European GP - Sebastian Vettel marks sixth victory of 2011
Sebastian Vettel secured his sixth victory from eight races in 2011, by winning the European Grand Prix in Valencia. It was a good day for Red Bull as they had a double podium finish with Mark Webber in third. Ferrari has had a good race as well as Fernando Alonso finished second. Vettel now has a total of 186 points in the Championship and holds the top spot in front of Jenson Button. Webber has 109 points with Lewis Hamilton so far collecting 97 points and Alonso having 87. In the constructors' stakes, Red Bull has 295 points to McLaren's 206 and Ferrari's 129.
Vettel pulled out an immediate lead of over two seconds, but the fight between Alonso and Webber was the main interest at the front. Webber held his position from Lap 1 to 20, but then Alonso overtook after exploiting his DRS going into Turn 12.
The Spaniard remained in his position until his second pit stop on Lap 29, where Webber got back in front having stopped a lap sooner. His third and final stop on Lap 42 promoted Alonso again and as Webber had run wide going into the pits and lost crucial time, the Ferrari driver was able to stop on Lap 45 and stay ahead after that. Button made the most of Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes by shooting his McLaren up the inside of Turn 2 on the sixth lap. The 2009 Champion, who experienced a quiet afternoon, remained ahead of the German.
Hamilton never came close to the lead in the European Grand Prix. After having started from third, he dropped behind Felipe Massa and Alonso. He was eventually only able to pass Massa for fourth. The unfortunate Ferrari driver was again the victim of a poor pit stop which left him in fifth. Button, the star of the Canadian Grand Prix, finished behind Massa in sixth as he suffered from problems with his KERS as it failed halfway through the race.
At the sharp end, Vettel was only headed during the pit-stop period, with Felipe Massa also enjoying a brief time at the front of the 57-lap race. Alonso lost his second position at the second round of stops after he overtook Webber’s position.
