was an enormous factor there last year, and will be even more so this time around. Hamilton led a McLaren 1-2 finish in 2010, and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is one of three courses he's won at multiple times.
