Jarno Trulli recorded his first Formula One win today as the Renault driver led home Jenson Button by less than half a second with Rubens Barrichello railing in third in a dramatic 77-lap Monaco Grand Prix. Just three drivers finished on the lead lap and the safety car intervened twice following big accidents.

While Trulli celebrated his Monaco success, Championship leader Michael Schumacher heads home furious after failing to finish a race he expects to dominate.

The drama began even before the race had started as Olivier Panis forced a restart after stopping six-feet short of his 13th place grid slot and stalling the Toyota. This forced a five minute delay and Panis was placed at the back of the grid. 78-lap Monaco Grand Prix became the 77-lap Monaco Grand Prix. The second formation lap saw Panis stall the Toyota once again and the marshals wheeled the TF104 off the grid to the pit lane.

The run to the first turn at Monaco is always an exciting affair, this year's Pole sitter Jarno Trulli duly led the field to the turn with Takuma Sato making a fantastic start from seventh to move fourth, despite a brush with Michael Schumacher.

The BAR Honda driver immediately went into defensive mode backing up Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher, while Trulli lead Alonso and Button. The Monaco Grand Prix then took a dramatic twist as Sato's Honda failed in dramatic style ending his race on just the third lap.

More seriously, those running directly behind the Japanese driver simply could not see through the smoke and as drivers slowed Giancarlo Fisichella hit the back of David Coulthard's McLaren at speed. This launched the Sauber into the air, landing upside down against the Armco.

It was a serious accident that thankfully saw no injuries, but one has to question whether BAR should have pulled Sato into the pits as it was clear his engine was going to fail.

There was plenty of incident to follow as Alonso's day came to an abrupt end on lap 43 as he suffered a huge accident, losing second position and bringing out the safety car for the second time.

The Renault driver seemed to try and lap Ralf Schumacher around the outside in the tunnel. It was a strange piece of driving and it is not clear whether Schumacher lifted off, forcing Alonso to try and pass on the outside, or Alonso simply ran out of patience. Either way, Alonso's race was done just at a time he was beginning to pressure leader Trulli.

Michael Schumacher lost out at the start and dropped to fifth, but as ever with Schumacher, he waited until Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button pitted, then put the hammer down to ensure that after his own stop, he exited ahead of the McLaren and BAR Honda driver in third. A stunning string of lap from Schumacher made the difference.

Following Alonso's accident and the subsequent safety car, race leader Jarno Trulli took advantage of the safety car to pit for the second time, giving Michael Schumacher the lead, but seconds later under the safety car it was over for Michael Schumacher. The Ferrari star slowed as he worked heat into his tyres and the lapped Juan Pablo Montoya following closely behind took avoiding action, diving down the inside. This pushed Schumacher wide and into the wall. Race over and Schumacher's dream of winning his sixth successive Grand Prix was over.

Trulli regained the lead with Jenson Button in second position and Rubens Barrichello the last remaining car on the lead lap, the race got underway once again. Button pushed as hard as he could, closing up to the back of the Renault with seven laps remaining, but Trulli did not make a mistake and the race was his.

It was a thoroughly well-deserved win for Trulli and Jenson Button can head home tonight assured that he and his crew did all they could to try and win their first race together. Third placed Rubens Barrichello was never a factor on his 32nd birthday, finishing 75 seconds behind Trulli.

Juan Pablo Montoya survived his incident with Michael Schumacher and brought his BMW Williams home in fourth position while team-mate Ralf Schumacher looked set to finish eighth after a troubled race before his car failed in the closing stages.

Felipe Massa held off a late charge from Cristiano da Matta to take fourth position while the Toyota driver will be left fuming after receiving a drive through penalty for blocking earlier in the race.

Nick Heidfeld proved something of a mobile chicane in his Jordan, finishing two laps adrift, but the German made no big errors and duly brought the Silverstone based team their first points of the season with seventh place ahead of the recovered Olivier Panis. Zsolt Baumgartner was the only remaining runner by the chequered flag in ninth position.

Ralf Schumacher was classified in tenth position ahead of Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen who retired his McLaren mid-distance with a hydraulics problem. Of the rest, it was a tough day for Jaguar who saw Christian Klien crash out on the first lap and Mark Webber retire his R5 early in the race while David Coulthard and Giancarlo Fisichella leave Monaco somewhat fortunate to have escaped injury.