After winning a thrilling battle with McLaren’s Jenson Button in the Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso jumped back into title contention.
The Spaniard advanced from fifth to third place in the championship standings, now 21 points behind Red Bull’s Mark Webber, who is three points ahead of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton’s race ended prematurely after a collision with Felipe Massa, who secured a third-place finish.
Button remains in fourth position overall, right ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, as a victory encapsulated all five contenders.
In a race viewed by Red Bull as damage limitation, Vettel finished fourth while Webber came sixth, trailing Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg.
The race’s defining moments emerged around laps 36 and 37.
Button, who had led from the very beginning after overtaking Alonso at the first chicane due to a slow start from the pole-sitter, saw Alonso closely tracking him during the early laps.
Although by lap 13 Button had managed to build a 1.6-second lead, Alonso made a comeback, leading to them being nose to tail by lap 20.
A succession of fastest laps from Button allowed him to stretch his lead to a second by lap 29, but Alonso was quick to counter.
Button was the first to pit on lap 36, followed shortly by Alonso on the next lap. A superb in-lap paired with a pit stop that was 0.8 seconds faster than McLaren’s allowed Alonso to exit ahead of Button.
He fiercely defended his position at the first chicane, holding off Button and pulling away at a rate that Button couldn’t cope with.
Instead, Button had to focus on Massa, who was slightly quicker in the final laps but unable to get close enough for a challenge.
Hamilton’s hopes were dashed at the second chicane on the first lap, as he attempted to capitalize on a skirmish between the two Ferrari drivers.
Alonso, delayed by his tussle with Button at the first corner, allowed Massa to draw alongside him through the second, left-handed part of the chicane.
This positioning granted Massa the inside line into the following Curva Grande, but Alonso maintained his inside position as they approached the second chicane, keeping hold of second place.
Hamilton, positioned right behind, sought to pass Massa on the inside but wasn’t close enough as they entered the corner.
The rear of Massa’s car collided with the front of Hamilton’s, resulting in damage to the McLaren’s suspension.
“I had a good start and gained a position,” Hamilton commented.
“In a realistic world, I should have perhaps stayed where I was for a while. I attempted to pass on the inside and aimed for third – but clearly, it was a bit too ambitious. I’m very disappointed in myself and apologize to the team.
“I need to gather my thoughts and prepare for the next race. The championship isn’t over yet, but errors like the one I made today can cost world championships.”
Vettel managed to recover from a temporary engine issue, which had lost him a position to teammate Webber, by executing an ultra-late pit stop for a new set of tires at the start of the final lap.
The additional time spent on track allowed him to leapfrog ahead of Webber, Williams’ Nico Hulkenberg, and Renault’s Robert Kubica, all of whom he had been behind prior to their pit stops.
