Trulli Delighted with Monaco Success

Jarno Trulli finally ended his long wait for Formula One success on Sunday and silenced the doom-mongers who feared Ferrari's Michael Schumacher might win everything this year.

"It's always interesting to see different people on top," declared the Renault driver after winning at the 117th attempt.

"I wish for myself and for Formula One that we have different winners in the future because otherwise it can be a little bit boring," added the 29-year-old Italian. "Today we got a different winner and I hope we can stop the Ferrari domination a little bit.

"Ferrari are still the best team with the best car and the best driver and they're the men to beat. But everyone else is working very hard and there is no reason why we cannot win."

Schumacher, the six times World Champion who had hoped his record start to the season would extend to six wins in six races, crashed out with 30 laps remaining after a collision with Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya in the tunnel.

It was Ferrari's first defeat since Trulli's Spanish teammate Fernando Alonso won in Hungary last August, an eight-race run of domination.

Trulli did everything right on the unforgiving street circuit, breaking his blank in Monte Carlo by following up his career-first pole position with a commanding victory. He was the first Italian driver to win the race in 22 years, the last being Riccardo Patrese for Brabham in 1982.

Champagne Shower

"I'm so happy, for me, for everybody, for all those people who have been supporting me," he said after being showered in champagne by team boss Flavio Briatore.

"I have been waiting so long and it came at the best race, Monaco. It was just fantastic for me. I drove a perfect race, leading from the beginning and even with Michael on the track I would have won anyway.

"In the end I was just managing the race. I was slowing down, taking care of my tyres and everything, not taking any risks because anyway I knew that in Monaco you cannot overtake."

Trulli, whose top-knot and love of outlandish sunglasses and flamboyant bandanas counters his quiet country-loving personality, was almost overwhelmed by what he had done. Reporters cheered and applauded as he took centre stage at the post race news conference.

"Everything was going through my mind. I have been waiting so long, I've been through a lot of bad moments and at the moment I just cannot realise that I won the race and I've won in Monaco, probably the best race in the world," he said.

"You always hope that you can do it, but you never know until you get there."

Even when BAR's second-placed Jenson Button closed in on the Renault over the last few laps in a desperate attempt to force him into an error and seize the race, Trulli stayed cool.

"I knew that his idea was to put pressure on me. But on a circuit like Monaco you cannot overtake," he said. "I actually responded to him with some quick laps without taking any risks, just to show the team that I was not panicking.

"I had everything in hand...so many things have gone wrong for me in the past and I wanted to make sure that I got my first victory with a faultless race."