Alonso makes it three in a row!

Fiery Fernando held up three fingers to the on-board camera,signifying his third straight victory, and then gave a thumbs up to a jubliant Michael Schumacher, a man who had more than shown his mettle in a race that was filled with as much ups and downs as does the slippy, hilly Imola track itself. In the end, it was a Renault, a Ferrari and a BAR Honda on the podium.

Starting the race at P2, Alonso stepped up to the lead after the unlucky race leader Kimi Raikonnen slipped out during lap eight owing to a mechanical failure. From there on, there was no stopping Alonso as he sped to the podium. Fending off a Scuderia scare during the last twelve laps from the German great Michael Schumacher, Alonso proved once again that he is not just a pretending contender to the top slot, but the crown prince to the Formula One fiefdom.

The race might have belonged to Alonso, but my applauds would go to another man. A man whohas done more than merely stamp his name on the Formula One hall of fame. Starting from 13th position after a poor second qualifying, very few people expected the German ace to stand on the podium. But an inspired Schumacher with ace strategist Ross Brawn made it possible for the Scuderia's to ensure that their Tifosi did not go home empty handed at the most important racing juncture for the Ferrari's. Between lap 30 and lap 40, Michael Schumacher gained at a rate of almost two seconds a lap, reducing the 21 second gap between him and Jensen Button, the BAR driver who eventually finished third, and then going on to take race leader Alonso to a nail-biting finish, one where the first two cars were just 0.215 seconds apart at the end.

Almost thirty thousand Tifosi thronged the Enzo e Dino Circuit at Imola, a circuit that is just an hour away from Maranello and Mugello, the locations of the Ferrari factory and testing circuit. And the chequered flag interlaced with the prancing horse flew higher and higher and the roar of the Tifosi grew louder and louder with each lap that Michael Schumacher gained on. And a superb second pitstop made it possible for the German to quicken up and catch the tail lights of Alonso the race leader, a man whose car was almost 40 seconds ahead of his own during the first round of pit-stops. From there on, Alonso made sure that Schumacher's quest for a sixth victory at Imola would be kept at bay for twelve more months. In a superb show, Alonso managed to keep the seven-time world champion at bay, even giving the veteran a few defensive lessons at times.Fernando's driving was so sublime that it managed to bring a smile on the nervous face of Flavio Briatore, the Renault team principal, inspite of the fact that the red dot on Alonso's rear-view mirror kept coming closer and closer with each passing lap.

Among the others, Alexander Wurz salvaged some pride, coming fourth for McLaren. Takuma Sato completed a good weekend for BAR Honda, grabing five points. A revitalised Villeneuve backed up by clevar thinking from the Sauber pit came in sixth, ahead of the tottering Toyota's of Trulli and Schumacher Jnr. Massa found himself in an awkward position, getting caught in traffic and coming in far behind his usually flummoxed partner Villeneuve. The Williams' drivers Heidfeld and Webber were caught in a fight of their own, Heidfeld managing to catch up with his team mate Webber and pass him. Liuzzi, the fresh driver from the Red-Bull stables blew off team mate David Coulthard. Coulthard had to settle for thirteenth place after a determined Massa shouldered him for twelveth position.

As for the Jordan's, Narain Karthikeyan proved once again that he was the most impressive rookie of the lot, setting the twelveth fastest lap and giving David Coulthard a scare. Narain eventually came in 14th. Tiego Monteiro ruefully followed his team mate to the finish, coming in fifteenth. As for the new look Minardi's, they couldnt salvage anything for a race, their new look PS05 failing to impress even their own drivers.

Overall, a great start to the European leg of the season and one of the most competitive races that i have seen in a long long time. With the coming of age of Alonso and the rejuvenation Ferrari, one can expect the competition to grow harder in the coming races.

Forecast for Catalunya :: Maranello thunders followed by heavy Scuderia style blood-rains that would leave the Tifosi intoxicated and the rest incarcerated!