Mark Webber won the Monaco Grand Prix from the pole on Sunday to lead a Red Bull 1-2 finish on the famous street circuit.
Webber's fourth career win moved him to the top of the Formula One standings ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel, who overtook Robert Kubica of Renault at the start and finished 0.4 seconds behind. Both Red Bull drivers have 78 points from six races, but Webber leads thanks to his two race wins.
"To win here is a very, very special day,'' said Webber, the second Australian driver — after Jack Brabham — to win the iconic seaside race. "This place is such a test for two hours.''
Kubica held on to third place, while Felipe Massa of Ferrari was fourth ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.
Five-time race winner Michael Schumacher passed Fernando Alonso at the last corner, just after the safety car had come in, to finish sixth. But the two former world champions could swap places since the pass goes against safety-car deployment rules. The incident is being investigated.
"I'm not 100 percent on the rules, but I trust my team,'' Alonso said. "My team was saying no overtaking on the last lap.''
Alonso, who benefited from a timely pit stop early on to storm through the field and overcome a last-place start, is third in the overall standings with 73 points. He had started in pit lane because his Ferrari couldn't take part in qualifying due to a crash in practice Saturday.
Webber became the first Australian since Alan Jones in 1980 to win back-to-back races after taking last week's Spanish GP from pole. He was worried late on as he watched Jarno Trulli's Lotus fly over the top of Karun Chandhok's HRT car at La Rascasse corner in the closing stages.
"I thought: 'What the hell is going to happen here?''' said Webber, who had to endure four appearances by the safety car. "I just hoped I had some options to go on the inside.''
Red Bull appears to have put its reliability issues behind as it scored its second 1-2 finish of the season after taking a sixth straight pole position. It also moved into the lead for the constructors' championship.
"All in all it was a very good day for us,'' said Vettel, who wasn't completely satisfied with his car. "We can sleep well tonight.''
Defending F1 and Monaco champion Jenson Button was on the second lap when his McLaren's Mercedes engine blew out to end his day.
Massa's 71 points put him one up on Button, while Hamilton and Kubica have 59 apiece.
Actors Michael Douglas and Jennifer Lopez were among the celebrities who watched the iconic race on the French Riviera get off to a dramatic start with Nico Hulkenberg's opening-lap crash.
The rookie Williams driver slammed into the barrier inside the Tunnel — the fastest section of the narrow course — after running wide. Button's engine started spewing smoke while the safety car out.
Alonso immediately pitted for a mandatory change of tires that he would run to the finish.
Before that, Webber had defended his pole position cleanly while Kubica didn't on his start, as Vettel moved up the inside to go second around the first corner. Both Red Bulls pulled away from the field from that point, despite the safety car bunching the field back several times.
"We have to be positive, nobody was expecting us to finish on the podium,'' Kubica said. "There was no real chance (for second) unless Sebastian made a mistake. And he didn't.''
Two-time winner Alonso, who overtook a number of cars at the exit of the Tunnel to move up the field, lost his grip at the last turn as the safety car came in and Schumacher craftily jumped ahead.
Half of the 24 cars in the field failed to complete the 78-lap race in the Mediterranean principality.
