Alonso pays tribute to Michelin

Michelin died in a boat accident at the age of 42.

The French company enjoyed a strong weekend, with the podium being filled by Michelin-shod cars.

"I think first of all, I dedicate this victory to Edouard Michelin," said Renault driver Alonso.

"On Friday we had the sad news coming and I think Michelin did a great job in the last two or three years in F1 and especially this year and this race to give us the possibility to get this win and beat our opponents.

Alonso scored his 12th Grand Prix victory, his first in the principality, to extend his championship lead over Ferrari rival Michael Schumacher to 21 points after even races.

The Ferrari driver, starting from the back of the grid after a penalty following his controversial qualifying incident, recovered to finish in a distant fifth place.

The pressure was off Alonso after McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, last year's winner on the streets of the Mediterranean principality, pulled over with a smoking engine on lap 51. The team suspected a burning heat shield was to blame.

Until then, the Finn had taken the fight to the Spaniard, pushing him from the second lap and the two running nose to tail and rarely more than a second apart as they carved round the treacherous street circuit.

"The race was quite emotional and for sure starting from pole things become a little bit easier," added Alonso.

"Kimi put some pressure in the race. I slowed down a little (in the second stint) but it was not as easy race: you have to keep concentrating, push to the limits, and we managed it.

"It was one of those races I had a cross on the calendar and thanks to the team and Michelin we did it."