Sebastian Vettel reckons he could have achieved the Monaco GP win even if he had been gifted the opportunity to change his tyres ahead of a short sprint to the finish line.
Having been put on a one-stop strategy, Vettel ran 56 laps on one set of tyres and was in the lead of the grand prix. However, his tyres were fading and fading fast, and with Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button both on fresher tyres and right on his rear wing, Vettel was coming under pressure.
The race was then red flagged six laps from the end when Vitaly Petrov suffered a huge crash at the Swimming Pool, handing Vettel the chance to put on fresher rubber.
When the race restarted with new tyres strapped to his RB7, Vettel was able to quickly move away from Alonso's clutches and went on to claim his first Monaco GP crown.
"It is fantastic. It was a very long race and a long way to the chequered flag and at some stage the victory seemed quite far away," said the reigning World Champ.
"The Safety Car came out and we got back in the lead but it was quite difficult to stay ahead. It is difficult to pass here but they had such better grip. I called to box and I said I wanted to stay out as it was the only chance to win the race.
"It was getting close and with six laps to go before we had a suspended race. Obviously I was struggling with my tyres but I think we could have made it to the end.
"Then I saw the red flag and it was good to hear Vitaly was fine, and we were able to change tyres as I could get rid of these old tyres and then had another short sprint race to the chequered flag.
"We took the risk. We wanted to win and we got the reward. I am happy and it is an extreme honour. It is one of the best grands prix all year and surely a nice one to win."
Vettel, though, concedes that maybe Lady Luck was on his side this weekend.
"I think the roulette spun a lot last night and it kept on spinning during this race, so it's crazy and I'm really, really happy, a fantastic result.
"It's an extreme honour to put my name down the list of previous winners here, so a perfect day I guess."
