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Schumacher wins, Alonso retires at Monza

Michael Schumacher won Sunday's Italian Grand Prix in commanding style to reduce title rival and defending champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso's lead to just two points

Alonso was forced to retire after 44 laps of the 53-lap race when his Renault engine blew up and this left Schumacher, already leading comfortably, with a straightforward run to the flag.

Alonso had been forced to start from 10th on the grid after being penalised by the race stewards and fought his way through to third before he dropped out. Schumacher started second and secured the lead after the first round of pitstops and then stayed there in his Ferrari throughout the second half of a largely processional race.

German Schumacher, 37, came home first for his 90th career win with a comfortable lead ahead of Finn Kimi Raikkonen who finished second for McLaren Mercedes-Benz. Poland's Robert Kubica secured his first podium finish by taking third place for Sauber BMW.

Italian Giancarlo Fisichella finished fourth for Renault, Briton Jenson Button was fifth for Honda ahead of his teammate Brazilian Rubens Barrichello. Italian Jarno Trulli came home seventh in a Toyota and German Nick Heidfeld was eighth in the second BMW.

In the drivers' championship, Schumacher moved to within two points of Alonso. The Spaniard now has 108 points and Schumacher 106 with three races remaining in China, Japan and Brazil.

For the German, it means an extraordinary eighth title now beckons if he can maintain his competitive edge despite all the high speculation surrounding his future.

After a bright morning of warm sunshine and packed news conferences in a frenzied paddock, the race began in dry and hot conditions. The air temperature was 28 degrees Celsius and the track temperature was 41 as Finn Kimi Raikkonen made a clean getaway from the 11th pole position of his career in his McLaren Mercedes-Benz.

Behind him, Nick Heidfeld in his BMW Sauber managed to pull ahead of fellow German Michael Schumacher in his Ferrari on the run into the first chicane, but the 37-year-old seven-time champion driver showed all his experience and pedigree as he recovered his place in the run through the Curva Grande.

As the field battled for places at this stage, it was Poland's Robert Kubica who showed up as the big winner having swept through from sixth on the grid to take third place in the second BMW ahead of Brazilian Felipe Massa in his Ferrari and Briton Jenson Button in a Honda.

Alonso, who had been dropped from fifth to 10th on the grid overnight by the stewards' decision that deprived him of his three best qualifying times in the final session, for allegedly blocking Massa, managed to claim seventh on the opening lap and then take sixth by passing Heidfeld early on lap two with a questionable move - cutting out the first chicane to gain his advantage.

After this, there was precious little to report  as the field settled into a high speed procession until the first pit stops began, save for the sight of Nico Rosberg of Germany retiring his Williams with what looked like engine failure.

Raikkonen reeled off several fastest laps before he pitted after 15 laps as leader, leaving Schumacher to inherit the front position ahead of Kubica who became the first Pole to lead a Grand Prix when the seven-times champion himself pitted two laps later.

By the time Kubica himself pitted, after 22 laps, the picture was changed again and Schumacher led, having taken advantage of the opportunity presented by the stops to pass Raikkonen in the way only he can, with the Finn second behind by 2.3 seconds.

Heidfeld's incident-filled day continued as he climbed back to fifth and pitted during which he broke the pit-lane speed limit for which, soon afterwards, he was handed a 'drive through' penalty.

For Renault, it was also a difficult day. On top of Alonso's struggles, Italian Giancarlo Fisichella was unable to make any real impression after starting ninth. He ran third before his first pit stop and then dropped away again.

By the half-way stage, at the end of lap 27, Schumacher had opened up a 2.4 seconds lead on Raikkonen who in turn was a further 17.8 seconds ahead of Kubica. This meant the field behind was held up, led by Brazilian Rubens Barrichello in his Honda, Massa and Italian Jarno Trulli's Toyota. Alonso was trapped in seventh place.

Schumacher continued to lead and open up a gap on Raikkonen. By lap 30, it was 3.2 seconds and Alonso was sixth, nearly 30 seconds off the leader's pace. But when Barrichello pitted, Alonso climbed to fifth, albeit behind Massa.

Raikkonen began the second round of stops after 38 laps, Schumacher followed one lap later and then Alonso, Kubica and Button pitted together, the first two racing out of pit-lane side by side afterwards. The outcome was that Alonso secured third place on the track, albeit briefly.

The Spaniard's emotional charge came to an end on lap 44 when, chasing Schumacher and Raikkonen, his engine blew on the run into the first chicane, dumping oil on which Massa, behind him, almost lost control. Massa, who had pitted immediately after Schumacher after 39, returned to the pits for fresh clean tyres, having cut across the chicane.

This drama left Schumacher in the lead to the delight of Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo sitting on the pit wall with Raikkonen second by 6.8 seconds and Kubica heading for a first podium in third.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Italian Grand Prix
Autodromo di Monza, Italy;
53 laps; 306.720km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time
 1.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari              (B)  1h14:51.975
 2.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes     (M)  +     8.046
 3.  Kubica        BMW-Sauber           (M)  +    26.414
 4.  Fisichella    Renault              (M)  +    32.045
 5.  Button        Honda                (M)  +    32.685
 6.  Barrichello   Honda                (M)  +    42.409
 7.  Trulli        Toyota               (B)  +    44.662
 8.  Heidfeld      BMW-Sauber           (M)  +    45.309
 9.  Massa         Ferrari              (B)  +    45.955
10.  Webber        Williams-Cosworth    (B)  +  1:12.602
11.  Klien         Red Bull-Ferrari     (M)  +     1 lap
12.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Ferrari     (M)  +     1 lap
13.  Speed         Toro Rosso-Cosworth  (M)  +     1 lap
14.  Liuzzi        Toro Rosso-Cosworth  (M)  +     1 lap
15.  R.Schumacher  Toyota               (B)  +     1 lap
16.  Sato          Super Aguri-Honda    (B)  +    2 laps
17.  Albers        MF1-Toyota           (B)  +    2 laps

Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1:22.559

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap
Monteiro      MF1-Toyota           (B)    45
Alonso        Renault              (M)    44
de la Rosa    McLaren-Mercedes     (M)    21
Yamamoto      Super Aguri-Honda    (B)    23
Rosberg       Williams-Cosworth    (B)    10


World Championship standings, round 15:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Alonso       108        1.  Ferrari              168
 2.  M.Schumacher 106        2.  Renault              165
 3.  Massa         62        3.  McLaren-Mercedes      97
 4.  Fisichella    57        4.  Honda                 65
 5.  Raikkonen     57        5.  BMW-Sauber            33
 6.  Button        40        6.  Toyota                30
 7.  Montoya       26        7.  Red Bull-Ferrari      16
 8.  Barrichello   25        8.  Williams-Cosworth     10
 9.  Heidfeld      20        9.  Toro Rosso-Cosworth    1
10.  R.Schumacher  18       
11.  Coulthard     14       
12.  de la Rosa    14       
13.  Trulli        12       
14.  Villeneuve     7       
15.  Kubica         6       
16.  Webber         6       
17.  Rosberg        4       
18.  Klien          2       
19.  Liuzzi         1       
       
All timing unofficial

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