MONZA, Italy, Sept 9, 2007 (AFP) - Spaniard Fernando Alonso claimed his first ever victory at the Italian Grand Prix here at Monza on Sunday to close the gap on championship-leading McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Alonso, the defending double world champion, finished ahead of his English teammate Hamilton, with Kimi Raikkonen taking third place in a Ferrari.

The Spaniard´s fourth victory of the season was the 19th of his career, but Alonso remains in second place overall behind Hamilton in the world championship drivers standings with four races remaining.