Formula 1: Fernando Alonso wins European Grand Prix

Formula 1 European Grand Prix produced the entertainment with Spanish Fernando Alonso winning the race at home on the Valencia circuit.

The Valencia win makes Alonso the only driver this year with two wins and gives him a leadership position with 111 points. Lewis Hamilton, who was leading at 88 points before the Valencia race, drops down to the third position with no change in points. Mark Webber occupies the second place at 91 points, three ahead of Hamilton.

Alonso finished comfortably six seconds ahead of Kimi Raikkonen. Also, the race marked the comeback of the mighty champion Michael Schumacher with his first podium.

The race saw a mix of happy and sad tale for all the drivers. With leads changing hands at almost every lap, the race saw engine failures, crashes, overtaking and some very smart driving.

Assumptions went wrong with the timing of changing tyres with most teams, which once again emphasized the importance of tyre management. It was once again proved that Formula 1 is not just about the fastest cars but about sensible, precision and intelligent driving.

Alonso started the race at 11th position and calmly made his way to the top taking advantage of every situation. Hamilton crashed out after a tap by Maldonado. Vettel, despite starting from pole position, retired with an alternator failure. Grosjean shared the same fate with Vettel, who retired with the same alternator failure with 16 laps to go.

Former Formula 1 driver and current commentator David Coulthard said, “A truly world class drive – and bitter disappointment for Lewis Hamilton after a tap by Maldonado, who T-boned him after running wide.”

Related:
Formula 1: European Grand Prix ‘hot’
Mark Webber: ‘Happy at Red Bull’
McLaren boss Whitmarsh unhappy with team’s mistakes

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