Lewis Hamilton overcame an early accident and wet conditions yesterday to win the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo and take the lead in the title race.

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain jumps in joy after winning the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo, Monaco, yesterday.

The McLaren driver, who started third on the grid, finished three seconds ahead of BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica while pole sitter Felipe Massa of Ferrari was third at Formula One's most famous race.

"That was a fantastic job as always," a pumped-up Hamilton said to his team over the radio. "I apologize for hitting the barrier. Let's go party tonight."

The 23-year-old Briton swiped the wall early on but took advantage of Massa's mistake on the slick street circuit to earn his sixth career win.

Massa, starting from pole, ran off the track 25 laps in to lose the lead with Hamilton able to make up the difference.

Hamilton improved to 38 points in the overall standings, three better than defending world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who finished out of the points in ninth. The Ferrari driver's poor day began with a drive-through penalty and culminated with an accident involving Force India driver Adrian Sutil.

Massa is third with 34 points and Kubica next on 32.