Many of the drivers were initially concerned that the Drag Reduction System (DRS) would prove to be unsafe on the narrow streets of the principality, and so lobbied to have the device banned for the duration of the weekend.

Following increased pressure from the drivers and FOTA, the FIA agreed to ban the use of the DRS in the tunnel for free practice and qualifying.

However, the FIA reversed their decision shortly before the Spanish Grand Prix, instead nominating to discuss the matter with the sport's technical working group.

Kolles declared that his team believed the off-throttle blown diffuser concept to be illegal, and was considering a protest before the Monaco Grand Prix.

In the third part of qualifying, Sergio Pérez crashed after exiting the tunnel, an accident similar to Nico Rosberg's in the earlier free practice session.

Pérez's impact with the barrier was similar to Sauber driver Karl Wendlinger's crash in the run-up to the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix.

As expected, the improved safety regulations resulted in Pérez's injuries being less severe, as he suffered a concussion and a sprained thigh.

However, in line with the 107% rule the team were allowed to enter the race due to posting competitive times during earlier free practice.

[12] Schumacher's anti-stall kicked in at the start dropping him to tenth at first corner, but he retook ninth from Hamilton at Grand-Hotel hairpin.

Vettel continued to build a strong lead but his pit stop on lap 16 was slow and he was fitted with hard compound tyres due to a radio communication error.

As Button and Alonso fought for second place, the race looked set for an exciting climax, when an accident occurred involving Hamilton, Sutil, Alguersuari and Petrov.

Vettel and Alonso had heavily used tyres, while Hamilton most likely would not have been able to finish the race with the damaged rear wing that required almost the entire red flag period to repair.