Sebastian Vettel has picked up his second win of the season in Valencia although the European Grand Prix is likely to be remembered for the monster crash which saw Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber retire. Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button confirm a double McLaren podium result although no less than nine drivers, including the World Champion, are subject to post-race investigations.
Once again, there were perfect weather conditions on offer as crowds flocked into Valencia’s city centre and port area on Sunday afternoon. With Vettel on pole for the first time since China, the German aimed for a first race victory since Malaysia although team-mate Mark Webber was open to attack from second on the grid.
It was a slow formation lap from Vettel, with those cars at the back of the field taking their positions over three minutes after the 2pm start time, although a chiefly clean start for the European Grand Prix as the pack threaded its way through the sweeping Turn 1 and towards the tight Turn 2.
With Vettel leading, Webber suffered from a terrible start; squeezing Hamilton at Turn 1, the Australian lost second place as Alonso’s Ferrari then dived up the inside for third into the second corner, which was also the scene of a touch between the leaders. Further round the lap, Webber ran wide yet again to ensure that he completed the first tour down in ninth place.
Having been hit on the opening lap, Jarno Trulli’s Lotus pitted on Lap 4 before rejoining two laps down as the team solved a gearbox issue; although he may have been stuck in gear in the early stages, eventually coming home three laps behind the winner, the Italian enjoyed a happy-handling car in the final laps.
The defining point of today’s race arrived on Lap 9. Webber had pitted two laps earlier in a desperate attempt to make up lost ground with new tyres on-board; however, the Australian’s left-front wheel refused to come off his car during the pit-stop, leaving the Red Bull way down the field and chasing Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus for position.
On the approach to Turn 12, the infamous left-front contacted with the Lotus’ right-rear, throwing the former into the air at 200 miles per hour, through a complete 360-degree summersault and careering into the barriers after smashing through an advertising hoarding. The accident, from which Webber amazingly walked away, bore an uncanny resemblance to that of Josef Kral during the GP2 race earlier in the day. Kovalainen was also out but managed to limp back to the garage, minus his rear wing, after being spun into the left-hand wall.
Needless to say, the Safety Car was deployed in order to clear away the Red Bull and debris as Lewis Hamilton overtook the Bernd Bernd Mayländer-driven Mercedes-Benz as it entered the race track. In the process, already past the pit entrance, the Ferraris were dramatically held up as the majority of cars behind were able to dive in; as Fernando Alonso furiously complained to his team from the cockpit about his former team-mate's gain, Hamilton was later handed a drive-through penalty but incredibly retained second place as he rejoined.
The chaotic pit lane pandemonium resulted in some dramatic changes; Kamui Kobayashi rose to third as he elected not to pit but the non-scoring Felipe Massa dropped as low as 17th after queuing behind Alonso.
Michael Schumacher also suffered a disaster, pitting two laps earlier but having to wait at the red pit lane exit light as the field poured past; the 7-time World Champion, who set several fastest laps on the Super Soft tyre compound later in the race, ended his extended test session in a dismal 16th and fails to score for the second race in a row.
With Kobayashi third, the Japanese driver held off the likes of reigning Champion Jenson Button – which, coupled with several fastest laps by Hamilton, helped Lewis to hold position after his penalty - as Alonso tried but failed to pass cars in the bottom half of the top ten. Button was promoted to a rostrum place as the Japanese finally came in at the end of Lap 56.
At the front, Vettel was never headed although the German did almost lose the lead by running wide at the final corner as the Safety Car peeled off. However, Sebastian was assisted by Hamilton’s drive-through penalty as the Englishman – who lowered an 11-second margin to as low as 6.4 with eight laps remaining – was next held up behind back-markers Senna and Glock, who soon collided and compromised their own races courtesy of a broken front wing for the Hispania driver and punctured rear tyre and ensuing trip into the wall for the Virgin man.
As Kobayashi finally pitted, Button confirmed a double podium result for McLaren as 2009 winner Rubens Barrichello ended an ever-strong weekend in fourth place for Williams. Team-mate Nico Hülkenberg was left fuming, though, as his car suffered overheating and a possible engine failure on Lap 50 of 57, losing a point in the process.
Robert Kubica and Adrian Sutil ended quiet afternoons in fifth and sixth for Renault and Force India although Kobayashi – with fresh Super Soft tyres following his final stop – was very much the man of the moment, passing both Alonso’s Ferrari and Buemi’s Toro Rosso to seize eighth and then seventh in the last two laps; indeed, his brave overtake on the latter came at the very last corner of the race.
Despite the final pass, Buemi scores four points for the second successive race although – on a weekend which promised much, with a significant upgrades on the car – frustrated Ferrari pick up only two with Alonso. Pedro de la Rosa added to the entertaining result by taking the second Sauber to the points in home country Spain.
However, on an afternoon which featured a glass bottle rolling across the track at the rapid Turn 16 (eventually seized by a valiant marshal), a final twist throws the result of the European Grand Prix into doubt as nine drivers are under investigation and could be penalised for driving too quickly under Safety Car conditions:
Button (3rd), Barrichello (4th), Kubica (5th), Sutil (6th), Buemi (8th), de la Rosa (10th), Petrov (11th), Liuzzi (13th) and Hülkenberg (DNF).
At the sharp end, Vettel’s sixth career win confirms that he moves ahead of Webber and Alonso and into third overall in the standings.
The British Grand Prix at a revised Silverstone will take place in a fortnight’s time
Series
Formula 1
Personalities
Sebastian Vettel
Teams
Red Bull
Other
Get your official Formula 1 tickets at Sportstadium.com
| Sebastian Vettel | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| More Sebastian Vettel photos | |||
English
Nederlands
Español
Italiano
