Vettel revels in 'very intense' Monaco victory

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Sebastian Vettel says he found Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix a "very intense" race despite controlling its second half en route to his third Formula 1 victory of the season.

Vettel ran second through the early part of the race behind Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen before leapfrogging the Finn through the pit stops, and then proceeding to open up a 10-second lead.

Vettel's advantage was wiped away by a late safety car, but he was able to stay calm and pull clear once again on the restart before crossing the line for his second win in Monaco, and Ferrari's first since 2001.

"I think it was a very, very intense race," Vettel said after the race. "I was hoping at the start to have a bit of a better launch, but Kimi had a good start, I had nowhere to go. I had to be patient.

"There was a phase in the first stint where it was really tricky, the tyres started to slide, I think you remember how it feels. It was quite uncomfortable. I think Valtteri [Bottas] and the pack was catching up a bit, we were facing some traffic.

"But then I had I don't know, like a second attempt, a second set of tyres. I had some laps where the car was really, really good. I pushed everything I had because I knew if there is a chance to win, then that's it. So I was able to use that window and came out ahead.

"At that point obviously I could control the race. After the restart it was really tricky with the cold tyres, I think every one of us was struggling. Daniel [Ricciardo] said he brushed the wall on Turn 1 on the first lap. So it was really, really difficult, but after a couple of laps I was able to get into control the gap behind.

"Fantastic job, the team has done really well. Great thanks to them and a fantastic weekend for Ferrari."