Fernando Alonso wins 2011 Formula 1 British Grand Prix
Fernando Alonso has clenched the first victory for Ferrari in the 2011 Formula 1 Championship, taking top honors at the Silverstone race track during yesterday’s British Grand Prix. The win comes exactly 60 years after Ferrari’s first ever victory in Formula 1, which took place back in 1951 with José Froilán González driving, also at Silverstone.
Sunday looked like being the first completely dry day of the event, but shortly before the start, a short shower ensured that all 24 cars started the race on intermediate rain tires. As the lights went out, Red Bull Racing star Sebastian Vettel immediately passed his team-mate Mark Webber to take the lead, with Alonso attacking the Australian but staying in third.
In the first half of the race it looked as though Vettel was going to go on and secure his seventh win of the season, however, it wasn’t meant to be.
After leading for most of the earlier part of the race, the German youngster was delayed during a pit stop when his crew had trouble replacing one of his wheels. Alonso was able to take advantage of the delay, passing Vettel in the pits and taking the lead.
Interestingly, that wasn’t the end of Vettel’s troubles at the British Grand Prix. Webber was close on his tail but was given team orders to hold back in the closing stages of the race, once again causing controversy over the legal status and fairness of the orders.
In the end, Vettel took second place with Webber rounding out the top three positions.
Sebastian Vettel remains at the top of the Drivers’ Championship points table with a clear lead of 80 points over second placed Mark Webber, who stands on 124 points. With his latest win, Fernando Alonso stands in third place with 112 points and is just ahead of fourth placed Lewis Hamilton of McLaren on 109 points.
Next stop on the 2011 Formula 1 calendar is the German Grand Prix at the famous Nurburgring race track in a fortnight’s time. Stay tuned for our full coverage.
