All-new Michelin has edge on Bridgestone.

Michelin's decision to develop new-specification tyres for the Spanish Grand Prix and beyond paid off as Fernando Alonso took an emotional win in front of his home crowd to end Ferrari's two-race winning streak for Bridgestone.

Although Felipe Massa secured the fastest lap of the race for the Scuderia, neither he or team-mate Michael Schumacher had quite enough tyre performance to keep pace with Alonso, as the Spaniard led from lights to flag in front of a frenzied Barcelona crowd.

"We had quite hot weather today, with track temperatures coming up to 37 degrees, and, while we saw our tyres perform consistently in these conditions, we could probably do with a little more grip," Bridgestone technical manager Hisao Suganuma admitted, "Tyre appearance was quite good, there were no specific problems, and we'll take second and fourth as they are not at all bad results, but every race gives us valuable data, and we will learn from today and improve for the coming races."

Alonso not only became the first Spanish driver to win his home round of the world championship, but also edged Michelin a little closer to its 100th grand prix victory - a mark it hopes to reach before its scheduled withdrawal from the top flight at the end of the year.

Having qualified on pole position, Alonso finished a comfortable 18 seconds clear of his closest rival after 66 laps, with five other Michelin drivers finishing in the points behind him.

"The result speaks for itself," the company's Formula One director, Nick Shorrock, insisted, "We ran all-new tyre specifications this weekend because we knew, in the wake of
recent results, that we needed to take an evolutionary step forward. If anything, however, I think we have exceeded our own expectations.

"All weekend, our tyres have provided a good blend of first-lap speed and consistency over a race stint - whether drivers stayed out for about 20 laps or, in one instance, more than 40. I would like to thank our partners and engineers for their contribution to this immensely satisfying result, proof positive of Michelin's ability to respond effectively to a fierce challenge."