MONZA, Italy, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso collected his third Formula One title of the season with a win Sunday at the Italian Grand Prix.
Alonso started on the pole but quickly fell behind Jenson Button, who passed him in the first lap. However, Alonso took the lead with 15 laps to go with a strong move out of the pits and finished the 53-lap race 2.9 seconds ahead of the McLaren Mercedes entry driven by Button.
Felipe Massa, also driving for Ferrari, finished third 4.2 seconds behind Alonso and Red Bull-Renault's Sebastian Vettel was fourth, 28 seconds off the pace.
Alonso, who won earlier this year at Bahrain and Germany, pulled within 21 points of Mark Webber, who drives for Red-Bull-Renault, for the drivers' championship lead. Lewis Hamilton, with the McLaren-Mercedes team, is second five points back of Webber and Button is fourth, one point behind Alonso. Vettel is in fifth, two points behind Button.
There are five races remaining on the 2010 Formula One schedule, with the Singapore Grind Prix, to be run Sept. 26, next up.
