The start of the race was delayed by ten minutes due to heavy rain and once under way only three laps took place before the Safety Car before it was red flagged. 45 minutes later, the race resumed, again behind the Safety Car, where 13 laps were spent rubbing off the water as some drivers grew more and more impatient.
The race finally got underway proper on lap 18 with Vettel leading his team-mate Mark Webber. But two laps later, the Aussie's race was over as he crashed out after touching the dirty, muddy side of the track, taking out Nico Rosberg in the process.
Webber's crash left it to his title rivals to fight for the victory and the much-needed 25 points with Vettel storming away from the chasing Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. And although Hamilton did get the jump on Alonso in the battle for second place when the Ferrari driver had a slow pit stop, a mistake from Hamilton at one of the many re-starts after a Safety Car allowed the Spaniard back up into second.
Vettel maintained his lead all the way through to lap 46 when disaster struck as his Renault engine blew putting an end to his race. Alonso and Hamilton took over at the front with the Ferrari driver holding a two second advantage over the McLaren.
Alonso went on to win the grand prix, taking the lead in the Drivers' Championship with 231 points while
Hamilton's P2 finish ensured he stayed in the hunt for the World title. He is now third in the standings behind Webber, 21 points behind the new Championship leader.
Felipe Massa claimed third place in the grand prix, finishing ahead of Michael Schumacher, Robert Kubica, Tonio Liuzzi, Rubens Barrichello and Kamui Kobayashi.
As for Jenson Button, the fifth driver in the title race, his bid is all but over after a P12 finish saw him drop to 42 points behind Alonso.
Results
01. Alonso Ferrari 2h48:20.810
02. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 14.999
03. Massa Ferrari + 30.868
04. Schumacher Mercedes + 39.688
05. Kubica Renault + 47.734
06. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes + 53.571
07. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:09.257
08. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:17.889
09. Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari + 1:20.107
10. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth + 1:20.851
11. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:24.146
12. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 1:29.939
13. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth + 1 lap
14. Senna HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
15. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
Did Not Finish
Sutil Force India-Mercedes 63
Vettel Red Bull-Renault 62
Petrov Renault 56
Glock Virgin-Cosworth 48
Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 47
Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 42
Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 42
Webber Red Bull-Renault 35
Rosberg Mercedes 35
Source: Planet-F1
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