Sebastian Vettel on Sunday grabbed a sixth win in eight races so far this season as he completely dominated the European Grand Prix from start to finish.
As soon as the lights went off, Vettel began to pull away from his teammate Mark Webber who settled for second place until lap 20 when he left it to Fernando Alonso to later regain it on Lap 29 and lose it again on Alonso's final stop on lap 45.
Only then did Webber develop a gearbox problem that forced him to abandon the battle for second, one that had raged on since the start of the race.
Lewis Hamilton took the fourth place finish after another difficult "tire" race for him. On lap 30, his engineers even warned him of the temperature of his tires to which they got told: "I can't go any slower."
Hamilton nevertheless exchanged the fastest lap on track several times with the leaders, Vettel ultimately getting the honors with fresh tires on lap 53 (1:41.852).
Almost every driver used the soft tires during the race until they were forced to use the medium compound in the last stint. McLaren was particularily scared of the later compound but the result is not bad with Jenson Button taking 6th place finish.
Felipe Massa had a relatively eventless race and brought back his Ferrari to a 5th place finish. Nico Rosberg took 7th ahead of Jaime Alguersuari - with a much needed good performance, Adrian Sutil and Nick Heidfeld closing up in the points for this race.
Vettel now has 186 points to Button and Webber on 109, Hamilton on 97 and Alonso on 87. In the constructors' championship, Red Bull have 295 to McLaren's 206 and Ferrari's 129.
2011 European Grand Prix:
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 57 Winner 1 25
2 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 57 +10.8 secs 4 18
3 2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 57 +27.2 secs 2 15
4 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 57 +46.1 secs 3 12
5 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 57 +51.7 secs 5 10
6 4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 57 +60.0 secs 6 8
7 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 57 +98.0 secs 7 6
8 19 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 56 +1 Lap 18 4
9 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 56 +1 Lap 10 2
10 9 Nick Heidfeld Renault 56 +1 Lap 9 1
11 17 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 56 +1 Lap 16
12 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 56 +1 Lap 13
13 18 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 56 +1 Lap 17
14 15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 56 +1 Lap 12
15 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 56 +1 Lap 11
16 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 56 +1 Lap 14
17 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 56 +1 Lap 8
18 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 56 +1 Lap 15
19 20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 55 +2 Laps 19
20 21 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 55 +2 Laps 20
21 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 55 +2 Laps 21
22 25 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 55 +2 Laps 23
23 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 54 +3 Laps 22
24 22 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 54 +3 Laps 24
**Provisional Results**
As soon as the lights went off, Vettel began to pull away from his teammate Mark Webber who settled for second place until lap 20 when he left it to Fernando Alonso to later regain it on Lap 29 and lose it again on Alonso's final stop on lap 45.
Only then did Webber develop a gearbox problem that forced him to abandon the battle for second, one that had raged on since the start of the race.
Lewis Hamilton took the fourth place finish after another difficult "tire" race for him. On lap 30, his engineers even warned him of the temperature of his tires to which they got told: "I can't go any slower."
Hamilton nevertheless exchanged the fastest lap on track several times with the leaders, Vettel ultimately getting the honors with fresh tires on lap 53 (1:41.852).
Almost every driver used the soft tires during the race until they were forced to use the medium compound in the last stint. McLaren was particularily scared of the later compound but the result is not bad with Jenson Button taking 6th place finish.
Felipe Massa had a relatively eventless race and brought back his Ferrari to a 5th place finish. Nico Rosberg took 7th ahead of Jaime Alguersuari - with a much needed good performance, Adrian Sutil and Nick Heidfeld closing up in the points for this race.
Vettel now has 186 points to Button and Webber on 109, Hamilton on 97 and Alonso on 87. In the constructors' championship, Red Bull have 295 to McLaren's 206 and Ferrari's 129.
2011 European Grand Prix:
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 57 Winner 1 25
2 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 57 +10.8 secs 4 18
3 2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 57 +27.2 secs 2 15
4 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 57 +46.1 secs 3 12
5 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 57 +51.7 secs 5 10
6 4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 57 +60.0 secs 6 8
7 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 57 +98.0 secs 7 6
8 19 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 56 +1 Lap 18 4
9 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 56 +1 Lap 10 2
10 9 Nick Heidfeld Renault 56 +1 Lap 9 1
11 17 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 56 +1 Lap 16
12 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 56 +1 Lap 13
13 18 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 56 +1 Lap 17
14 15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 56 +1 Lap 12
15 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 56 +1 Lap 11
16 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 56 +1 Lap 14
17 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 56 +1 Lap 8
18 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 56 +1 Lap 15
19 20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 55 +2 Laps 19
20 21 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 55 +2 Laps 20
21 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 55 +2 Laps 21
22 25 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 55 +2 Laps 23
23 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 54 +3 Laps 22
24 22 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 54 +3 Laps 24
**Provisional Results**