The crowd are treated to a colourful opening as French aircraft fly over the Magny-Cours circuit

World championship leader Fernando Alonso gets away well from pole in an incident-free start

The Renault driver is looking assured and rapidly increases his lead over second-placed Jarno Trulli

Michael Schumacher is driving well and grabs second-place from Trulli after a quick pit-stop

Japan's Takuma Sato ends up on the gravel while trying to charge his way through the field in the BAR

Juan-Pablo Montoya is forced to retire on lap 48 after his McLaren is hit by engine problems

Alonso is maintaining a comfortable lead with McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen now his nearest challenger

The Spaniard cruises over the line to take victory and increase his lead in the drivers' standings

The 23-year-old is elated as he moves closer to becoming the youngest world champion in F1 history

Alonso takes his place on top of the podium, with Raikkonen an impressive second and Schumacher third