Schumacher wins Italian GP; Alonso blows.

The world championship gap is down to just two points between Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher after the German took full advantage of a rare engine failure for his rival to scythe into the deficit.

Schumacher did what he needed, winning the race comfortably by seven seconds over Kimi Raikkonen after passing the poleman in the first round of pit-stops, but would have seen his gain reduced dramatically had Alonso not suffered his failure. The Spaniard had climbed to third place after being controversially demoted to tenth on the grid, but saw his RS26 powerplant expire in the biggest possible way in front of the main stand.

That allowed Raikkonen an untroubled passage to second, and also promoted Robert Kubica to the podium in only his third race in Formula One. The Pole excelled at the start and kept his BMW Sauber in the hunt all afternoon.

Giancarlo Fisichella claimed fourth after a one-stop strategy, limiting Ferrari's gain in the constructors' championship - a gap also affected by Felipe Massa needing to pit for a third time after Alonso's demise - while Honda capped a difficult weekend by getting its two drivers home in fifth and sixth. Jarno Trulli and Nick Heidfeld rounded out the scorers, just ahead of the recovering Massa.

Full report and results to follow....