F1 News
Date: 24/July/2012
Fernando Alonso became the first repeat winner of the 2012 F1 season in Valencia, with a victory was every bit as surprising as the string of different winners produced in the run-up to the European round.
The home star skilfully elbowed his Ferrari up the order from eleventh on the grid and snatched second place from Romain Grosjean following a safety car period to clean up track debris, just after the midway point of the 57 laps.
Moments later, Alonso was handed the race lead when Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull suddenly ground to a halt. The reigning world champion had dominated the event up to that point, starting from pole and leading every lap.
Lotus rookie Grosjean, having been briefly promoted back to second, then also retired with what is thought to have been the same kind of (alternator) problem. Both Lotus and Red Bull use Renault engines.
Alonso then drove to a remarkable and highly emotional victory.
“Today we had an amazing race, amazing start, some good fights, I think I remember six or seven overtakings where it was very close, we touched each other,” recalled Alonso.
“All of those little moments can go on the wrong side and you finish the race in the wall, or you can be the winner at the end. Today we had all the good factors with us and the luck and we have to enjoy this.
“Winning a home grand prix is something unique - a very special feeling. I had the opportunity to do this in Barcelona in 2006 with Renault and I still remember that day perfectly.
“And now I did the same here in Valencia, with this special team, Ferrari, with all the grandstands full of red colour and Spanish flags.”
Alonso explained that the financial difficulties currency faced by the Spanish people played a big part in making his victory so emotional.
“It’s not the best time in Spain at the moment, with the [financial] crisis and all the problems that people have,” he said.
“There are families who have made long trips to come here, they sleep in the car or in a caravan or whatever. They try to enjoy the race and yesterday [in qualifying]… we didn’t deliver what they were probably expecting.
“So today I think we paid back a little bit – only a little bit – the support that they gave us and all the problems that they are facing, all the worries that the Spanish people are facing at this time.
“There is some pride in being Spanish right now due to sport: with Nadal, with the Spanish football team etc and I felt that I needed to do something and today is a very emotional day.
“This race is the best victory I ever felt in terms of emotions. Nothing compares to this one.”
While Alonso had been left undisturbed in the closing stages of the race, there was drama until the end for the other podium places.
World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton had clawed his way back into second place after another tardy McLaren pit stop allowed Alonso and others to pass, but later ran out of rear grip.
Grosjean’s team-mate Kimi Raikkonen neatly squeezed past the Englishman to take the runner-up spot with two laps to go, but a clumsy move by Pastor Maldonado proved far more costly.
The Catalunya winner speared the side of Hamilton’s car through the second part of a right-left chicane, sending a livid Hamilton into a wall and out of the race while the Williams driver sustained a broken front wing.
That meant Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber were battling over the final podium position with just a lap remaining. Past master Schumacher kept the Red Bull at bay to claim his 155th F1 rostrum - but first since returning to F1, with Mercedes, in 2010.
All of which means Alonso is now back in the World Championship lead, by a sizeable 20 points over Webber. But he firmly played down talk of being the title favourite, pointing to Ferrari’s poor qualifying form at Valencia.
“I think we always need to be cautious and we always need to be honest with ourselves first and with our supporters…
“Yesterday we were P11 and P13 so we need to work. It’s true that we believe and we will never give up, we will have confidence in ourselves and we will arrive with optimism at every grand prix we go to.
“But at the same time, we know that we are not in the position that we want to be and there are a few cars quicker than us and we cannot be blind to that. We need to work.”
The British Grand Prix at Silverstone takes place on July 6-8.
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