Forza Fernando! Alonso Wins in Italy

Fernando Alonso won an intriguing, if not exciting, Italian Grand Prix, beating Jenson Button to the chequered flag in Ferrari's home race

Although Alonso started the grand prix from pole position, the Spaniard lost out to Button off the line as the Brit pulled off a flying start.

And with Championship leader Lewis Hamilton out of the grand on the first lap with a broken steering arm curtesy of a coming together with Felipe Massa, it was a perfect opportunity for his title rivals to make up some ground on the 2008 World Champ.

Button put up with immense pressure from Alonso, who maintained a second gap between the two as they traded fastest laps with Massa always in the background in third place.

However, it was the pit stops that decided the race as Button pitted on lap 37, handing the lead over to Alonso, who pitted a lap later.

Alonso emerged marginally ahead of Button and although the reigning World Champ tried to put his warmer tyres to good use and overtake the Spaniard, he was unable to.

From there it was Alonso who had to put up with the pressure applied by Button, however, it wasn't long he appeared to break Button's spirits and pull away from the McLaren driver to claim Ferrari's first home victory since 2006.

Massa was third with Sebastian Vettel, who came in for his mandatory pit stop on the very last lap of the grand prix, in fourth place.

Results:
01. Alonso Ferrari 1h16:24.572
02. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 2.938
03. Massa Ferrari + 4.223
04. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 28.193
05. Rosberg Mercedes + 29.942
06. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 31.276
07. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth + 32.812
08. Kubica Renault + 34.028
09. Schumacher Mercedes + 44.948
10. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:04.200
11. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:05.00
12. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes + 1:06.100
13. Petrov Renault + 1:18.900
14. De la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
15. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
16. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
17. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
18. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth + 2 laps
19. Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
20. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps

Did Not Finish
Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 47
Senna HRT-Cosworth 12
Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1
Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1

Source: Planet-F1

Bahrain GP: Alonso Tops Ferrari 1-2

Fernando Alonso started his Ferrari career with a bang, winning the season-opening Bahrain GP ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa.

With the new regulations, new drivers and new teams all coming into play, the outcome of the Sakhir race was anybody's guess, although many were guessing that Ferrari were the favourites.

The Scuderia, though, downplayed the tag and justifiably so as Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel had their measure throughout the first half of the grand prix.

However, a broken exhaust cost the Red Bull racer as the problem meant a serious loss of power - costing him almost two seconds a lap. It also cost him the lead as he was overhauled by Alonso while Massa followed his team-mate by seconds later.

Lewis Hamilton was the next to overtake Vettel, moving up into third place while the German could do little more than count down the remaining laps as Nico Rosberg edged ever closer.

The Merc driver, though, wasn't able to get close enough as a heroic last lap burst from Vettel ensured he had a big enough advantage to cross the line ahead of his countryman.

Michael Schumacher bagged points on his return to F1, finishing in sixth place ahead of Jenson Button, Mark Webber, Tonio Liuzzi and Rubens Barrichello.

Meanwhile, it was a disappointing afternoon for two of F1's three new teams as neither Hispania nor Virgin got a single driver to even the halfway point in the race, never mind the finish.

As for Lotus, they got one driver home with Heikki Kovalainen finishing 15th while his team-mate Jarno Trulli was 16th, although he did stop on the final lap.

Results:

1 F. Alonso Ferrari 1:39:20.396
2 F. Massa Ferrari + 16.099
3 L. Hamilton McLaren + 23.182
4 S. Vettel Red Bull + 38.799
5 N. Rosberg Mercedes Grand Prix + 40.213
6 M. Schumacher Mercedes Grand Prix + 44.163
7 J. Button McLaren + 45.280
8 M. Webber Red Bull + 46.360
9 V. Liuzzi Force India F1 + 53.008
10 R. Barrichello Williams + 1:02.489
11 R. Kubica Renault + 1:09.093
12 A. Sutil Force India F1 + 1:22.958
13 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso + 1:32.656
14 N. Hulkenberg Williams + 1 lap(s)
15 H. Kovalainen Lotus F1 + 2 lap(s)
16 J. Trulli Lotus F1 + 3 lap(s)

Did not finish

17 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso + 3 lap(s)
18 P. de la Rosa Sauber + 21 lap(s)
19 B. Senna HRT F1 Team + 32 lap(s)
20 T. Glock Virgin Racing + 33 lap(s)
21 V. Petrov Renault + 36 lap(s)
22 K. Kobayashi Sauber + 38 lap(s)
23 L. Di Grassi Virgin Racing + 46 lap(s)
24 K. Chandhok HRT F1 Team + 47 lap(s)

Source: Planet-F1