Fernando Alonso has one of Michael Schumacher's Formula One records in his sights after winning the British Grand Prix to tighten his grip on the world championship.

The Oxford-based Spaniard's remarkable start to the season continued with his fifth victory in eight races after a dominant display left Schumacher and McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen trailing.

Alonso has dropped just six points this season and is closing in on Schumacher's record of 19 podium finishes.

His Silverstone rostrum means the 24-year-old has not failed to make the top three for 14 races, dating back to Hungary in August 2005, and he wants that run to continue.

"I will try to finish on the podium in all the races that remain," said Alonso, who has made a better start to a season than any driver in history.

"The thing is to finish in front in the championship at the end of the season. If I keep going in this direction I am in a good position to defend the championship."

Alonso, the youngest champion in Formula One history, arrived at Silverstone on the crest of a wave after wins on home ground in Spain and at Monaco, the most prestigious race on the calendar.

By winning at Silverstone, the second home' race for him and the Enstone-based Renault team, he completed a memorable hat-trick to send him across the Atlantic for the North American double-header in high spirits.

He said: "It feels fantastic. Winning Spain, Monaco and Silverstone for the last three races is a dream come true. They are circuits with big names and big emotions in the grandstands.

"There is a great atmosphere, they love Formula One and winning in this country 20 minutes away from my home in Oxford is for me a really good feeling a fantastic day."

Schumacher blamed his battle with Raikkonen for his inability to challenge Alonso for victory.

The Ferrari driver stalked his McLaren rival for most of the race before finally slipping by in the second pit stops to claim a second place he admitted was the best he could have hoped for.

"We would have loved to pass Kimi at the first pit stop but it didn't work out," he said. "Spending 40 laps behind, after that there was no opportunity left.

"At the end of the day we weren't good enough this weekend, that was pretty obvious."

After losing his brave battle to hold Schumacher at bay, Raikkonen had to make do with third place after resisting a late challenge from the fourth-placed Renault of Giancarlo Fisichella.

Behind Fisichella, Ferrari's Felipe Massa was fifth while Juan Pablo Montoya was well short of team-mate Raikkonen's pace in finishing sixth.

BMW-Sauber got two cars in the points with Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve seventh and eighth respectively but David Coulthard was unable to add to Red Bull's tally and finished a distant 12th.

Jenson Button ended a weekend to forget with an early retirement after mechanical problems thwarted his attempt to avenge a qualifying calamity.

The Honda driver started 19th after his blunder and he was well on the way to making amends before an engine fire put him out of 11th place after nine laps.