Alonso started from pole position and achieved the fastest lap time, and for most of the 78 lap race kept a three or four second lead over team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Monaco was Alonso's 17th Formula 1 victory.



With five races in this year's F1 Championship now gone, Spaniard Alonso and Brit Lewis Hamilton share the lead in the drivers' championship with 38 points each, with the next two races scheduled for Canada and the US.

In his first F1 season, Lewis Hamilton has now achieved five podium finishes from five races, extending his record winning run. And although tipped by some commentators to win this year's Monaco GP, Alonso's fluent driving kept him at bay throughout the race.

Fellow Brits - and Monte Carlo residents - Jensen Button and David Coulthard finished the race outside of the points and well down the field, a disappointing result particularly for previous winner Coulthard, who was on the podium to receive his third place trophy in last year's Monaco GP.

David Coulthard is part owner of the Columbus Hotel, in the Fontvieille district of Monaco.

Robert Kubica in a BMW, who like Hamilton was making his debut at Monaco, achieved an impressive fifth position, ahead of team-mate Nick Heidfield.

Appropriately named American Scott Speed was another driver who will leave Monaco happy, having climbed from 18th on the grid to finish 9th.

The final positions were:

1. Alonso (McLaren)

2. Hamilton (McLaren)

3. Massa (Ferrari)

4. Fisichella (Renault)

5. Kubica (BMW Sauber)

6. Heidfeld (BMW Sauber)

7. Wurz (Williams)

Speaking after the race Alonso said 'It has been a fantastic weekend, no doubt, and to score this hat trick of pole, fastest lap and win is something very special and even more here in Monaco. I enjoyed very much today's race, with a perfect car all through the race. It was so good to drive such a nice car for 78 laps and win at the end.'

Lewis Hamilton commented, 'I knew we were both extremely quick, so I could only apply pressure, but he's a two-time world champion and he doesn't really make mistakes.'

The Grand Prix is 77 laps around the narrow, winding streets of Monte Carlo, making the Monaco Grand Prix the most exciting in the world, with little room for driver error.

Since the first Grand Prix on April 14 1929, organised by Monte Carlo resident and founding president of the Automobile Club de Monaco Antony Noghes, the average fastest speed has risen from 50mph (80 kph) to 88mph (143 kph).

The 2008 Monaco Grand Prix will be held on Sunday 25 May.