If Mark Webber’s victory in the Monaco Grand Prix from pole came as no surprise given the nature of the track, the Australian’s triumph Sunday still made Formula One history and left the championship even more wide open after six races. For the first time, a different driver has won each of the six opening races.

Still, the procession was tight, with the top four finishers within 1.3s of each other. Webber finished only 0.6s from Nico Rosberg in a Mercedes and 0.9s ahead of Fernando Alonso in a Ferrari. Had it not been for a penalty that he received for causing an accident at the previous race in Spain two weeks ago, Michael Schumacher would most likely have won his sixth Monaco Grand Prix, and written history yet again. Instead, after the 43-year-old German scored his fourth pole position in the principality on Saturday, 18 years after his first pole here, he was bumped back to sixth position to start at a race where leading from the beginning usually means finishing in the lead as well.

Webber Wins Monaco Grand Prix | NYTimes.com.

Webber said that claiming victory in Monte Carlo today was a tough challenge and said that composure and experience were needed to guide him to his second win at this prestigious venue.

“An incredible day; this place gives you such amazing memories,” said the Australian. “There were different parts of the race where I had to be incredibly focused and make sure we really capitalised on the positioning we had.”

“There were a few key stages around the stops that were interesting. Sebastian had his tyres very hot and was quick at that point and I couldn’t get mine going, but once he pitted I reverted my attention back to Nico and just looked after the rears until the end of the race.”