Alonso Delighted after 'Lucky' Win

The Spaniard, now with a commanding 32-point lead in the Formula One standings, had been catching Raikkonen as the Finn tried to nurse his ailing McLaren through the last few laps of the race to what would have been a third win in a row.

Instead it was Alonso who celebrated his fourth win in seven races with Raikkonen, his tyres worn out, spinning off when the suspension suddenly shattered.

"I was happy with the second place but we were so quick and pushing McLaren and Kimi all the way and they eventually had a tyre failure," said Alonso.

"We were very lucky today but also very quick."

Alonso had been confident, despite starting from sixth on the grid, because of his strategy of carrying a heavy fuel load in Saturday's qualifying.

The Spaniard's race almost came to an end at the start, when Toyota's Ralf Schumacher hit his Renault.

"I nearly finished my race in the first corner, I don't know who pushed me in the back," said the Spaniard.

He survived the scare, and another when he left the track before his second pitstop, to settle in behind Raikkonen and ready to take advantage when the Finn's tyre problems caused him to slow.

Alonso has 59 points to Raikkonen and Trulli's 27. Renault stretched their lead in the constructors' standings and have 76 points to McLaren's 53 with Toyota on 44.