Schumacher wins Italian GP to close gap on Alonso

Sep 10, 2006, 13:39 GMT

German Formula One driver Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) ldrives ahead of German Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) and Polish Robert Kubica after the start of the Grand Prix of Italy at the race track in Monza, Italy, Sunday 10 September 2006. EPA/Gero Breloer

Monza, Italy - Michael Schumacher won Sunday's Italian Grand Prix at Monza to close the gap on championship leader Fernando Alonso by ten to just two points after the Spaniard came out empty-handed as his Renault engine blew up with 10 laps remaining.

The result sees Schumacher, who is expected to announce this is his final season in Formula One later Sunday, with 106 points in the drivers' championship to Alonso's 108 with just three races remaining in the season.

Ferrari also move three points clear of Renault in the constructors' championship after Schumacher's win.

Schumacher started from second on the grid behind Kimi Raikkonen in a McLaren-Mercedes but the 37-year-old German managed to leapfrog the Finn during the first set of pit stops and was never seriously challenged afterwards. Raikkonen went on to take second spot, 8.046 seconds behind seven-time world champion Schumacher.

Polish driver Robert Kubica finished an impressive third in only his third Formula One race for BMW Sauber.

Giancarlo Fisichella in the second Renault claimed fourth place, followed by Jenson Button and his Honda teammate Rubens Barrichello. Jarno Trulli of Toyota finished seventh while Nick Heidfeld in the second BMW managed to hold off Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari to claim eighth after qualifying in third.

Renault's Alonso originally qualified in fifth place but was forced to start from 10th on the grid after race stewards nullified his best three laps in the final qualifying session Saturday - a move he claimed was evidence FIA wanted Schumacher to win this year's championship.

The decision meant the 25-year-old Spaniard found himself fighting to pass Button in the early stages of the race and then Heidfeld before the BMW driver was given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

However, Alonso looked to have minimized the damage of a Schumacher victory to his championship chances when he managed to come out ahead of both Kubica and Massa after his final pit stop to lie third.

But Renault's joy was short-lived as Alonso's race ended in a pall of blue smoke. Massa, who was behind Alonso at the time, was forced to pit to change his tyres as a precautionary measure, a decision that saw him finish outside of the points.