updated 1:59 p.m. ET July 3, 2005

MAGNY COURS, France - Fernando Alonso wanted to savor the moment.

The Renault driver had such a commanding lead at the French Grand Prix on Sunday, he slowed down at the finish line and waved to his fans in the stands. As he passed the throng of blue-and-yellow supporters, he held up five fingers — one for each of his victories this season.

In a dominant display from the pole position, Alonso won for the fifth time in 10 races, beating Kimi Raikkonen and seven-time champion Michael Schumacher to widen his lead in the Formula One points standings.

“From three or four laps to the end I was expecting this moment — to cross the line and enjoy this victory with the team and with the grandstand,” Alonso said. “So I crossed the line slow to enjoy it with them.”

Alonso never had that opportunity at his last race. He was one of 14 drivers who boycotted the U.S. Grand Prix on June 19 over concerns about tire safety by Michelin.

All the teams were back on the track Sunday, and Michelin officials had to like what they saw. It was the ninth time in 10 races that a team using Michelin tires had won. The lone exception was Schumacher’s win over the depleted field at Indianapolis.

“It was a brilliant result at the end of 10 turbulent days,” said Nick Shorrock, the Michelin Formula One director.

Raikkonen, who started 13th, finished 11.8 seconds behind Alonso in his McLaren-Mercedes. Although he had the third fastest qualifying time, the Finn was penalized 10 spots for changing his engine following its failure during Friday’s practice.

“Without the penalty I think we could have won the race, or be in a possible position to fight for it,” Raikkonen said. “It is a bit disappointing. What happened on Friday really destroyed our weekend.”

Ferrari’s Schumacher was almost a lap behind in third. He won the U.S. Grand Prix against only five other drivers, and they didn’t include Alonso or Raikkonen.

Despite trailing Alonso by 29 points with nine races remaining, Schumacher is reluctant to concede his title.

“As long as mathematically there are opportunities, you go for it,” Schumacher said.

Alonso has 69 points in the standings, followed by Raikkonen with 45 and Schumacher with 40.

Alonso led from the start and was never challenged. Such was his dominance that he built on his lead despite taking three pit stops compared to Raikkonen’s two.

At 10 laps, Alonso’s lead was 14.1 seconds over Jarno Trulli, who shared the front row with Alonso. At 20 laps, the lead was almost 30 seconds.

Raikkonen stayed out of the pits until the 28th lap. He had worked his way up from 13th to second and was less than nine seconds behind, before falling to 30 seconds behind after pitting.

“After the last pit stop the teams were already quite set,” Alonso said. “There were no problems at all with the car.”

Britain’s Jenson Button took his first points of the season for BAR-Honda with a fourth-place finish.

“For us to get fourth at the moment is a great result,” Button said. “We’ve struggled this year for various reasons, but it’s great to get some points and this is a good base for Silverstone (and the British GP).”

BAR-Honda served a two-race ban for racing an overweight car at the San Marino Grand Prix in April.

Toyota’s Trulli ended up fifth, while Alonso’s teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella, was sixth. Toyota’s Ralf Schumacher was seventh, and Sauber’s Jacques Villeneuve was eighth.

Slide show: The Week in Sports Pictures   Oct. 3 - 9 Images from the baseball playoffs, NFL, college football, and more.

The French Grand Prix marked the beginning of the series’ second half of the season. Next up is the British Grand Prix on July 10.

Alonso wasn’t quite ready to claim the title.

“July will be quite tough but we started it in a good position,” he said. “It is quite early, still a lot of races to go.”

MORE FROM NASCAR / MOTORS

NASCAR / Motors Section Front

Johnson celebrates crown, with Damon assist Johnson's feat stacks up to those in other sports Opinion: Johnson isn't the best driver of all time yet   Vote: Is Johnson the greatest NASCAR driver ever? Opinion: NASCAR needs to address its issues   Vote: Will Johnson win fifth straight title next year? Hendrick turns attention to Earnhardt NASCAR wants France info kept from Mayfield Latest NASCAR videos Live odds NASCAR / Motors Section Front   Add NASCAR / Motors headlines to your news reader: