Alonso sails through a perfect storm

Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle reviews a breathtaking European GP, a world-class drive from Fernando Alonso, and an ominous return to their 2011 pace from Red Bull...

The European GP in Valencia was a hundred and four minutes of pure action and pleasure. For some drivers it was a case of leaving Valencia with a pleasantly surprising result and decent points. For many others it was about a wasted opportunity. The perennial predator who made the most of his skill, the rub of the green, and the misfortune and slow pit-stops of others was, of course, Fernando Alonso. It was his 20th consecutive finish in the points and surely one of the finest victories of his impressive career. From 11th on the grid, his overtaking moves were breathtaking in their execution and at a high level of risk too. He was very lucky not to be spun out while going round the outside Romain Grosjean for example, but as the alternators failed on Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull and Grosjean's Lotus, along with the front jack at Lewis Hamilton's pit-stop, Alonso's bravery and skill paid massive dividends. Having failed to make the top ten shootout in qualifying, he also had two new sets of soft and one new set of medium compound tyres available for the race which the team made fine use of with a pro-active strategy. You largely make your own luck in this business and that is why Alonso now leads the championship by 20 points. We had the perfect storm: The combination of 45 degree track temperature and the medium and soft Pirelli compounds on a challenging track layout with many high speed arrivals into slow corners generating mixed strategies along with much gambling on tyre degradation. Add to this a DRS rear-wing zone extended by 100 metres which worked perfectly in generating overtaking opportunities whilst forcing drivers to finish the job for themselves. We barely saw him on TV but Vettel was peerlessly out front in a style ominously reminiscent of his 2011 domination. The safety car deployed for debris on the track at various points was the beginning of the end for the reigning Champion. His race and potential Championship lead evaporated and then the engine gremlins struck. It was game over as Vettel furiously threw his gloves away. To suggest the safety car was a tactical deployment to spice up the racing is nonsense. We saw as they pushed Vettel's and other cars away at various times just how difficult it is for the marshals to clear the track at that circuit between the walls and with limited internal service access. When we talk about safety in motor sport it's primarily for the spectators, track workers and pit crew as well as the drivers. Shards and lumps of carbon on the racing line cannot be ignored. What did work very well was the decision on this occasion to let the lapped cars pass the safety car before restarting so we had those running in race order nose to tail, and it only cost another lap at safety car pace. This immediately cued that opportunist move by Alonso on Grosjean. He really did demand, seize and steal this race from the others, as if he wanted it even more badly than anybody else. There has been much debate post-race about the penalties handed out. Let me start by reminding everyone that the stewards have infinitely more TV angles and data available than we do, along with interview accounts from drivers involved and other observers. I know two of the stewards well, Garry Connelly and Mika Salo, and I have a high regard for them. I thought Senna was unlucky to get the drive-through for the contact with Kobayashi but they obviously decided he should