'We've got Monaco, baby!'

Brawn GP's Jenson Button won the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, capturing his fifth victory in six races to extend his Formula One championship lead, writes PAUL LOGOTHETIS.

Button finished 7.6 seconds ahead of teammate Rubens Barrichello at the famed street circuit race for his fourth start-to-finish victory of the season.

Button leads with 51 points. Barrichello has 35 after his fourth runner-up finish at Monaco. Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull, who crashed out after 16 laps, is third with 23

points.

"We've got Monaco, baby!" said Button, whose victory was the first for a Briton from the pole since Jackie Stewart 36 years ago. "I think we've proven this weekend that our

package has worked and we're looking very strong for the next couple of races. This was a massive win."

Kimi Raikkonen earned Ferrari its first top-three finish of the season by taking third.

Ferrari scored 11 points - the Italians' best single race point haul this year - after Felipe Massa finished fourth ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber, who took his points tally

to 19.5.

"I'm not happy with the third but for the team it's still a good result," Raikkonen said.

Brawn GP became the first team in its inaugural season to win in Monaco since Wolf's Jody Scheckter accomplished the feat 32 years ago.

Defending F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 Monaco winner, came 12th after starting last on the grid. "It was an extremely tough race," said Hamilton, who damaged a footplate on his front wing early on.

Button ran along the track to reach the podium ceremony, waving to fans in the stands and overlooking apartment balconies before accepting the trophy from Prince Albert.

Brawn GP leads the constructors' title with 86 points. Red Bull is next with 42.5 and Toyota has 26.5 after its two drivers finished near the tail of the field.

Button, whose previous best result at Monaco was runner-up five years ago, maintained a double-digit advantage nearly to the end after a flawless start.

Barrichello breezed past the KERS-boosted Ferrari of Raikkonen to sit second after the first turn and eventually finished 5.8 seconds ahead of the Finn at the end.

"It's not the first time I've lost second place. It seems to be very slippery on that side," Raikkonen said. "It's not that nice to see because we were faster than Rubens, but there was no chance to pass him."

Barrichello said a seat-belt problem changed his race. "I had to start driving differently," the Brazilian said. "It wasn't as easy as it looked from the outside so I am proud of what we achieved today."

Vettel's championship hopes were hit by sliding into a corner and damaging his rear suspension, an identical accident to Hamilton's on Saturday that left the McLaren

driver starting at the back of the grid. "In Monaco, you make a little mistake and you pay the price," said Vettel, the only other race winner this season.

Rosberg finished sixth, Renault's Fernando Alonso was seventh and Toro Rosso's Sebastien Bourdais took the last point in eighth.

Robert Kubica's disappointing weekend for BMW Sauber ended with a brake problem after 16 laps, one of six drivers who failed to finish. The Pole remains without a point this season.