Sebastian Vettel wins European Grand Prix at Valencia, Lewis Hamilton Second, Jenson Button Third
Sebastian Vettel on Sunday held victory at the European Grand Prix at Valencia. Vettel moves to third position in the standings after winning his 2nd race of the year. Sebastian Vettel dominated the race from the beginning, as he led the race from the start. Vettel’s associate Webber suffered an awful crash at the start, but walked out unharmed. Vettel took an early lead in the start which he maintained till the end of the race, thus resulting in a win.
Vettel beat McLaren’s boys Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button after completing 57 laps on the track at Valencia. Vettel, after winning the race, said that he felt really good at winning the race. “This is my second win of the season and at present I am trying to improve more and more.” Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber met with an accident, smashing into another driver Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus. Webber’s whole car was a wreck, but fortunately Webber escaped without even a scratch. After the crash, a safety car appeared for the protection of the drivers. This was the third time that Hamilton came second in the race at Valencia. Hamilton was awarded a penalty when he overtook the safety car on the track. This act on the track made Fernando Alonso angry, whereas the Ferrari driver finished ninth in the race. Later, Alonso was moved to eighth spot after an inquiry took place and resulted in giving penalties to 10 drivers. Even then, Alonso was not satisfied and was still angry at Hamilton’s behaviour. Alonso said that Hamilton did not respect the rules by overtaking the safety car. He also said that if he had overtaken the safety car, he would have finished second instead of ninth.
Even though Hamilton stood second in the race, he still leads the driver standings with 127 points, followed closely by fellow teammate Jenson Button with 121, and with Vettel taking the third spot with 115 points. Mercedes driver and seven time World Champion Michael Schumacher faced his worst ever defeat as he stood at the No. 16 spot. His teammate Nico Rosberg, on the other hand, stood at 12th standing. Vettel has been practicing hard for his next race that will take place in July. The Red Bulls are still in deficit and standing with 218 points, whereas McLaren leads the way with 248 points. Last year’s winner at Valencia, Rubens Barrichello, held the fourth position on Sunday’s race, whereas the fifth position was taken by Robert Kubica. It was a hot day on Sunday for the race, and the temperature reached up to 113 degrees. As the race started, Vettel made a swift run followed by Hamilton on his trail. Hamilton’s front wheel touched Alonso’s rear wheel and was going to make a collision, which was later on resolved by the arrival of safety car. Webber at the beginning made a poor start, and by the third lap, he fell down to ninth position before ending in a crash later on.
The Red Bull driver’s car was pitching through the air as he tried to take lead in from Kovalainen. Both the drivers survived the crash but retired from the race as the cars were totally damaged and they were unable to compete again. The crash led the safety car to be called upon, which resulted in five second penalties to the drivers. With these penalties, the rest of the drivers were moved one spot ahead in the ranking, and Alonso was moved to No. 8 spot instead of No. 9.
The next race of the season will take place on July 11 at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. All the drivers seem fit and ready to compete, especially Vettel and Hamilton. Both the drivers are eager to win the next race and lead the standings.
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