Ferrari's Fernando Alonso became the first driver to win two races this season thanks to his success at the European Grand Prix in Valencia this afternoon, despite starting the event 11th on the grid.
World champion Sebastian Vettel was the pre-race favourite having secured pole position yesterday afternoon. Those predictions looked to be accurate when by lap 11 he held an almost ten-second lead over Lewis Hamilton in second place.
However, with Vettel looking to be heading for a routine victory, the German driver suffered a mechanical problem with his car which forced him to withdraw on lap 34.
His retirement allowed Ferrari's Alonso to take the lead from Hamilton, who had regained second spot from Kimi Raikkonen in the Lotus.
There were concerns as to whether or not Alonso's tyres would hold out for the remainder of the 57-lap race, particularly with Hamilton closing the gap.
The Spanish driver held out though as he negotiated his car around the circuit to record a victory from Raikkonen, who passed Hamilton with two laps remaining.
Hamilton's race actually ended a lap early when he was forced into the barrier following a collision with Williams driver Pastor Maldonado, who also withdrew as a result of the incident.
Michael Schumacher took the final spot on the podium, his first since returning to the sport in 2010.
