After just eight races, is the 2011 F1 season already over? One must consider giving Sebastian Vettel the trophy now after yet another crushing display behind the wheel of his Red Bull RB7. The German, who turns 24 this week, was untroubled all weekend and duly took his sixth win in eight races. BBC's Jake Humphrey announced on his Twitter page that the Beeb had viewing figures of five million for Yesterday's race which was staggering considering how lacklustre it was. Vettel dominating from pole is something fans are having to become accustomed to. It is not his fault and aside from complaining about the lack of action in Valencia, one must marvel at Vettel's unparalleled driving right now.
Fernando Alonso finished a bullish second for Ferrari and that must have felt like a win back at Maranello. 10 seconds adrift of the reigning world champion, Alonso drove aggressively in front of his home fans to miraculously take second place, ahead of Mark Webber who yet again appeared to struggle with the Pirelli tyres. Webber was just a tenth or two shy of his team mate in qualifying which was a valiant effort, but he could not maintain that come race day. After his first stint, followed by an audacious move by Alonso on lap 20 which dropped him to third, he drifted further away from the sister Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton had an incident-free race in fourth but like Webber struggled with tyres throughout the Grand Prix and finished over a minute behind Vettel. Felipe Massa and Jenson Button completed the top six.
The mid-season rule changes by the FIA regarding the ban to qualifying engine map setting were intended to reduce the disparity between the Red Bulls and the rest of the field. The fact that Vettel headed a Red Bull lockout come the end of Q£ was somewhat ominous for the race, though. Both got away well at the start but behind them Hamilton was bogged down by a faulty clutch and Alonso and the fast-starting Massa were quick to relegate him to fifth. Massa shot past his team mate too and had a brief look at Webber into turns 1 and 2 but his cautiousness, as well as being blocked by the Australian, allowed Alonso to comfortably take back third.
Nico Rosberg had also got a good start from the clean side of the grid and this allowed him to pass Button for sixth. Even with DRS, he was unable to get close to the Mercedes which has regularly been the quickest through the speed traps this season. Jenson, who stated he needed to be more aggressive if he was going to challenge Vettel this season, executed a superb opportunistic overtake into turn 1, which brought out a wry smile from yours truly.
Unable to get close enough with KERS and DRS, Button resorted to basics and simply out-braked Rosberg at what is certainly an unconventional overtaking place. However, he was not to see another car all afternoon such was the slow pace of the Mercedes in front. He would finish a very lonely sixth, relieved to get to the end of the race after suffering from KERS troubles.
Up at the front, Hamilton was the first to pit for a fresh set of options as he looked to gain a performance advantage from the undercut. This was achieved and he dropped Massa to fifth after he pitted four laps later. Similarly to Turkey, though, Hamilton was some way off the leading triumvirate. Alonso began to close in on Webber before and after his pit stop and on lap 21, with help from his DRS, lunged down the inside of the Red Bull for second. It appeared we finally had a race on but Vettel immediately responded by setting his then personal best lap of the race.
Unperturbed, Webber made his second stop before Alonso and made use of the undercut by retaking second place on lap 30. It was quick thinking by the Red Bull strategists, and unlike the Bridgestone days, pitting earlier than the driver in front often pays dividends, However, this meant Webber would have to make his Pirellis work for longer and this is something which has troubled him all year. China aside, where his pace was influenced by a banzai strategy which maximised the usage of the faster, option tyre, he has struggled managing the Pirellis. This would come back to haunt him later in the race.
A despondent Hamilton finished 45 seconds adrift of Vettel to all but end his title aspirations. Having won the title in 2008 in almost equal machinery to Massa, Vettel making the most of his vastly superior machinery must further demoralise him. He must believe, likewise Alonso, that he would achieve similar results given the Adrian Newey designed rocket ship. This result, coupled with a potential drubbing in front of his partizan crowd at Silverstone in just under two weeks, may hasten his exit from Mclaren. He was still able to salvage fourth, although that is so much as a confirmation that Ferrari have usurped Mclaren in terms of outright speed.
Webber pitted for the medium tyres on lap 43 but in retrospect it was probably a shade too early. His tyres may have been wearing thin, but with Alonso running faster on used option tyres it dropped the Red Bull to third. The Spaniard ran two laps longer and reaped the benefits of managing the tyres better than Webber. It equalled his best result of the season and was his maiden visit to the podium at his second home race. Webber, meanwhile, must now wonder whether he will ever be able to consistently challenge Vettel. In equal machinery, the German's near perfect opening to the season must surely be having a massive psychological impact.
In spite of Vettel accomplishments, it was Jaime Alguersuari in Red Bull's sister team that scored the best result of the days. Under heavy pressure at Toro Rosso with Daniel Ricciardo waiting in the wings, from 18th on the grid Alguersuari finished in the points for the second consecutive race. After carefully managing the softer tyres, the 21 year old only made two stops and this allowed to jump the equally impressive Force India of Adrian Sutil to eighth, which was his best result of the season and will be a massive confidence boost. Sutil, after recent woes both on and off the track, needed to seize back the initiative from rookie team mate Paul di Resta and took his third points finish of the season.
But, as ever, the star of the show was Vettel and the statistics following the race will not have made pleasant viewing for the rest of the field. It was his 16th victory in just 70 starts and he extended his lead in the championship to a quite extraordinary 77 points. He doesn't even have to take part in the next three Grand Prix and he will still head the standings. Moreover, it was his second hat-trick of pole position, fastest lap and race win in F1 and at such a young age we could well be entering a period of Schumacher-esque dominance. Vettel's supreme driving right now will later become historic but for the time being fans will despair at F1's newest German who appears to be immovable from the front of the field. The forlorn facial expressions of Alonso and Hamilton after qualifying said it all; this guy is just too quick.
European GP result
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1hr 39mins 36.169secs
2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari + 10.891
3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull + 27.255
4 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren + 46.190
5 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari + 51.705
6 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren + 1:00.000
7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP + 1:38.000
8 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso +1 Lap
9 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India +1 Lap
10 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Renault +1 Lap
11 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber +1 Lap
12 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams +1 Lap
13 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso +1 Lap
14 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India +1 Lap
15 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault +1 Lap
16 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber +1 Lap
17 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP +1 Lap
18 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams +1 Lap
19 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Team Lotus +2 Laps
20 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Team Lotus +2 Laps
21 Timo Glock (Ger) Virgin Racing +2 Laps
22 Jerome d'Ambrosio (Bel) Virgin Racing +2 Laps
23 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Hispania +3 Laps
24 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) Hispania +3 Laps
Josh.
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