The Finn left plenty rubber on the track at the start of the warm-up lap, and this paid off handsomely as he managed to keep the very aggressive Alonso behind into San Devote. Kimi then began to pull out a lead of a few tenths every lap, the McLaren handling beautifully around the tight street circuit.

When Cristijan Albers spun his Minardi at Mirabeau on lap 24 he unwittingly changed the face of the race. David Coulthard arrived at the scene just in front of the un-sighted Michael Schumacher, who hit the back of the Scotsman's RB1 and removed his own front wing.

Michael pitted for a new nose and more fuel, but, sadly for Coulthard the damage to the Red Bull was terminal. The two Renaults also pitted, queueing together, with the same scenario played out in the Williams pit. Raikkonen managed to avoid the incident entirely, as did Jarno Trulli, who found himself in second place in his Toyota.

Following this flurry of activity it became clear that the Renault's rear tyres were wearing fast, and Alonso found himself under great pressure from Webber, who had team-mate Heidfeld tucked up behind him.

The race settled down somewhat now, with Raikkonen edging out a lead over Alonso, who could do nothing to shake off the two Williams behind him. The McLaren's pace was such that when Kimi stopped on lap 41 to take on fuel, he emerged still with a comfortable lead over his Spanish rival.

With the Renault having to use all of its superior traction to stay ahead of the two Williams, it looked ever more like Webber would pass Alonso before long. However, the two BMW powered drivers made their second stops a lap apart, Heidfeld ahead of his Australian team leader, and their positions were reversed. With Nick able to show his true speed, he quickly set off after Alonso.

Behind Fisichella a train was forming, with Trulli, Montoya, Massa, Villeneuve, Ralf Schumacher and the two Ferrari's seemingly tied together, and before long Trulli's frustration got the better of him as he lauched the Toyota over the kerb at the Hairpin. Having run wide to avoid Trulli, Fisichella found himself losing five places as the train behind him streamed past.

The damage to Trulli's car was severe, and he dropped back down the field from now on.

Just prior to this the train had lost two cars when Villeneuve attempted an over-ambitious move on team-mate Massa at San Devote. Both Saubers went straight on, JV hitting the wall and destroying the front of his car, Massa rejoining.

With less than ten laps to go, Heidfeld dived down the inside of Alonso into the chicane on the harbour front, making the move stick and driving away from the struggling Renault. Webber followed a lap later but overshot the chicane, trying again next lap and, this time, making the move stick as he powered by along the short straight that follows.

The final move of the race came on the last lap, with Michael passing Rubens out of the tunnel and attacking his brother Ralf on the finish line, the Toyota driver just keeping sixth place.

Kimi, by the this time, had long finished, consolidating a perfect qualifying with a faultless race performance and taking a further five points out of Alonso's championship lead.

Nick Heidfeld's second place, his second podium this season, represents his best ever finish in Formula one, and Mark Webber has finally taken the podium position he has threatened for so long. Fernando Alonso will be far from satisfied with fourth in a race that promised so much, while Montoya's excellent drive from the back of the grid, likewise that of Ralf Schumacher, are just rewards. The Ferrari's, meanwhile, can consider themselves lucky to have scored points, having been outclassed all weekend.

In the Championship race, Mclaren have now moved into second place in the Constructors race, behind Renault, and Raikkonen is now second to Alonso.