Alonso tightens his stranglehold

"We're building a nice gap," he said of his championship position after taking the chequered flag at the Monaco Grand Prix, the ultimate drivers' circuit and seventh of 18 races this season.

It is more like a chasm.

Alonso is 21 points clear of Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, his closest rival, with McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen 37 points behind in third place along with Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella.

The 24-year-old Spaniard is annihilating the opposition, dropping just six points out of a total 70 that he could have won so far.

Sunday's victory in Monaco was his 13th successive podium finish, fourth win of the year and 12th of his already stellar career.

"Four wins and three seconds is a perfect start - and if I keep doing that in the next seven then probably the championship will look very good," said the Spaniard.

If he keeps on doing that, his second crown will be as good as won.

Sunday's race around Monaco's tight and twisty streets was a high-speed cruise for Alonso after Raikkonen had retired with a smouldering engine.

"There is not much to say about his race, apart from the fact that he had it perfectly under control," said Renault's engineering head Pat Symonds.

Knowing how difficult it is to pass in the Mediterranean principality, Alonso regulated his pace to protect his tyres and engine and minimise the risks.

"I knew that there were important parts of the race, laps close to the pitstops and the laps after the pitstops, and I wanted to have the tyres in good condition for those laps," said the Spaniard.

Monaco was one of the races Alonso wanted to win this season, along with Barcelona and Indianapolis, and he has now achieved two of the three after his triumph earlier this month in his home Grand Prix.

He had not stood on the Monaco podium before, thwarted last year by excessive tyre wear and the year before that when he crashed out while heading for a one-two finish behind teammate Jarno Trulli.

"It's very special, probably the most popular motor race in the world and we did it," he said.

"I think in 2003 we had a small opportunity, the car wasn't really good enough to fight for victory, but in 2004 I was teamed with Trulli and we had the incident in the tunnel.

"In 2005 we were on the pace until the tyres went due to a small mistake we made. And the third time was the definite time and we did it."