David Coulthard notched the third of a four-race dream sequence of grand prix victories yesterday as he took the chequered flag in Monaco after being handed the win when Michael Schumacher sensationally retired from a convincing lead with broken suspension.

The Scot, tucked in behind the slower Jordan of second-placed Jarno Trulli, had been forced to watch the championship leader race away into a 30-second lead, pit and still emerge with over four seconds in hand.

It seemed over, but luck began to turn his way when Trulli, who had been controlling the McLaren driver with ease, pulled into the pits and out of the race, sidelined with yet another gearbox problem.

Coulthard began to close on the Ferrari, but with his own stop to come it still appeared to be too little to late. Lady luck wasn't done with the McLaren number two, however, and on lap 56 Schumacher suddenly slowed dramatically as he entered the St Devote corner, an exhaust problem causing a suspension failure on his Ferrari F12000.

Almost a full lap away from the pits, the German could do nothing to halt Coulthard's charge. Limping into the pitlane, Schumacher's mechanics worked for almost a minute to repair his stricken car, but by that time all the leaders, including thirdplaced Heinz Harald Frentzen, had swept past.

Schumacher sloped into the garage, the dream of a 26-point lead in the world championship in tatters.

From there Coulthard was never in any danger. Frentzen attempted to close the gap, but on a day of shattered hopes for Jordan he too joined Trulli on the non-finishers list, spinning out at St Devote as he tried to reel the McLaren in.

In the end Coulthard crossed the finish line some 15 seconds ahead of second-placed Rubens Barrichello and a further three seconds ahead of Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella.

He admitted this, his eighth career win and his second this season, was the latest stage in a sequence of wins that has been a target since he began racing, and has so far included wins in Britain and Belgium.

"I've always said that there are a few big grands prix for me personally to win," he said. "Those are Spa, because it's my favourite track, Silverstone, because it's my home grand prix, the Italian because there's nothing quite like an Italian F1 crowd and Monaco because it's technically one of the most challenging for any driver."

Coulthard now moves to within 12 points of Schumacher in the race for the championship title and a clear five points ahead of team-mate Mika Hakkinen, who, on a weekend on which he always appeared to be struggling, could only manage sixth place and a solitary point, after two mechanical faults caused him to pit for over a minute.

The lion's share of the disappointment will have been felt at Jordan. With a new engine modification in place and several aerodynamic changes introduced for Monaco, both Jordans were more competitive than they have been for some time, a fact attested to by Trulli qualifying on the front row and Frentzen claiming a fourth-placed start.

It all looked good for Jordan from the start as both retained position and effectively held off the McLarens of Coulthard in third and Hakkinen in fifth.

But then the bad luck that has plagued the EJ10 since its introduction struck again and on lap 37 Trulli was forced to retire with a gearbox problem.

Trulli's retirement, and then Schumacher's, advanced the cause of Frentzen, however, and the German looked to be sure of a six-point finish as he saw off the challenge of Rubens Barrichello in a well-timed pit stop. But as he pushed to carve away Coulthard's lead, he ran wide at St Devote and spun on the slippery off-line surface.

"The car was running superbly and I was really, really racing," he said dejectedly. "But I just lost it under braking. It was my mistake. There's nothing more I can say."

While Jordan were left to weep bitter tears, it was a much more enjoyable day for Eddie Irvine. The Irishman clung on grimly as all ahead of him fell foul of error or mechanical failure to claim fourth and Jaguar's first points of a troubled season.

"There have been races this year where we deserved points and failed, this time we got them," he said.