Well, F1 2012 has been a surprise for many and Valencia was no exception.
*Time Glock didn't start the race after being advised not to when he fell ill during the weekend.
The first quarter of the race it was Sebastian Vettel that led the race and built up a gap to the rest of the pack. With the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen all fighting for a spot on the podium the race was just getting going. Fernando Alonso made up several places from starting 11th on the grid to making it up to 4th by lap 28th - when the racing picked up the pace. Jean-Eric Vergne was reminding the racing world he was still just a rookie, with a costly rookie error move on Heikki Kovalainen, JEV punctured both his own and Kovalainen's tyre's after slicing across the Finn. Like in GP2, a lot of debris from the crash was sprawled across the racing line which meant... Yup, out came the safety car and bye bye to Vettel's 20 second lead!
With a lot of drivers taking the safety car as an opportunity to pit the drama continued on in to the pit lane. The problem? McLaren pit stops, surprise, surprise. The team yet again made a mess of Hamilton's pit stop with the front jack failing. He lost time and dropped down to sixth place after Fernando Alonso passed him. Safety Car in and it was Alonso who made a swift move on Grosjean and was up to 2nd place. Meanwhile more contact as Felipe Massa and Kamui Kobayashi had a get together, as a result Kobayashi retired from the race. *He'll also be facing a 5 place penalty at the next race.
The race got even more intense when race leader Sebastian Vettel started to slow down and eventually had to stop his Red Bull on the side of the track due to a mechanical failure. A frustrated and angry Vettel marched down the pit lane while Alonso took the lead.
Hamilton got pass Raikkonen, up to 2nd he looked in a strong position but was unable to challenge Alonso.
Red Bull's day didn't get any better with Mark Webber dropping down the order with Paul di Resta, Pastor Maldonado and Nico Hulkenberg all over taking him within a few laps.
A few laps later and Romain Grosjean was the next victim of a mechanical failure, he slowed to a hault on track, a big blow as he is had a great race.
With tyre's proving to be a struggle for many, Pastor Maldonado made up places and was looking like another podium was on the cards... until the calm, cool Maldonado snapped back to fiery, rookie-like Maldonado. In an attempt to take Hamilton, he went round the outside, the McLaren driver tried to shut the door on him, Maldonado ran off the track and on return t-boned Hamilton in to the barrier. That was the end of Hamilton's race, with a podium and a haul of points lost, he was no doubt very annoyed. *Maldonado got a time penalty at the end of the race, dropping him out of the points.
An emotional Alonso crossed the line to win the European GP. Joining him was Raikkonen in 2nd and Michael Schumacher in 3rd - taking his first podium since returning in 2010.
Fernando Alonso took a MotoGP and old F1 style celebration, stopping out on track in front of his home fans, punching the air and waving the Spanish flag.
So, it turns out Valencia can be very exciting!!
RESULTS:
Fastest lap: Nico Rosberg: 1:42.163
Podium:
Next Up:
Silverstoneeeee!!!! The next race is the British GP which means there will be no low down on what went on but i will be making a post of my weekend at the Grand Prix.
In the meantime action in Assen for the MotoGP has already started, with qualifying tomorrow (Friday) and the race taking place on Saturday so a low down may (or may not) be up on Sunday!
On a side note:
Congratulations to Romain Grojean and Marion Jolie on getting married yesterday, all the best to them both!!
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