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Picture the
tableau: Fernando Alonso parks his F2012 in the middle
of the track opposite a grandstand packed with
deliriously happy fans, all chanting his name as he lays
out the Spanish flag on the ground. It’s an image that
will pass into racing history and came after the
Scuderia Ferrari driver delivered a bravura performance
to win the European Grand Prix in Valencia yesterday.
Not only does it make him the only man to have won two
races out of the eight held so far this year, it also
gives him a commanding lead in the drivers’
classification, as his two nearest rivals in the title
race, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton failed to
score points in Sunday's race. Felipe Massa had more bad
luck than one person should have to deal with in an
afternoon and brought his Ferrari home in 16th place.
The cars formed up on the grid, with Fernando and Felipe
behind one another in 11th and 13th places, the track
temperature was up to 45º. As the lights went out, the
two F2012s immediately made up ground, with Fernando
going to eighth and Felipe to tenth. By the end of the
second lap, pole man Vettel already had a big 4 second
lead in the Red Bull, over Hamilton, (McLaren) Grosjean
(Lotus,) Kobayashi (Sauber,) Maldonaldo (Williams) and
Raikkonen (Lotus) sixth. In eight, Fernando was right on
the tail of Hulkenberg in the Force India, with Felipe,
now tenth chasing the German’s team-mate Di Resta.
In second place, Hamilton was holding up the field as
Vettel extended his lead to 6.8 on lap 4. On lap 7,
Felipe tried yet another attack on Di Resta, even
pulling alongside but he could still not find a way
past. In fact, the Brazilian was struggling with a car
that felt badly balanced: after the race it was found
that debris had damaged the car, reducing its ability to
generate downforce. On lap 10, Grosjean outbraked his
way past Hamilton to move up to second, while Fernando
and Felipe kept harrying their respective Force Indias.
Button and Perez were the first to change tyres, coming
in on lap 10. Felipe pitted on lap 11. Fernando finally
found a way past Hulkenberg to go up to seventh.
Raikkonen passed Maldonaldo for fifth, meaning the
Venezuelan Williams driver was Fernando’s next target.
Hamilton changed tyres on lap 13.
Alonso passed the Williams and on lap 14, Raikkonen,
Kobayashi, Maldonaldo, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo and De La
Rosa all pitted. Fernando came in next time round, while
race leader Vettel and second placed Grojean came in on
16. The Spanish Ferrari driver had managed to get ahead
of Raikkonen and Kobayashi by staying on track for that
extra lap and he was now in a big group of cars, many of
whom had not yet changed tyres. At this stage, it was
clear the Spaniard was being more aggressive and
assertive than his direct rivals in getting past the
slower cars in the group. He got past Webber in the Red
Bull to be eighth on lap 18, while Felipe was thirteenth
behind Maldonaldo. Fernando was flying on Option tyres
and a few moments later he passed Schumacher’s Mercedes
to go up to sixth, as the German and Webber both pitted
together.
By lap 20, Fernando was fifth having passed Raikkonen,
while Di Resta ahead of him in fourth had yet to pit. At
this point, Felipe had got back up to eighth, which
became seventh shortly after. Lap 21 and Fernando passed
the Force India to be fourth, behind Vettel, who led
Grosjean by almost 20 seconds, with Hamilton a further
4s back in third.
Around lap 26, Hulkenberg started to close on the
Brazilian Ferrari driver, with the gap down to 0.4. As
the Safety Car came out because of debris when Vergne
and Kovalainen collided. Grosjean, Alonso, Raikkonen,
Hamilton, Maldonaldo and Hulkenberg all pitted
immediately on lap 28, one lap after Felipe had come in.
The Brazilian therefore found himself dropping down the
order as the others were able to pit without losing
time, while the Safety Car was out. From then on, he
clearly had a mountain to climb. The mountain got even
steeper when, on lap 34, he had to pit again after
Kobayashi tried an aggressive passing move, doing more
damage to his car. In all the Brazilian had to make four
visits to pit lane today.
Fernando was scything past slower cars and he was third
when the Safety Car came in again, behind Vettel and
Grosjean. But the Ferrari man was unstoppable today, and
as racing resumed he dealt with the Lotus to lie second.
Then, on lap 34, a bit of luck came his way, as Vettel
had to retire the Red Bull at the side of the track with
a technical problem. You did not have to be watching the
race to know what had happened as a cheer loud enough to
blot out the engine noise came up from the partisan
Spanish crowd.
From then on, Fernando managed his lead to the flag, but
there was still plenty of action behind him: Grosjean
had to retire, which left Hamilton second, but as the
McLaren man’s paced dropped he got caught by Maldonaldo,
with the Venezuelan barging past and pushing the
Englishman into the wall and retirement. So with just
two laps remaining, Kimi Raikkonen inherited second
place and Michael Schumacher finished third to stand on
the podium for the first time since he returned to the
sport in 2010.
Fernando now sits on top of the Drivers’ classification
on 111 points, 20 points clear of his nearest rival,
Mark Webber, who brought his Red Bull home in fourth
place today. This was also win 218 from 839 Grands Prix
starts for the Scuderia.
