He didn't see the chequered flag first, but
Fernando Alonso was the big winner on Sunday. In front of
Ferrari's adoring Tifosi at historic Monza, the Spaniard managed to extend his championship lead from 24 to 37 points, after seeing his 40-point lead diminish in the Spa crash a week ago.
Having qualified a miserable tenth on Saturday, Alonso pulled off Sunday's feat by finishing third, behind his new nearest challenger
Lewis Hamilton (1st) and
Sauber's charging
Sergio Perez (2nd).
"We had the pace to recover," a delighted Alonso told
Niki Lauda on the podium.
Defending champion and 2011 Monza winner
Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, has sunk from second in the standings to just fourth; the Red Bull driver's race collapsing with a penalty for forcing Alonso wide, and then ending completely with another alternator failure.
Other title challengers
Mark Webber and
Jenson Button also failed to finish on Sunday, leaving Kimi Raikkonen now third in the drivers' standings with seven races to go. (GMM)
Replies (0)
Login to reply