Bridgestone motorsport wrap for 10th September 2007

Bridgestone one-two-three at Monza

Reigning world champion Fernando Alonso has clinched his fourth Grand Prix victory for the season with a six second win over McLaren Mercedes team mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Alonso's win sets up a classic championship tussle with Hamilton after both drivers used the medium and soft compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres to great effect at Monza over the weekend, each employing a two stop strategy. 

Alonso kept the edge over the British rookie as the highly charged and emotional race unfolded in sweltering conditions.  The Spaniard secured pole position and lead throughout with Hamilton only able to stay in his slipstream. 

Hamilton (92 points) is now just three points clear of Alonso (89 points) on the driver's championship table. 

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen finished third just 21 seconds behind Hamilton after a stunning start and an expected one stop strategy.

 The Finn, who struggled with a sore neck after a heavy crash on Saturday, has climbed to third place on the championship table with 74 points.

Alonso recorded the fastest race lap - a 1min 22.871secs - on lap 15 on the medium compound Bridgestone Potenzas.

Bridgestone tyres performed strongly despite the high track temperatures and scorching pace set by the two McLaren Mercedes cars.

"The vast majority of cars did a one stop strategy and they did not sustain any tyre problems despite the longer stints this required," said Kees vande Grint, Bridgestone Motorsport Head of Track Engineering Operations.

 Bridgestone's medium and soft compound Potenza tyres will again be the focus of team strategy at the upcoming ING Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps on September 14-16.

And in other results...

• Giorgio Pantano (Campos) and Timo Glock (iSport) scored wins apiece on Bridgestone's hard compound Potenza racing tyres in the Bridgestone-supported GP2 Series at Monza.