Formula One News: Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel wins European Grand Prix
Sebastian Vettel brushed aside the disappointments in the recent past by winning the crash-ridden European Grand Prix in style. Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel finished on top spot ahead of the McLaren duo of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. Vettel was phenomenal in Valencia as he led from start to finish in a race that saw his teammate Mark Webber meet a horrific accident.
Despite serving a drive through penalty for passing the safety car, Vettel and Hamilton managed to retain the top spots in the race. Jenson Button reached the podium with a third position finish. However, the horrifying accident involving Australia’s Mark Webber drew a major chunk of the limelight on Sunday. Webber’s car was launched vertically in the air after colliding into the back of Finland’s Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus. The Red Bull car twisted in the air and crashed on the ground upside down. But thankfully, Webber came out unscathed. This accident proves the strength of Formula One cars as far as security of the driver is concerned.
Commenting after 190 mph smash, Webber said, “I knew as soon as it happened that I was involved in a huge crash, that I was just a passenger. Headline stuff was going through my head when I was in the air, but that's the game we're in and some days that happens. I lost some points, but in the end when you're up there, you're not worried about points”.
Webber started the race in disastrous manner as he was relegated to the ninth position in the opening lap despite being in the front row. Webber decided to go for an early stop to change his tyres at the end of the seventh lap which further demoted him to the 19th position. Two laps later, he was trying to overtake Heikki Kovalainen when he smashed into the back of his car. The impact launched Webber into a somersault through the air.
After the accident, safety car was brought into action as the drivers took the opportunity to get their tyres replaced in the pits. Despite the mayhem, both Vettel and Hamilton were able to hold their position at the front. Jenson Button gained the most from the accident as he went to the pits first and then came out into fourth place from sixth. On the other hand, the biggest losers were Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. They were on third and fourth position until the accident but dropped to the 9th and 15th place respectively after the accident.
While commenting on it, Fernando Alonso said, “It's a shame, not for us because this is racing, but for all the fans who came here to watch a manipulated race. We were running well, in third after a good start. Then the Safety Car came out, which wasn't too good for us”.
He criticised McLaren’s Hamilton for not abiding rules and overtaking safety car. He said, “Hamilton overtook the Safety Car, something that I had never seen, overtaking the medical car with yellow flags. We were a metre off each other, and he finished second and I finished ninth.” He further added, “But, when you do the normal thing, which is respecting the rules, you finish ninth, and the one who doesn't respect them finishes second”.
After three laps, Hamilton was awarded a penalty but he gained enough ground earlier that it did not affect his position. And for that purpose, he even made the fastest lap of the race. Both Hamilton and Vettel maintained their dominance and finished the race with no competition at all. This was the third consecutive year in a row when Hamilton finished as runners-up in Valencia.
After the race, Hamilton maintains his top spot with 127 points in the drivers’ championship. Teammate Jenson Button is on the second spot with 121 points whereas race winner Sebastian Vettel is on third with 115 points. This was Vettel’s second win of the season which brings him back at the centre of title contention after a number of disappointing races.
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