Ferrari's Fernando Alonso is on pole to the delight of the Italian fans in Monza. McLaren's reigning world champion Jenson Button is alongside him on the front row
Button makes the quickest start but is squeezed by Alonso who tries to hold on to his first place, however the British driver holds his nerve to lead into Turn One
Button is nudged by Alonso as he goes through Turn Two but more interestingly, championship leader Lewis Hamilton also gains a place and is up to fourth, while Red Bull's Mark Webber slips back to ninth
Hamilton's race is short-lived though as he collides with Felipe Massa in Turn Four and retires after breaking his suspension. The Ferrari driver suffers no damage and sets off in pursuit of Button and Alonso
Button holds off Alonso, using his superior downforce through the corners, until lap 37 when Ferrari produce a pit stop 0.8 seconds quicker than McLarens enabling their driver to take the lead
Button closes up through the first chicane but Alonso retains the inside line before racing clear and to open up a lead of a couple of seconds
It is a lead that the Spaniard holds onto to win his first race at Monza as a Ferrari driver and secure his team's first win at their home track since 2006
Alonso's victory closes up the title race with the Ferrari driver moving up from fifth to third in the standings, just 19 points behind new world championship leader Mark Webber of Red Bull who finished sixth
Button is also spraying the champagne on the podium after finishing second. The result leaves Button in fourth place overall, 17 points adrift of his McLaren team-mate Hamilton, who is in turn, five points behind Webber
Brazil's Felipe Massa comes home third to give Ferrari a double podium finish in their home Grand Prix and keep them in the race for the constructors championship
For Ferrari's legendary tifosi it is almost the perfect end to the weekend and they show their gratitude for the efforts made by their drivers by swarming onto the track to celebrate the victory
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