 Fernando Alonso out-duelled Felipe Massa in some
of the most difficult circumstances imaginable to claim his third
victory of the season at the Nurburgring and reinvigorate his title
challenge.
A downpour of Biblical proportions halfway round
the opening lap sent cars aquaplaning every which way and forced a
safety car deployment and then a red flag stoppage.
Polesitter Kimi Raikkonen's championship hopes were further damaged when he retired from third after his Ferrari cut out...
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Markus Winkelhock had put a
Spyker into the lead of his first grand prix, having started from the
pit lane on intermediate tyres.
Massa led the majority of the race thereafter before the rain
returned in the closing stages to bring a final twist to the
afternoon’s story.
The leaders exchanged their dry-weather tyres for inters with a
handful of laps remaining, and in the slippery conditions Alonso
outclassed Massa.
He was soon reeling in his rival and on lap 56 of 60 pulled off a virtuoso outside passing move in the fast, banked turn five.
The pair made light contact as Alonso went past, leaving Massa in a disgruntled mood after the race.
Lewis Hamilton survived contact with the BMWs on the first lap, a
consequent puncture, a spin in the early storm and a tactical switch to
dry tyres that backfired to take the chequered flag – but in a
point-less ninth place.
Coupled with Alonso's victory, that result cuts Hamilton's championship lead to just two points.
Mark
Webber held off an inspired Alex Wurz for Red Bull’s first podium since
Monaco last year, while David Coulthard compounded RBR’s joy by coming
home fifth.
BMW duo Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica – who collided at the very
first corner – and Renault’s Heikki Kovalainen took the final
points-paying positions.
European Grand Prix, Nurburgring, 60 laps, unofficial results
1. ALONSO Mclaren 2h06m26.388s
2. MASSA Ferrari +8.1s
3. WEBBER Red Bull +1m05.6s
4. WURZ Williams +1m05.9s
5. COULTHARD Red Bull +1m13.6s
6. HEIDFELD BMW +1m20.2s
7. KUBICA BMW +1m22.4s
8. KOVALAINEN Renault +1 lap
9. HAMILTON McLaren +1 lap
10. FISICHELLA Renault +1 lap
11. BARRICHELLO Honda +1 lap
12. DAVIDSON Super Aguri +1 lap
13. TRULLI Toyota +1 lap
R. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +26 laps
R. SATO Super Aguri +41 laps
R. R SCHUMACHER Toyota +42 laps
R. WINKELHOCK Spyker +47 laps
R. BUTTON Honda +58 laps
R. SUTIL Spyker +58 laps
R. ROSBERG Williams +58 laps
R. SPEED Toro Rosso +58 laps
R. LIUZZI Toro Rosso +58 laps
source: itv-f1.com
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