2011 Formula 1 European Grand Prix: Vettel wins as DRS, Pirelli prove ineffective
The eighth grand prix of the 2011 Formula 1 season is done and dusted in Valencia and right from the start to finish line, the race was almost a repeat of the 2010 encounter.
Despite Formula 1 adding some ammunition to their 2011 car, the European Grand Prix saw the same pole sitter and race winner- Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. Although Red Bull have taken control of almost every important day of the 2011 Formula 1 season so
far, whether it be Friday practice sessions, qualifiers or race, the first seven races at least witnessed some thrill and excitement.
This was not the case in Valencia where Red Bull dominated and not a lot of overtaking was seen despite the Drag Reduction System and Kinetic Energy Recovery System in all the 24 cars.
But looking at Valencia Grand Prix from a Spanish fan’s perspective, it was as thrilling as it could be because two of the local heroes, Fernando Alonso and Jaime Alguersuari, landed among points.
Fernando Alonso’s second position and a battle with Red Bull’s Mark Webber all the way to the chequered flag was something exceptional from the Spaniard.
Apart from that, the DRS and KERS were not able to live up to the promise. Even though there is no proper straight in Valencia, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) chose to have two DRS zones so that there could be some overtaking moves for the
spectators and fans at home.
Still the track of the nature and the selection of the Pirelli tyres for Valencia stood in way of an exciting race. Vettel started the race from pole and with absolutely no pressure from behind, won his sixth grand prix of the 2011 season.
Behind the German, an interesting battle between Webber and Alonso continued until the Aussie driver was told to slow down due to a gearbox malfunction.
At the beginning, Alonso overtook Lewis Hamilton and pressurised Webber. The Spaniard was on the tail of the Aussie driver for almost 10 laps and was able to finally use the DRS zone to his advantage. From there on Alonso was mostly driving alone as Vettel
was much ahead and Webber was way behind.
Similar was the case with McLaren’s duo, Hamilton and Jenson Button, as both British drivers were driving alone in the fourth and sixth places.
Apart from the Alonso-Webber contest, an interesting fight was seen at the lower end of the top ten positions.
Jaime Alguersuari took a risk of completing the race on a two pit-stop strategy which paid dividends in the end as he finished eighth. This was Jaime’s first point scoring finish which came in front of his home crowd.
Yet again, the double DRS zone was useless as Jaime was chased by Force India’s Adrian Sutil. The German was on Jaime’s tail but was unable to complete the move and finished ninth on the table.
The Pirelli tyres also failed to put on a show which they were able to do in the first seven races of the season. The soft and medium compound tyres were used in Valencia but Paul Hembery himself admitted that the supersoft tyres would have done a better
job instead.
Nevertheless, 2011 season continues in Silverstone in two weeks’ time with the ninth grand prix of the season and it will be interesting to see what is on offer there.
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