Monza, Italy (EON) - Formula One team McLaren-Mercedes put all their troubles aside on Sunday as they took a one-two at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

Fernando Alonso, who started the race from pole, led from start to finish, beating his team-mate Lewis Hamilton into second place. Third place went to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

For McLaren, who next week will be facing another investigation into the ongoing spy scandal involving them and Ferrari, the victory was particularly sweet as they managed to completely dominate the rest of the field.

After Alonso crossed the finish line team principal Ron Dennis had tears in his eyes as he was hugged by well-wishers.

The Spaniard managed to win the start, but Hamilton came close to losing his second-place position to Ferrari’s Felipe Massa.

The young Briton had to cut a corner on the first lap to avoid a crash with the Ferrari, but although the incident was investigated, Hamilton was found not to have done anything illegal.

The safety car had to come out on the second lap after the Red Bull of David Coulthard was involved in a crash as he smashed into the barriers.

After the safety car pulled off the track on the sixth lap there were no immediate changes in the placings.

Massa’s hopes of gaining ground on the two leading McLaren’s ended on the 11th lap as he pulled into the garage with a mechanical problem.

Alonso and Hamilton then managed to put some distance between themselves and Raikkonen, who had managed to move into fourth from fifth at the start and became the main challenger after Massa withdrew.

The Finn, who, unlike the two McLaren’s was on a one-stop strategy, managed to overtake Hamilton as the McLaren went into the pits for the second stop, but Alonso had enough of an advantage to stay in front.

Raikkonen’s hold on second place was short-lived though and lasted less than two laps as Hamilton managed to overtake the Finn on turn one in a daring move.

Germany’s Nick Heidfeld in a BMW-Sauber took fourth place from his team-mate Robert Kubica. Nico Rosberg in a Williams was sixth, while Heikki Kovalainen in a Renault was seventh. The final championship point went to Jenson Button in a Honda.

Alonso’s victory sees the Spaniard cut the lead at the top of the championship standings to three points. Hamilton has 92 points, while Alonso is on 89. Raikkonen moves into third place on 74.

The next race is the Belgian Grand Prix on September 16 at Spa- Francorchamps.