Formula 1

FERNANDO ALONSO TAKES A GLORIOUS VICTORY IN THE 2013 SPANISH GRAND PRIX…

Fernando Alonso won the Spanish Grand Prix in front of his jubilant home fans on Sunday to close the gap on championship leader Sebastian Vettel and get right back in the Formula One title race.

Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen finished second for the third straight race, with Alonso’s Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa in third spot as most drivers chose a four-stop strategy due to ongoing problem with Pirelli’s fast-degrading tires. That issue remains a big concern as tires still shred far too easily despite pre-race modifications.

Staring from fifth place, Alonso won his second race this season, showing that Ferrari can challenge Red Bull for pure speed. Alonso was easily quicker than Vettel, with the three-time defending champion finishing fourth ahead of team-mate Mark Webber.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team 
 1.  Alonso         Ferrari
 2.  Raikkonen      Lotus-Renault
 3.  Massa          Ferrari
 4.  Vettel         Red Bull-Renault
 5.  Webber         Red Bull-Renault
 6.  Rosberg        Mercedes
 7.  Di Resta       Force India-Mercedes
 8.  Button         McLaren-Mercedes
 9.  Perez          McLaren-Mercedes
10.  Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari
11.  Gutierrez      Sauber-Ferrari
12.  Hamilton       Mercedes
13.  Sutil          Force India-Mercedes
14.  Maldonado      Williams-Renault
15.  Hulkenberg     Sauber-Ferrari
16.  Bottas         Williams-Renault
17.  Pic            Caterham-Renault
18.  Bianchi        Marussia-Cosworth
19.  Chilton        Marussia-Cosworth
DNF  Vergne         Toro Rosso-Ferrari
DNF  van der Garde  Caterham-Renault
DNF  Grosjean       Lotus-Renault

World Championship standings, round 5:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Vettel         89        1.  Red Bull-Renault          131
 2.  Raikkonen      85        2.  Ferrari                   117
 3.  Alonso         72        3.  Lotus-Renault             111
 4.  Hamilton       50        4.  Mercedes                   72
 5.  Massa          45        5.  Force India-Mercedes       32
 6.  Webber         42        6.  McLaren-Mercedes           29
 7.  Di Resta       26        7.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari          8
 8.  Grosjean       26        8.  Sauber-Ferrari              5
 9.  Rosberg        22       
10.  Button         17       
11.  Perez          12       
12.  Ricciardo       7       
13.  Sutil           6       
14.  Hulkenberg      5       
15.  Vergne          1