F1 European GP: Sebastian Vettel beats Fernando Alonso to extend championship lead

Sebastian Vettel: Right on Top

This season has been like the European Grand Prix for Sebastian Vettel, under control from start to finish. Even though the season is nowhere near its end it can be safely said thus far. Sebastian Vettel conquered the Valencia track in emphatic fashion as he took the chequered flag ten seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso. The last few laps were more like victory laps for the Red Bull driver as he took his team to another victory. His team-mate Mark Webber finished on the podium as well just behind Alonso.

From the outset there were good omens for Red Bull. The Mclaren drivers who are never short of posing a challenge had a horrid start. Fernando Alonso and Felippe Massa passed Hamilton at once but both Red Bull drivers were up ahead clear of the trouble. Sebastian Vettel had the pole position for the race once again and capitalized fully on it. Mark Webber looked like he was not going to hold on to his lead for a long time as he was steadfastly chased by Alonso. By the sixth lap he was right behind him pushing for space.

Sebastian Vettel was hitting the clock hard exhibiting ominous signs for his competitors. He made his fastest run yet in lap 7 and kept stretching his lead bit by bit. Lewis Hamilton was on crutches it seemed in this race as he continuously showed a lack of interest, dropping a golden chance to pass Felippe Massa on Lap 11. His start was very slow too and by allowing the Ferrari’s to move ahead he gave away the race for his team. He went into the pit first up and was soon followed by Webber in Lap 14. Both Sebastian Vettel and Alonso made their first pit-stops in Lap 15 and Vettel emerged with a lead of 2.4 sec on hand.

Fernando Alonso displayed champion-like attitude in pursuing Mark Webber and it was ultimately in Lap 21 that the Red Bull driver gave up. Alonso had been increasingly putting him under pressure in the last 2 laps by making quicker time. With nearly half of the race behind them, the top three drivers were in close competition but had as a group taken considerable lead over the pack. At the back Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton represented the Mclaren team at fifth and sixth position respectively.

Fernando Alonso made a pit-stop on lap 30 one lap after third positioned Mark Webber and one lap before the race leader Sebastian Vettel. This was going to be a key-pit stop in the race and all three managed to get through it neatly. Meanwhile Lewis Hamilton had been taking too much out of his tyres and inspite of his team warning him kept on doing so rashly. He was caught on the Team Radio as “I can’t go any slower.”

Mark Webber made his move in lap 31 passing Fernando Alonso to regain his second spot and at that moment it looked like Red Bull would land another one-two finish. Felippe Massa kept playing second fiddle to Alonso and delayed his pit-stop to the convenience of the Spaniard. Massa had a disastrous pit-stop and that meant he was engaging in a battle with Jenson Button for the fifth position with Hamilton placed fourth.

Sebastian Vettel posted his fastest Lap in lap 40 and he certainly led the pack well. However, his team-mate made a crucial mistake by entering the pit first among the leaders on lap 43. All this added up in lap 46 when Alonso made his pit and came out in front of Mark Webber. Sebastian Vettel made his pit visit with a handy lead of 20 seconds. By lap 53, there was only one engaging battle left in the race upfront and that was for the second place between Alonso and Webber. Alonso had started nowhere near this position and by keeping his second place – he would have been more than happy.

Mark Webber had run a great race and at one moment he did look like making the cut ahead of Alonso, but his luck ran out on lap 54 when the team radio informed him about a problem with his gear-box. The Team Radio said, “We’ve got a gearbox problem, we need you to short-shift the lower gears.” This simply meant that the race for the second position had come to an end.

Fernando Alonso: Satisfied

Soon after, Sebastian Vettel made the European Grand Prix his sixth win of the season. Nobody really threatened him in the race as he went from pole to pole. The Red Bull team’s elation was deservingly inflated as both their driver’s finished on the podium once again. Alonso’s second position was more than a consolation for Ferrari, however they would have hoped for a better finish from Massa.

This win means that Vettel has now extended his lead at the top of driver’s standings to 77 points. It will be near impossible for him to throw it away from here on. He expressed his joy after winning the race, “For some reason I enjoy this track, even though we maybe think it doesn’t suit our car because there are no 100% fast corners – the team has done a phenomenal job preparing the car. Obviously I am super happy with this weekend.”

The next race will take us to Great Britain and one person who would be keen on changing things around would be Lewis Hamilton. He expressed his feelings about the race in clear terms, “We got a bad start – a very, very poor start – and I lost position to the Ferraris. But we weren’t as fast as the Ferraris anyway so I’m not sure I could have held them off anyway.”

Fernando Alonso has proved his driving ability once again this season and inspite of having a slower car than Red Bull, has beaten Mark Webber to the second position once again. Alonso congratulated his team on the result and looked ahead to the next race. “I think second place was the maximum we could hope for. It was a great achievement for the team. We’re definitely moving in the right direction but need to keep working.”