Alonso wins Italian Grand Prix

Alonso wins Italian GP

Fernando Alonso has brought himself back into championship contention with victory in the Italian Grand Prix. The Spaniard ran second for most of the race but jumped ahead of Jenson Button during the pitstops and charged home for an emotional win in front of the tifosi.

Alonso said "Winning at Monza at the wheel of a Ferrari is something special which can only stand comparison to when I won in front of my home crowd in Barcelona in 2006. Being on the podium was an incredible feeling. What a sea of people, so many flags! I was stunned by the emotion from the fans, right from the first moment they got here on Thursday. I wish to dedicate this victory to them and to the passion that characterises all Ferrari fans".

Ferrari's mechanics deserve credit for their performance in the race as it was a slick pitstop that gifted their man the lead. Jenson Button was controlling the Grand Prix, narrowly ahead of Alonso, until lap 36 when he made his first and only stop. Pitting before Alonso may have been a risky strategy for Jenson, but McLaren believed that fresh rubber provided enough advantage to reclaim the lead when the Ferrari stopped a lap later. They made the right call because the new tyres were quicker, but Alonso had a brilliant in-lap and his mechanics serviced the car in just 3.4 seconds. The result was that Fernando rejoined the circuit in first place and stormed home to a memorable victory.

The win brings Alonso to within 11 points of the championship lead, making him a real threat for the title.

Jenson Button claimed second place and was slightly disappointed with the result having led most of the Grand Prix. Button made a brilliant start from second on the grid and maintained his lead on the first lap whilst under attack from the Ferrari's. He was running a high downforce set-up which meant he had to gain time through the Lesmo corners and the Parabolica to avoid being overtaken in a straight line. The idea of the set-up was that Button would be able to conserve his tyres during the race and stay out longer than everyone else, but tyre wear did not develop into an issue and Alonso was able to stick with him on the older rubber. McLaren brought Jenson into the pits as soon as the fresh tyres were deemed faster, but Alonso's in-lap and Ferrari slick pitwork was enough to relegate Button to second place.

Jenson's podium finish helps make up for what he lost at Spa.

Felipe Massa finished in a quiet third place ahead of Sebastian Vettel who had a more eventful afternoon. Vettel dropped a place at the start and fell further backwards when his brakes temporarily stuck coming out of the Ascari chicane. As a result, Red Bull opted for a different strategy and did not pit Vettel until the start of the very last lap. It turned out to be the right decision and he moved back into fourth, the best result he could have hoped for under normal circumstances.

The other Red Bull was less fortunate since Mark Webber made another poor start and dropped to ninth behind Michael Schumacher. He clawed back into sixth place by the end of the race but would have been higher had he spent more time in clear air. The Australian finished two seconds behind Nico Rosberg in fifth.

Nico Hulkenberg was impressive in 7th place ahead of Kubica, Schumacher and Barrichello who rounded out the top ten. The younger Williams driver was rather scrappy at times but did well to completely outperform his more experienced teammate.

Lewis Hamilton did not finish the race after a minor collision with Felipe Massa damaged his steering on lap one. Hamilton was inside the Ferrari heading through the second chicane but drifted just a little bit too wide and made contact with Felipe's left rear wheel. It was the sort of contact that would usually result in nothing but a scuff mark, but this particular clash broke the McLaren's steering arm. Lewis tried continuing but went straight on at the very next corner with no control over the direction of his front wheels.

There were no major incidents during the race but Sakon Yamamoto injured one of his mechanics during a pitstop that went wrong. The car's controller released Yamamoto before everyone had finished working on the car, and although the team has offered little information about the mechanic's condition, he is believed to be doing fine having suffered only minor injuries.

The championship standings now place Mark Webber on top, just 5 points ahead of Hamilton. There are only 24 points between the top five runners, and with 25 awarded for a win, the title fight is still wide open.

Posted by Martin Porter. - Follow him on twitter @mpondaweb.

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