Sebastian Vettel said he surprised himself by claiming victory in the Monaco Grand Prix, having overcut Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen to do so.
Strong performances in qualifying on Saturday from both Raikkonen and Vettel meant that the chances of Ferrari taking a first Monaco Grand Prix victory since 2001 were always high.
But their triumph did not come without drama as Vettel - who now leads Lewis Hamilton by 25 points in the drivers' championship - leapfrogged pole-sitter Raikkonen in the pit-stop phase to lead the pack.
Vettel's victory may well raise questions over Ferrari's decision to employ the overcut this early in the season, but the German insisted there was no plan other than for both drivers to claim the top two positions on the podium.
"We could not really have a plan. It was just to try and pull away, which we did," Vettel said.
"It was a very intense race. I was hoping at the start for a better launch but Kimi had a good start and I had nowhere to go so had to be patient. Then Valtteri [Bottas] had really good pace, but at that point the window opened when Valtteri pitted and Kimi responded.
"I still had a bit of a window so I pushed and I surprised myself after two laps that I was able to come out in front. There was a couple of laps where the car was really, really good. I pushed with everything I had because I knew if there was a chance to win then that was it.
"The team did a fantastic job so thanks to them and a fantastic weekend for Ferrari."
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