Monaco • If Mark Webber's victory in the Monaco Grand Prix from the pole position came as no surprise given the nature of the track, the Australian's triumph Sunday still made Formula One history and left the championship even more wide open after six races.

For the first time, a different driver has won each of the six opening races.

It's some contrast to last season, when Sebastian Vettel was coasting to the title after winning five of the first six, and Red Bull was crushing Ferrari. That hardly captured the imagination of racing fans, but this season is turning out to be a golden one for F1.

"It's interesting to see the constant surprises we're having this season, you never know who's going to be in pole and win the race," said Fernando Alonso, who took the championship lead Sunday as the Spaniard bids for his third title.

Vettel, the two-time defending F1 champion, is tied for second place with his teammate Webber, three points behind Alonso.

"The number of different winners is good for [the fans], but for us, it's very difficult to know what's happening," the German said. "It's a long year; it will be crucial to keep scoring points."

Despite not winning a race, Lewis Hamilton is only 13 points behind Alonso and still a title contender.