Vettel Wins Lacklustre European GP 2011

Sebastian Vettel strolled to his sixth win of the campaign in the European GP where the fight was a lot closer than it was exciting

No matter how many DRS zones you put in, how much power the KERS gives a driver, or what you ban on the cars, it truly seems as if nothing will ever make the Valencia street circuit an exciting venue for Formula One racing.

With the top three, both Red Bulls and Alonso, all runningsimilar strategies and putting on soft tyres in their first two stops, the race appeared as if it would be decided by who could get the most out of their medium compound Pirellis in the final stint.

Webber pitted for his on lap 43, Alonso on lap 45 and Vettel on lap 47. The German, having witnessed his team-mate's times fall on the medium tyres, was the last of leading trio in and therefore only had ten laps on the harder - and slower - compound.

This move just allowed him to cement his victory, although it never appeared as if Alonso, who was second, or Webber, who completed the podium, were a threat to his sixth win of the season.

Lewis Hamilton was fourth over the line as he kept his nose clean in Valencia, finishing ahead of Felipe Massa and Jenson Button.

All 24 drivers completed the grand prix, only the third time in F1 history that there was not a single retirement in the race.

Results
01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h39:36.169
02. Alonso Ferrari + 10.891
03. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 27.255
04. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 46.190
05. Massa Ferrari + 51.705
06. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 1:00.000
07. Rosberg Mercedes + 1:38.000
08. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
09. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
10. Heidfeld Renault + 1 lap
11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
14. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
15. Petrov Renault + 1 lap
16. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
17. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap
18. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
19. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
20. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
21. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
22. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
23. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
24. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps

Source: Planet-F1