Alonso wins on home soil
World champion Fernando Alonso scored an emotional home victory in the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona to end Michael Schumacher’s winning streak.
The Renault driver delighted the 130,000 capacity crowd by becoming the first local winner in the race’s 50-year history, pulling out a 15-point championship lead in the process.
He easily outgunned Schumacher after starting from pole position to win at a canter, with the Ferrari driver 18.5 seconds back in second spot after two consecutive victories.
Alonso’s team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella failed to rob Schumacher of more points though having lost out in the pits and he came home a distant third.
Felipe Massa finished in the top four for the third consecutive race to add more points to Ferrari’s tally, although they now trail Renault by 19 in the constructors’ standings.
Kimi Raikkonen made up for a lacklustre qualifying lap to move up to fifth as the only McLaren driver to finish after Juan Pablo Montoya spun out.
Raikkonen held Jenson Button at bay to leave the Honda driver down in sixth, his best result in four races, while team-mate Rubens Barrichello was one place further back.
Nick Heidfeld rounded out the points for BMW-Sauber but David Coulthard could not mark his 200th grand prix with a result to celebrate and brought his Red Bull home 15th.
The Scotsman started from the back following a qualifying clash and ahead of him Alonso had to keep Fisichella at bay after both Renaults left the Ferraris trailing.
Raikkonen made a stunning getaway to bully his way through the squabbling pack and into fifth from ninth on the grid.
The Finn was soon the only McLaren in action after Montoya’s disappointing race ended in fitting style with a 19th-lap spin.
Montoya’s McLaren was beached on the kerbs and despite his best efforts, it remained stranded.
He was not the only driver to make a mistake early in the race with former Williams colleague Ralf Schumacher ruining his race with a thoughtless move on Toyota team-mate Jarno Trulli.
With no hope of passing the Italian, Schumacher lunged down the inside, knocking his front wing off.
At the front, world champion Alonso was engaged in a strategic duel with Michael Schumacher and spent 17 laps trying to pull clear of his title rival.
Fisichella held Schumacher back but had to pit for more fuel a lap after Alonso, leaving the track clear for the Ferrari ace to put in some quick laps.
He was fast enough to sneak ahead of Fisichella into second on his 23rd-lap stop and was given breathing space when the Italian bounced through the gravel soon after.
Despite losing his rear gunner, Alonso still pulled clear of Schumacher and pitted on lap 40 with a comfortable advantage.
Schumacher attempted to turn up the pressure but had only 10 seconds in hand when he stopped for the final time on lap 46, leaving Alonso clear out front.
That was how it looked at the end of a processional race which saw only the top six on the same lap by the chequered flag.
Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, Barcelona, Spain
66 Laps: 1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1hr 26mins 21.759secs, 2 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 1:26:40.261, 3 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 1:26:45.710, 4 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:26:51.618, 5 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren 1:27:18.634, 6 Jenson Button (Gbr) Honda 1:27:20.106, 7 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda at 1 lap, 8 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber at 1 lap, 9 Mark Webber (Aus) Williams at 1 lap, 10 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota at 1 lap, 11 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams at 1 lap, 12 Jacques Villeneuve (Can) BMW Sauber at 1 lap, 13 Christian Klien (Aut) Red Bull at 1 lap, 14 David Coulthard (Gbr) Red Bull at 1 lap, 15 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Scuderia Toro Rosso at 3 laps, 16 Tiago Monteiro (Por) Midland at 3 laps, 17 Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri at 4 laps
Not Classified: 18 Christijan Albers (Ned) Midland 48 laps completed, 19 Scott Speed USA Scuderia Toro Rosso 47 laps completed, 20 Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 31 laps completed, 21 Juan Montoya (Col) McLaren 17 laps completed, 22 Franck Montagny (Fra) Super Aguri 10 laps completed
World Championship Standings
Driver: 1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 54pts, 2 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 39, 3 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren 27, 4 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 24, 5 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 20, 6 Jenson Button (Gbr) Honda 16, 7 Juan Montoya (Col) McLaren 15, 8 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 8, 9 Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 7, 10 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 6, 11 Mark Webber (Aus) Williams 6, 12 Jacques Villeneuve (Can) BMW Sauber 6, 13 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 4, 14 Christian Klien (Aut) Red Bull 1, 15 David Coulthard (Gbr) Red Bull 1
Manufacturers: 1 Renault 78pts, 2 Ferrari 59, 3 McLaren 42, 4 Honda 24, 5 BMW Sauber 12, 6 Williams 10, 7 Toyota 7, 8 Red Bull 2
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