Fernando Alonso edged Michael Schumacher in a thrilling duel at the San Marino Grand Prix, a taste of what many hope will become the rivalry to watch in Formula One.
Alonso kept his cool to win his third consecutive race on Sunday, blocking Schumacher from adding to his tally of six victories at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit.
Alonso won by just 0.215 of a second, after he and Schumacher raced nose to tail for the final 12 laps.
PHOTO: EPA
Schumacher, who finally showed a glimpse of the form that took him to seven world championships, acknowledged that Alonso drove "a great race."
"Fernando now has a car he can compete with, which he didn't have in the past," Schumacher said. When the top drivers "have the right car they fight among each other."
Alonso called the race "one of the best fights" he's ever had, but played down talk of a new era of competition in Formula One following years of Ferrari dominance.
"I am sure it is nothing really more than one fight for the Imola Grand Prix," Alonso said. "Every race is different.''
However, his victory meant Renault has won all four races this year, including Giancarlo Fisichella's triumph in the season-opening Australian GP. "This is probably the best of the three that I've had so far," Alonso said.
While the Spanish driver showed he plans to remain at the top as the Formula One season continues in Europe, Schumacher proved that at 36 he still has the speed to compete with his younger rival.
The world champion made a vast improvement on his first three races, in which he finished only once -- a seventh in Malaysia -- for the worst start of his career.
"This is the first step and I think there is more to come," Schumacher said, complimenting his team on its hard work to improve the Ferrari 2005 model that first raced in Bahrain at the beginning of the month.
Alonso has 36 points, twice as many as Toyota's Jarno Trulli, who finished seventh and remained second in the standings. Schumacher was tied for third with 10 points.
Amid complaints that new rules shifting the final qualifying session to Sunday were driving down attendance at Imola, Schumacher's masterly comeback delighted 65,000 spectators.
Some 100,000 total fans attended three days of practice and racing -- 14,000 fewer than last year.
Schumacher started 13th after running wide onto the dirt in qualifying on Sunday morning, before making up several positions early in the race by making a later first pit stop than other top drivers.
He passed Jenson Button -- who finished third -- with an excellent move on the 47th lap to do battle with Alonso.
"There were two moments when we were very close but I think everything was under control," Alonso said.
Alonso had taken the lead when Kimi Raikkonen, who started on pole, retired after just eight laps with a mechanical problem.
Alonso knew that Schumacher had been lapping more than a second quicker than him, and that his only chance was to brake more at the corners and avoid catching the traffic in front.
"I was playing this game at every corner and in the end it was OK," Alonso said.
Renault remains atop the constructor's standings with 46 points, followed by Toyota with 28 and McLaren-Mercedes at 24. Ferrari moved from sixth to fourth with 18 entering the Spanish GP in two weeks.
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