AFC1986
09-09-2007, 03:01 PM
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44105000/jpg/_44105601_alonsohamiltonafp203.jpg
Alonso is three points behind Hamilton with four races to go
Lewis Hamilton's world championship lead was cut to just three points as his McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso won the Italian Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished second, overtaking Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen 11 laps from the end after the Finn passed him thanks to doing one less pit stop.
Raikkonen's team-mate Felipe Massa is effectively out of the title battle after retiring after just nine laps.
The Brazilian is 23 points off the lead with a maximum of 40 still available.
Alonso led from the start, and appeared comfortable throughout.
The double world champion was only a second ahead of Hamilton when the Englishman made his first stop for fuel and tyres on lap 18.
But Alonso did not stop for a further two laps, and was nearly two seconds ahead when he rejoined.
He proceeded to inch away for much of the second part of the race, extending his lead by around 0.3secs most laps.
By the time of their second stops, Alonso was more than six seconds in the lead, and out of Hamilton's reach.
And instead of thinking about beating his team-mate, Hamilton had to focus on beating Raikkonen.
The Finn's Ferrari ran four laps longer than Alonso before his sole pit stop, and Raikkonen kept close enough to the McLarens to pass Hamilton while the Englishman made his second pit stop on lap 40.
But the 22-year-old underlined his abilities as a never-say-die racer by catching the Ferrari and pulling off an audacious overtaking move just two laps later.
His third place means Raikkonen slipped to 18 points behind Hamilton, leaving his title hopes hanging by a thread as well.
But McLaren now head on Thursday to a hearing of motorsport's governing body into the spy scandal that has engulfed the sport, and could yet be hit with a points deduction, or even banned from the championship.
Massa had run third early on after losing out in a first-lap battle with Hamilton, who aggressively defended his second place from the Ferrari's advances around the opening lap.
Hamilton was given some breathing space on the second lap when the safety car was deployed following an accident to David Coulthard.
The Scot's Red Bull speared off the track at the 180mph Curva Grande following a rear wing failure.
The race restarted on lap six, and Massa's hopes of repeating his victory in Turkey two weeks ago ended just three laps later when he pulled into the pits with a so-far unspecified mechanical failure at the rear of his car.
Nick Heidfeld was best of the rest in fourth place in his BMW Sauber, ahead of his team-mate Robert Kubica, who grabbed fifth place from Williams's Nico Rosberg with just seven laps to go.
Renault's Heikki Kovalainen was seventh, ahead of Jenson Button's Honda.
The Englishman repeated his season-best result from the French Grand Prix, but his Honda looked more competitive at Monza than it had at Magny-Cours.
The Englishman fought an intense battle with Rosberg in the first part of the race, but had in the end to concede defeat to the faster car.
credit: bbc sport
i don't think ron dennis or mclaren will ever find a victory as sweet as today after all the publicity the court case next week is getting. i hope mclaren don't get chucked out as it would be a shame for all their hard work this year to be taken away from them
Alonso is three points behind Hamilton with four races to go
Lewis Hamilton's world championship lead was cut to just three points as his McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso won the Italian Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished second, overtaking Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen 11 laps from the end after the Finn passed him thanks to doing one less pit stop.
Raikkonen's team-mate Felipe Massa is effectively out of the title battle after retiring after just nine laps.
The Brazilian is 23 points off the lead with a maximum of 40 still available.
Alonso led from the start, and appeared comfortable throughout.
The double world champion was only a second ahead of Hamilton when the Englishman made his first stop for fuel and tyres on lap 18.
But Alonso did not stop for a further two laps, and was nearly two seconds ahead when he rejoined.
He proceeded to inch away for much of the second part of the race, extending his lead by around 0.3secs most laps.
By the time of their second stops, Alonso was more than six seconds in the lead, and out of Hamilton's reach.
And instead of thinking about beating his team-mate, Hamilton had to focus on beating Raikkonen.
The Finn's Ferrari ran four laps longer than Alonso before his sole pit stop, and Raikkonen kept close enough to the McLarens to pass Hamilton while the Englishman made his second pit stop on lap 40.
But the 22-year-old underlined his abilities as a never-say-die racer by catching the Ferrari and pulling off an audacious overtaking move just two laps later.
His third place means Raikkonen slipped to 18 points behind Hamilton, leaving his title hopes hanging by a thread as well.
But McLaren now head on Thursday to a hearing of motorsport's governing body into the spy scandal that has engulfed the sport, and could yet be hit with a points deduction, or even banned from the championship.
Massa had run third early on after losing out in a first-lap battle with Hamilton, who aggressively defended his second place from the Ferrari's advances around the opening lap.
Hamilton was given some breathing space on the second lap when the safety car was deployed following an accident to David Coulthard.
The Scot's Red Bull speared off the track at the 180mph Curva Grande following a rear wing failure.
The race restarted on lap six, and Massa's hopes of repeating his victory in Turkey two weeks ago ended just three laps later when he pulled into the pits with a so-far unspecified mechanical failure at the rear of his car.
Nick Heidfeld was best of the rest in fourth place in his BMW Sauber, ahead of his team-mate Robert Kubica, who grabbed fifth place from Williams's Nico Rosberg with just seven laps to go.
Renault's Heikki Kovalainen was seventh, ahead of Jenson Button's Honda.
The Englishman repeated his season-best result from the French Grand Prix, but his Honda looked more competitive at Monza than it had at Magny-Cours.
The Englishman fought an intense battle with Rosberg in the first part of the race, but had in the end to concede defeat to the faster car.
credit: bbc sport
i don't think ron dennis or mclaren will ever find a victory as sweet as today after all the publicity the court case next week is getting. i hope mclaren don't get chucked out as it would be a shame for all their hard work this year to be taken away from them