(CNN) -- Fernando Alonso savored the sweet taste of victory in front of his home fans after kickstarting his Formula One title bid with a commanding victory in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. 

The two-time world champion won by more than nine seconds from Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen after starting from fifth on the grid, as he reduced his deficit behind overall leader Sebastian Vettel to 17 points. 

"It's very special winning at home, it doesn't matter how many times you do, it's always like starting from zero," said the 31-year-old, whose only other victory at the Circuit de Catalunya was back in 2006 in the same season he won his second world title with Renault. 

"It was fantastically emotional and the fans really helped because you feel the support from everyone. 

"The last laps are very long because you want the race to finish as soon as possible, but I'm very happy for the team." 

F1 interactive: Latest results and standings 

It was a good day for Ferrari, as Felipe Massa bounced back from the three-place grid penalty that dropped him to ninth at the start, with the Brazilian claiming third on the podium ahead of Vettel and the German's Red Bull teammate Mark Webber. 

"I was a little disappointed after qualifying yesterday, but the race was very good for us and we were very aggressive," Massa said. 

"We struggled a bit on the tires to survive in a good way -- and the race was very good for us." 

Alonso, who made a flying start, had four pit stops as opposed to the three of Raikkonen due to an early puncture but was able to take the checkered flag for the 32nd time in his career to move above Lewis Hamilton into third place overall. 
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 commanding victory in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix