Renault?s Fernando Alonso after winning the San Marino GP at the Imola racetrack on Sunday. (AFP)

Imola: Narain Karthikeyan finished more than a lap ahead of his teammate Tiago Monteiro of Portugal to steer his Jordan-Toyota car to 14th position in the San Marino Grand Prix here Sunday as Renault?s Fernando Alonso clinched the contest forcing a charged-up Michael Schumacher to be content with second place.

Narain, who began the race at 17th spot, gave a near flawless display for his third finish in four races. He was forced to retire in the last race in Bahrain due to an electricals fault in his car after decent finishes in the first two races ? in Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur.

The Indian ace finished nearly 17 seconds behind Red Bull Racing?s David Coulthard, who came 13th.

RESULTS

1. Fernando Alonso (Renault) 2. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 3. Jenson Button (BAR) 4. Alexander Wurz (McLaren) 5. Takuma Sato (BAR) 6. Jacques Villeneuve (Sauber) 7. Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 8. Ralf Schumacher (Toyota) 9. Nick Heidfeld (Williams) 10. Mark Webber (Williams) 11. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Red Bull) 12. Felipe Massa (Sauber) 13. David Coulthard (Red Bull) 14. Narain Karthikeyan (Jordan) 15. Tiago Monteiro (Jordan)

The battle for the top spot between Schumacher and Alonso provided an edge-of-the-seat thriller for the roaring fans at Imola before the Spaniard used all his skills to nose ahead at the finish line just 0.2 seconds ahead of the Ferrari driver. BAR-Honda?s Jenson Button took the third while McLaren Mercedes? Alexander Wurz and teammate Takuma Sato came fourth and fifth, respectively.

The last 10 laps of the San Marino Grand Prix were a glorious duel, a clash of the generations with 23-year-old Spanish heir apparent Alonso holding his nerve against the most successful champion of them all.

Renault won their fourth race in a row but nobody leaving Imola, Ferrari?s home circuit, Sunday could doubt that the battle lines were drawn for what promises to be a thrillingly competitive season. The German?s first podium of the season was also his 100th for Ferrari

STANDINGS

(Top-10) Drivers — 1. Fernando Alonso (Renault) 36 points; 2. Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 18; 3. Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault) 10; 4. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 10; 5. Ralf Schumacher (Toyota) 10; 6. David Coulthard (Red Bull) 9; 7. Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) 8; 8. Juan Pablo Montoya (McLaren) 8; 9. Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren) 7; 10. Mark Webber (Williams) 7. Constructors — 1. Renault 46; 2. Toyota 28; 3. McLaren-Mercedes 24; 4. Ferrari 18; 5. Williams-BMW 13; 6. Red-Bull-Cosworth 12; 7. BAR-Honda 10; 8. Sauber-Petronas 5; 9. Jordan-Toyota 0; 10. Minardi-Cosworth 0

Both the Jordan drivers made a solid start and then had relatively uneventful races until 11 laps to the end when Monteiro (who finished 15th) suffered a puncture caused by picked-up debris, which damaged his right rear wheel.

Karthikeyan who finished with an aggregate time of 2:52.099 in his EJ15/02 called it the best race so far in terms of the speed he clocked. ?This is the best race for me so far pace-wise. I have made a decent start and I was able to keep close to the cars in front. I had a good first pit stop but I made a small mistake in the second one, which unfortunately cost me some time, and then I was on my own for the rest of the race.?

Jordan sporting director Trevor Carlin was impressed with the way Narain chased the two Red Bull drivers. ?We had quite a good race, where we showed a very good pace with Tiago and especially Narain hanging on to the Red Bull cars and Felipe Massa.?