Luca di Montezemolo: “This is Ferrari
at its very best, the one everyone wants to see!
Fernando was extraordinary and it’s hard to find the
words to describe his race. I am very sorry for Felipe,
who was really unlucky: he was going very well and I’m
sure he could have brought home a good result if not for
all the problems he had. Today has shown the spirit of a
team that never gives up and it also reflects the spirit
of our homeland in Emilia Romagna, where so many people
are going through a particularly difficult time after
the earthquake a few weeks back: let’s hope this victory
will at least have put a smile on their faces!”
Stefano Domenicali: “We are very
pleased with this victory, but we won’t let it go to our
heads. Yesterday, we had said that the result of
qualifying did not reflect our potential and I think
today’s performance proves we were right. A shame for
Felipe, who really got hit with one misfortune after
another, first with debris ruining the balance of his
car, then with the fact the Safety Car period came
immediately after he had pitted and finally, the
collision with Kobayashi: he had started in fine style
and had everything in hand to get a really good result.
Fernando was spectacular, in terms of showing aggression
and in the way he managed the car and tyres. We could
tell that this weekend felt very special to him and the
win was really emotional for him and the whole team.
Today, some of our competitors had reliability problems
and that serves as a reminder that this aspect is
crucial for success: in such a closely matched season, a
no-score carries a high price in the classification. We
said it at the beginning: these twenty five points will
definitely not go to our heads. We are well aware how
things can change in the blink of an eye and we must
continue to work on improving the car’s performance,
because it is still not at the level we want.”
Fernando Alonso: “This has been an
unforgettable day for me and I can’t find the right
words to express my feelings! Winning in my country is
an indescribable emotion: I still remember the victory
in Barcelona in 2006 and winning today in Valencia with
this fantastic team, is amazing, especially when we are
going through such a difficult time at the moment in
Spain. It’s nice that sport and I’m thinking of the wins
for the national football team and Nadal, might be able
to give people something to smile about. Stopping on the
slowing down lap? I don’t know what happened but it came
at the right moment, because I was in front of the
grandstands and I was able to celebrate with my fans!
Sport always delivers the same lessons in that there are
highs and lows and things change quickly. Yesterday we
didn’t make it to Q3 and today we have won: it means
that we should never give up, right to the chequered
flag. It’s a nice present for everyone who has come from
far away, maybe even sleeping in their cars and then
staying in the grandstands in this torrid heat. At the
start, it was not easy to make up places and I tried to
delay the braking to the maximum at Turn 4, staying on
the outside. Then I started to fight my way up and,
after the Safety Car, I began to think a podium could be
possible. Then I attacked Grosjean and managed to pass
him, although I was worried that I might have sustained
some damage when we touched. After two or three corners
I realised everything was alright and I relaxed. When I
went into the lead after Vettel retired, we were all
hoping the tyres would last to the end. I was always
talking to my engineer who told me I was running the
same pace as those following me: in the end, there was
not much left, but unlike Canada, the others were in the
same situation. It was emotional being on the podium
with Andrea Stella, because he has also worked with
Michael and Kimi: he could celebrate in the best way
possible a totally unexpected win, given our grid
position. Thinking back to yesterday, what happened
confirms there is still a lot of work to be done and we
have to be honest about this, to ourselves and to our
fans. We will do all we can to win this championship,
but we still don’t have the quickest car and we must
push to reach this objective as quickly as possible.”
Felipe Massa: “What do you want me to
say, nothing went right today! From lap 8 onwards I
started to feel there was something not right at the
back of the car and, at the end of the race, the team
found some damage that had completely ruined the balance
and the aerodynamic downforce level. From being able to
attack the Force India, I went to losing a second a lap!
I am very disappointed, because I had a good pace and
could keep up with the group Fernando was in. Then there
was also the collision with Kobayashi and there, any
hope I had of finishing in the points evaporated. The
car was going very well today and it was at the level of
the best, I am pleased for Fernando, who drove a
fantastic race to win, but there’s also some bitterness
as today could have been very nice for both of us”
Pat Fry: “While yesterday we were maybe
too sure of ourselves in Q2 and not particularly lucky,
today we did everything to perfection with Fernando,
while Felipe was really incredibly unlucky. The fact
that this morning, we could never have expected this win
makes it all the more sweet. We profited from the
reliability problems of others but that’s part of the
game and it’s a reminder of how important it is to
ensure that the cars are sufficiently robust and not
just fast. Fernando was fantastic, aggressive when he
had to attack in the opening moments and very clever in
managing every stage of the race. We must improve our
performance because this weekend, the Red Bull showed it
had made quite a step forward again and we aren’t where
we want to be, meaning ahead of everyone. We have more
developments coming, but we are perfectly aware that our
competitors won’t be twiddling their thumbs. Now we can
enjoy this fantastic win for an evening, a win which is
down to everyone working here at the track and, above
all, in Maranello. But then we must get down to work
again to be as well prepared as possible for the
Silverstone round. We are facing three races in four
weeks and we must not relax, not even for a second.”
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