The Monaco Grand Prix is usually just a procession of F1 talent and technology around the streets of the famed principality—more a spot for celebrity stragglers from the previous week’s Cannes Film Festival to pose rather than an event where race fans can catch an actual race. Unless it rains. This weekend, it did. Ferraris on the grid in P1 and P2, and Mclaren Mercedes in P3 and P4 did nothing to presuppose the final outcome. The unpredictability of the Grand Prix was only matched by the consistency of winner Lewis Hamilton’s drive–a drive that gave him the top of the podium and the driver’s championship in one go.

A tap of the wall at Tabac leading to a puncture and early pit stop could have been the end of the day for Hamilton, but a switch to one pit stop, the misfortunes of others, luck with the safety car, and most importantly, a cool head, combined for victory. Robert Kubica looked set for an unpredicted yet deserved first F1 victory in his BMW early in the race when Ferrari’s Massa took himself out of the lead with a spin. But the Mclaren fuel strategy relegated Kubica to the second step. Despite the spin, Massa took third—though it was a disappointment after starting from the pole.

Massa’s teammate–current world champion and championship points leader going in to the race Kimi Raikkonen–just wasn’t having a good day. He received a drive-through penalty on the 13^th lap due to an error on the grid by his mechanics. A small off put him in the pit for the first of two fresh nose cones on lap 27 relegating the Finn to a far off fifth place. It looked like he was getting a break when the Safety Car came out following a monster crash by Williams’ Nico Rosberg just 15 laps from the end of the race. But Kimi went into, then miraculously saved, a huge tank slapper exiting the tunnel, losing another nosecone but ending a potential fairy tale day for Force India’s Adrian Sutil (who was in fourth place) by rear ending him. Raikkonen finished out of the points in ninth and knocked himself off of the top of the drivers’ championship.

Other notable excitement for the day included Hamilton’s ex-team-mate, Fernando Alonso, punting Nick Heidfeld into a spin at the Loew’s hairpin, and Rubens Barrichello finishing in the points in sixth place for the first time in a couple of years—a nice 36^th birthday present. The 2008 Monaco Grand Prix was a phenomenal race, and just a snapshot of the excitement that this year’s F1 Championship continues to be.

More info at Formula1.com and SpeedTv.com