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Fernando Alonso became the first driver to win two races this season after he dominated the European Grand Prix. The Valencia Street Circuit was the stage to a remarkably exciting race, while it is usually known for hosting the most predictable race of the season. On a track where overtaking is difficult, Alonso managed to pull himself up from eleventh on the grid to the top podium spot. He was followed by Kimi Räikkönen, who has made up for his struggles in Canada. Michael Schumacher took his first podium finish since his Formula 1 comeback, after finishing third in Valencia. However, he had to share his spotlight with the driver behind him, as Mark Webber put in an astonishing run and raced from nineteenth on the grid to a fourth-place finish.
The first half of the race gave the impression that it would be another European Grand Prix where every driver would stick to his starting position. Sebastian Vettel took the lead from the start, and it was assumed he would win again at this circuit. He opened a 20-second gap and was followed by Romain Grosjean. However, on Lap 27 it was obvious that this Valencia GP would not be as the previous ones as Jean-Eric Vergne crashed into the Caterham of Heikki Kovalainen and caused them both to retire. This brought the Safety Car out, and after the restart Vettel’s lead was reduced to almost nothing as Grosjean was right on his tail. But he would not stay there for long, as Alonso had also caught up to them and quickly passed Grosjean for second. Just a few laps later another surprise occurred as Vettel’s Red Bull stopped with a technical problem. He was forced to retire, conceding the leading position to Alonso. The same happened to Grosjean, who was running strong behind the Ferrari driver, but came to a halt with a technical problem on Lap 40. This promoted Hamilton to second place with Räikkönen on his tail.
Vettel after retiring
While Hamilton was struggling with the Lotus driver, Pastor Maldonado caught up on them. Räikkönen had found a way past Hamilton, leaving the McLaren driver to fight with Maldonado. This fight would not end well for both of them as Maldonado pitched the McLaren driver onto the barriers after turn 13, in a failed attempt to pass him. While Maldonado was able to continue the race with a busted front wing, he was handed a 20-second post-race penalty which eventually left him in twelfth. Hamilton was forced to retire. Unfortunately, his teammate was not able to make up for the loss of points for his McLaren team. Jenson Button was struggling again with his car, and eventually did not make it past eighth.
Maldonado and Hamilton did clear the way for Schumacher to take his first podium finish since his comeback to F1. It was a great performance as he had started from twelfth on the grid, and put in a strong run towards the final podium spot.
Alonso has taken back his lead in the Championship, leaving Hamilton in third. The two are split by Webber, and Vettel currently stands fourth.
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