NURBURGRING, Germany -- McLaren's Fernando Alonso won a thrilling European Grand Prix on Sunday to cut championship-leading team mate Lewis Hamilton's lead to just two points.
Ferrari's Massa lost out to Alonso who is now just two points adrift of teammate Hamilton in the title race.
While the double world champion celebrated his third victory of the season, after a wheel-banging thrust past Ferrari's Felipe Massa just four laps from the finish, Hamilton's run of nine podiums in a row came to an end.
The 22-year-old British rookie, passed fit only on Sunday morning after emerging unscathed from a high speed crash in qualifying, finished ninth and lapped in a race thrown into chaos by rain just after the start and in the closing stages.
Brazilian Massa finished second with Mark Webber of Australia fending off Austrian Alexander Wurz's Williams to take a morale-boosting third place for Red Bull.
Hamilton has 70 points, Alonso 68 and Massa 59.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who started on pole position in search of his third win in a row, failed to finish again at a circuit full of bitter memories for him and he slipped to fourth overall on 52 points. In the past he had to retire twice while leading grands prix with his previous team McLaren.
Despite clawing back vital points, Alonso kept his jubilation in check: "It's an important race but the championship is so long.
"You never know what's going to happen in 14 days. In Hungary anything can happen. We're still working in the same direction, same way. No doubt it will be tight in the end for all four drivers."
In a race halted in a downpour after four laps and then re-started behind the safety car, with Germany's Markus Winkelhock astonishingly leading on his debut for struggling Spyker, Alonso showed all his fighting spirit.
He went almost side by side with Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella down the pit lane after his final pitstop, successfully asserting his right of way, and then took the fight to Ferrari.
He took the chequered flag 8.1 seconds ahead of Massa, who struggled with his last set of tyros, and had a heated exchange with the Brazilian before they stepped on the podium.
To rub further salt in the scowling Brazilian's wounds, the winning team's trophy was presented to McLaren boss Ron Dennis by Ferrari's retired seven times champion Michael Schumacher.
Massa could only console himself with the fastest lap.
"I like the rain, there's no doubt. Always when it rains I'm quite happy and have some fun," said Alonso, who takes his career tally of wins to 18.
Hamilton, started 10th and made a blistering start to fourth place before he joined a fistful of drivers who skidded off at the first corner on the third lap.
However he kept the engine running and was lifted back onto the track by crane to continue for the re-start -- albeit a lap down on the leaders.
In the circumstances, his final position was still a fine result for the rookie, who set a series of quick laps in fighting back from last place.
Had he not been obliged to let Alonso lap him, he might even have snatched a point.
"It's a new experience for me, not having to find my way to the podium," he said. "You come from a bad weekend, you find the lessons from this and I will find them."
Briton David Coulthard was fifth for Red Bull and Germany's Nick Heidfeld for BMW Sauber, although he was under investigation for a collision with compatriot and Toyota driver Ralf Schumacher.
Poland's Robert Kubica was seventh for BMW Sauber and Finland's Heikki Kovalainen took the final point for champions Renault. E-mail to a friend 
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