Even if it was his first win this year not assisted by attrition ahead (as at Bahrain when Sebastian Vettel's engine went sour) or the courteous actions of teammate Felipe Massa (in Germany), Fernando Alonso's victory in the Italian Grand Prix was a good one.

The 2005 and '06 champion was beaten off the line by Jenson Button but stayed calm. Taking his mandatory pit stop for tires one lap later than the McLaren driver, Alonso completed his 'in lap' more than half a second faster than Button did his.

Together with quicker teamwork from the Ferrari mechanics, it was enough to leap frog the Spaniard into the lead - and puts him third in the points, just 21 from the top. These days, 25 points are scored for a race victory and the top five contenders (Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton, Alonso, Button and Sebastian Vettel) are covered by just 24.