Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso won his second race of the season today in what many are calling controversial circumstances, crossing the line ahead of teammate Felipe Massa, who was told to let the Spaniard through for the win. Sebastian Vettel rounded out the podium in third place while Hamilton and Button finished fourth and fifth, Webber sixth, Kubica seventh, Rosberg eighth, Schumacher ninth and Vitaly Petrov tenth.
A dry track and cool temperatures were the call of the afternoon as drivers took to the grid for the German grand Prix here at the Hockenheim circuit. Lucas di Grassi lined up to take the start from pit lane as Sebastian Vettel led the field around the track to get the eleventh round of the 2010 season underway.
The lights go out and Vettel instantly moves across in an attempt to stop Fernando Alonso getting ahead but in the process the third placed Ferrari of Felipe Massa drives straight through the gap and up into the lead. Alonso goes into second and Vettel drops to third. Lewis Hamilton passes Webber for fourth while Michael Schumacher has a brilliant start to make it up into P8.
\Meanwhile, there is confusion at the back of the grid as the two Toro Rosso’s come together and Buemi is forced to retire as a result. Liuzzi has a broken wing but for some reason both Force India’s come in to the pits, then they are given each other’s tyres and have to pit for a second time! Disaster for Force India. Jarno Trulli retires, but then come back out and tours the track very slowly before coming in once again and retiring.
Lap 13 and Vettel pits, followed by Alonso and Webber on the following lap. Webber comes out in ninth behind Rosberg and Kamui Kobayashi is right behind the Red Bull and trying to take the place. Massa and Hamilton pit and Hamilton is out in front of Rosberg as his teammate Button leads the race with Massa out in second, Alonso third and Vettel fourth.
Massa appears to be struggling on the harder compound and teammate Alonso is just waiting to take advantage of the situation. Robert Kubica pits and comes out just ahead of Michael Schumacher who desperately tries to take the position back, and fails to make the move stick. Jenson Button continues to lead while Vettel is closing in on the Ferrari battle and Webber remains stuck behind Nico Rosberg.
The two Ferrari’s hit traffic and Alonso almost gets through on his teammate. Button pits and returns to the track in fifth behind his teammate and ahead of Webber, who had managed to get past Rosberg. Massa is back in the lead and sets the fastest lap of the race pulling out a gap on his teammate, his race engineer telling him over the radio to push as hard as he can to build a gap over Alonso.
Alonso responds to his teammate’s speed and claws back four tenths of a second. The fight between the two Ferrari drivers continues as they trade fastest laps, Alonso determined to prove he is the quicker of the two after earlier radio transmissions heard him telling the team the situation as ridiculous as Massa kept him behind him and seemingly backing him into Vettel.
Lap 39 and the gap between them is down to 1.1 with Alonso taking half a second a lap out of his teammate’s lead as he encounters traffic. Webber is told not to lift off on the straight but to maintain the four second gap to Jenson Button as he encounters a high oil consumption issue. Meanwhile, teammate Sebastian Vettel sets the fastest lap as he slices the gap to Alonso.
Webber is told that hard and late braking could help his oil problem. Massa is told over the radio that Alonso is faster than he is. “Do you understand that message” he is asked, and it is thought that this is Ferrari’s way of telling the Brazilian to move over and let his teammate through and sure enough, he lets the chance of victory go and allows the Spaniard past with 18 laps remaining.
“Okay mate, just stick with it, good luck. Sorry,” Rob Smedley tells Massa over the radio. In a lot of people’s opinions, if Alonso was so much faster, he should have made the move on his own accord. Sadly, it smells a lot like Austria 2002. The Ferrari garage is split with Smedley sitting with his arms folded, as is team boss Domenicali, everyone knowing the media frenzy that is about to come.....
De la Rosa comes to blows with Heikki Kovalainen and loses part of his front wing. He comes into the pits and drops all the way down the field. Vitaly Petrov is almost reprimanded for not going into fuel saving mode with seven laps remaining.
Kovalainen slowly comes into the pits as Vettel closes up behind Massa, who seems to have given up somewhat after being forced to yield to his teammate. Kovalainen retires as Alonso sets the newest fastest lap.
The final lap and Alonso crosses the line to win in Hockenheim.
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