Alonso continues charge towards Championship

World championship leader Fernando Alonso held off a stunning Michael Schumacher fightback to take victory in the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola today.

The Renault driver registered his third consecutive win but was made to fight to the end by Schumacher, who started 13th but stole the show with a battling drive and hounded Alonso until the chequered flag.

Alonso eventually won by just 0.2 seconds from Schumacher, who overhauled BAR-Honda’s Jenson Button in his quest for a first win of the season.

Button took his first podium – and points – of 2005 with third place after being unable to hold Schumacher’s charging Ferrari off.

Alex Wurz, standing in for the injured Juan Pablo Montoya at McLaren, claimed a fine fourth place in his first race since 2000 while Takuma Sato confirmed BAR’s revival by adding fifth place to Button’s podium.

Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve scored his first points of the season with sixth for Sauber with his most competitive display since returning to the sport late last year.

The Toyota pair of Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher were seventh and eighth respectively but David Coulthard was down in 13th for Red Bull.

At the start, pole position man Kimi Raikkonen made a clean getaway to lead from Alonso while Trulli jumped up to fourth by sneaking past Mark Webber.

Giancarlo Fisichella crashed out of 11th place on lap six when he lost control of his Renault and slammed into the tyre wall at Tamburello to register his third consecutive retirement after winning in Australia.

Raikkonen held a 3.4-second cushion after eight laps but that all counted for nothing when his McLaren dramatically slowed.

Alonso flew past into the lead as Raikkonen coasted into the pits. Patrick Friesacher’s race was similarly brief and the Minardi driver also retired on lap nine.

Rubens Barrichello retired on lap 19 as Ferrari’s new car continues to show weakness.

The Brazilian was hampered by gearbox problems on the new machine’s debut in Bahrain and he parked his Ferrari in the pits with electrical trouble two laps after stopping for more fuel.

Schumacher played a tactical masterstroke by starting the race on a heavy fuel load, which enabled him to make up positions as his rivals pitted, leaving him clear in third after his own stop on lap 27.

Webber ran wide at the Variante Alta on lap 30 to allow Villeneuve through to seventh but the home fans had eyes for only one man.

Schumacher was clocking a stunning series of laps to come back into contention for the victory.

He carved into Button’s advantage in second, dragging him to within reach of Alonso as well.

Massa, who collided with David Coulthard earlier in the race, barged past the Red Bull driver on lap 38 and gesticulated angrily at the Scot.

With Alonso running third after his final pit stop, Schumacher closed on Button and passed on lap 47 at the Variante Alta.

Schumacher was the last of the top three to stop and he set up a 13-lap showdown with Alonso by returning to the track less than two seconds behind the Renault.

He closed to within half a second of his rival and hounded Alonso until the chequered flag but was unable to find a way past in a tense and exciting finale.