Fernando Alonso, who started from eleventh on the grid, won the European Grand Prix in Valencia after early leader Sebastian Vettel was forced to retire on lap 35 with alternator trouble.
Alonso, who became the first man to win two races this season, fought his way up to fourth place before a safety car was deployed. He then moved up to third after yet another disastrous pit stop for Lewis Hamilton and overtook Romain Grosjean’s Lotus at the restart.
With Vettel’s retirement, his first mechanical failure of the season, Alonso was in the lead and remained there. Kimi Raikkonen finished second and veteran Michael Schumacher was third. It was Schumacher’s first podium finish since his comeback in 2010 and he became the oldest driver since Jack Brabham to achieve the feat.
Valencia, where overtaking is normally considered virtually impossible, is generally a bit of a procession but this year was quite different and, for varying reasons, relatively ‘action packed’.