* Lap 1: On pole position for the first time in his McLaren career, Fernando Alonso makes a clean start to lead team-mate Lewis Hamilton into Ste Dévote. Felipe Massa keeps third from Giancarlo Fisichella. Nick Heidfeld vaults to fifth ahead of Nico Rosberg, the fast-starting Rubens Barrichello, Mark Webber, Robert Kubica, Alexander Wurz, Jenson Button, Kimi Räikkönen (up from 16th), Vitantonio Liuzzi, Scott Speed, David Coulthard, Heikki Kovalainen, Takuma Sato, Jarno Trulli, Anthony Davidson, Adrian Sutil, Christijan Albers and Ralf Schumacher.

* Lap 2: Liuzzi crashes out at Massenet.

* Lap 4: Alonso leads by 1.8s and is edging away. Fisichella is being dropped – but he’s pulling away from Heidfeld.

* Lap 5: Alonso posts a 1m16.515s to lead by 2.5s.

* Lap 7: Alonso extends his lead to 3.1s.

* Lap 8: Trulli passes Sato for 16th.

* Lap 12: Alonso leads by 5.5s. Massa is 2.3s shy of Hamilton. The rest remain as they were.

* Lap 14: Alonso continues to edge away: he’s now 7.0s to the good. Schumacher is the first driver to be lapped.

* Lap 18: Webber pits to retire.

* Lap 19: Hamilton posts a 1m16.374s to cut his deficit to 6.7s.

* Lap 20: Alonso gets stuck behind Trulli and his lead is cut to 3.0s. As the leader Alonso passes the Italian, so does Sato.

* Lap 21: The Trulli effect hits Hamilton: the gap grows to 5.5s.

* Lap 22: Personal bests for both McLaren drivers: Alonso 1m15.721s, Hamilton 1m16.085s.

* Lap 23: Scheduled stops for Fisichella and Rosberg. Hamilton dips into the 1m15s.

* Lap 24: Hamilton posts a 1m15.833s: the gap is 5.2s. Sato and Albers pit.

* Lap 26: Alonso pits, as does Massa.

* Lap 27: Hamilton leads Alonso by 15.2s but he loses time with a moment at Rascasse.

* Lap 28: Hamilton posts a 1m15.372s. He leads by 15.3s.
 
* Lap 29: Hamilton pits. He rejoins second.

* Lap 30: Alonso leads Hamilton by 4.8s.

* Lap 31: Hamilton cuts his arrears to 4.2s.

* Lap 32: Heidfeld pits and rejoins ninth, behind Button.

* Lap 34: The top two are separated by 4.0s.

* Lap 35: Davidson is given a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags. He serves it one lap later.

* Lap 37: Barrichello pits – as does Davidson, again. This time it’s scheduled.

* Lap 39: Half-distance: Alonso leads from Hamilton, Massa, Fisichella, Kubica, Wurz, Button, Heidfeld and the lapped Räikkönen, Speed, Barrichello, Rosberg, Coulthard, Kovalainen, Trulli, Sutil, Schumacher, Sato, Davidson and Albers.

* Lap 41: Button pits.

* Lap 42: Only the top six cars remain on the lead lap. Coulthard pits.

* Lap 43: Alonso posts a 1m15.500s: he leads by 7.6s.

* Lap 44: Alonso sets a new fastest lap: 1m15.284s. His lead grows to 9.0s. Wurz pits, as do Kovalainen and Sutil.

* Lap 45: Kubica and Speed pit. Kubica rejoins fifth, ahead of Heidfeld.

* Lap 47: Räikkönen pits as, some time later, does Trulli. The Ferrari driver drops to 11th but immediately starts lapping in the 1m16s, his quickest laps of the race.

* Lap 49: Schumacher completes the afternoon’s longest first stint.

* Lap 51: Alonso pits, as does Albers.

* Lap 52: Hamilton leads by 12.0s.

* Lap 53: Hamilton pits. Alonso goes back in front.

* Lap 54: The McLarens are 4.0s apart, with Massa another 18.8s adrift. Sutil crashes into retirement at Massenet.

* Lap 55: Hamilton closes to within 3.3s. Massa and Fisichella pit.

* Lap 56: Hamilton closes again: he’s 2.5s adrift.

* Lap 57: Hamilton presses on again: the gap comes down to 1.9s. Sato pits.

* Lap 59: The McLarens are almost as one: just 0.7s separates them. Rosberg pits.

* Lap 60: Alonso gains a little breathing space: he pulls 1.1s clear. Barrichello makes his second stop.
 
* Lap 61: Button pits.

* Lap 62: The McLarens post almost identical times: Alonso is 0.007s faster and 1.1s ahead.

* Lap 63: Räikkönen is setting personal bests – in the mid 1m16s – he’s quickly catching the seventh-placed Wurz.

* Lap 65: Alonso continues to edge away: he’s now 2.1s clear.

* Lap 70: Alonso leads by 2.9s. Massa is 54.6s adrift in third. Fourth-placed Fisichella is next in line to be lapped. Fifth-placed Kubica is going relatively slowly – a couple of seconds adrift of those in the gaggle behind, led by his team-mate Heidfeld.

* Lap 71: Albers pits to retire.

* Lap 73: Alonso laps Fisichella.

* Lap 77: The McLarens are 2.8s apart with one lap to go. Kovalainen pits.

* Lap 78: Alonso wins by 4.0s from Hamilton and provisionally retakes the world championship lead (they are level on 38 points, but the Spaniard leads by dint of two wins to Hamilton’s zero). Massa is a distant third. The rest, all lapped, are headed by Fisichella, Kubica, Heidfeld, Wurz and Räikkönen.