Alonso looks to have title in bag despite Montoya victory

COLOMBIAN Juan Pablo Montoya claimed his second win of the season and sixth of his career yesterday when he triumphed for McLaren Mercedes in a tense Italian Grand Prix.

But the result did no favours for his championship-chasing team-mate Finn Kimi Raikkonen, who suffered a frustrating and incident-filled day, in a fighting fourth place.

Championship leader Fernando Alonso cruised home second, ahead of his Renault team-mate Italian Giancarlo Fisichella to tighten their grip on the leadership in the championships.

The Renault team’s excellence meant Alonso is virtually certain to become Spain’s first drivers’ champion. He now has 103 points and a 27-point lead over Raikkonen with just four races remaining and he is targeting the next race at Spa as the one where he can wrap the title up.

“We just need to keep doing what were doing,” said Alonso.

“I think all the circuits where we are going are very important to me but Spa is my favourite circuit and I won my first race in Formula 3000 there.

“Brazil is also a very good track to win the championship at and Japan and China as well. It really doesn’t matter where but I will finish the championship at Spa if I can,” said Alonso.

But for Montoya, it was a dream result, and he said: “The first few laps I pushed really hard and opened a gap, felt quite comfortable and then it was just a matter of just maintaining the gap.”

The win almost went away at the end when Montoya suffered a tyre problem and he added: “I could see the tyre breaking up and it went really bad, there was no grip.

“It is good for me, for the championship, and although we only took a point off Renault here, it is better than nothing.”

It was another disappointing day for Ferrari and their tifosi fans as they lost their final tenuous hold of both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles on home ground.

Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher finished 10th and Rubens Barrichello 12th, neither man scoring a point in a race they claimed a one-two at this time last year.

Schumacher’s title will now go to one of two men, Alonso or Raikkonen, and Alonso’s run of five podiums in the last six races leaves him able to take the title at the next race.

Alonso said: “The target for the last six or so races has always been to get on the podium so this result is okay for me and for the championship.

“At the end the team informed me about the tyre problem J

“We put the engine up at full power and tried to put some pressure but it was too late.”

On a warm afternoon in front of a sparse crowd, the outcome confirmed that the Formula One pendulum has now swung away from the Italian team to their rivals Renault and McLaren.

Montoya, 29, started from his first pole position for McLaren and completed the 53-lap contest in convincing fashion.

Montoya made a perfect start to lead Alonso, Jenson Button and his BAR-Honda team-mate Takuma Sato through the tricky first corner.

Raikkonen was frustrated in 11th place in the early stages as he was trapped behind Jacques Villeneuve’s Sauber and could not overtake before the first round of pit-stops.

The big winners during these stops were Fisichella, who leapt up from eighth to third for Renault, and Raikkonen, who emerged ahead of the Ferraris and Button.

Raikkonen then provided all the thrills in the race, overtaking Alonso at the second chicane before his stop, and then suffering a blister on his left-rear tyre afterwards.

This forced him to pit again and a spin at the same chicane ten laps from the end limited him to an eventual fourth place.

Italian Jarno Trulli came home fifth for Toyota ahead of his team-mate German Ralf Schumacher with Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia in a Williams finishing seventh ahead of Button in his BAR Honda.