Juan Pablo Montoya won the British Grand Prix for McLaren to chalk up his first success of the Formula One season.

While the Colombian opened his account with the Mercedes-powered team after winning last-year's Brazilian season-ender with Williams, Renault's Formula One leader Fernando Alonso was also smiling.

The Spaniard forged further ahead in the championship, finishing second to ease 26 points clear of McLaren rival Kimi Raikkonen.

The Finn, whose chances of winning evaporated when he collected a 10-place penalty on the starting grid for an engine failure in Saturday practice, powered up from 12th place to third.

As a consolation, he set the fastest lap right at the end of the race.

With eight races remaining, Alonso has 77 points to Raikkonen's 51.

"I'm really, really confident for the rest of the season because this one was, I think, the worst circuit in the calendar for the Renault team at the beginning of the year," said the 23-year-old Spaniard, well on his way to becoming Formula One's youngest champion.

The race was dictated by the first few seconds, a case of 'who dares wins' with Montoya challenging Alonso in a wheel-to-wheel test of his mettle.

The Spaniard, starting on pole position for the fourth time in 11 races, blinked first.

He had no reply as Montoya surged from third place on the grid to run side by side with the Renault through the first corner before making the move stick.

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