Mark Webber took his second victory of the season so far in a stunning Red Bull 1-2 with his teammate just 0.4 second behind thanks to a late Safety Car after an accident between Chandhok and Trulli.
Webber now leads the championship ahead of his teammate, with Red Bull controlling the constructors.
Robert Kubica took the final spot on the podium ahead of Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton.
Race Report:
Robert Kubica failed to get the start he wanted, immediately losing a place to Sebastian Vettel. Webber managing to get a clean start and lead into turn one.
The Safety Car was called out on the very first lap after Nico Hulkenberg hit the barrier in the tunnel blocking the racing line as he came to a halt.
Jenson Button then retired under the SC after his Mercedes engine overheated due to the sidepod bung being left in the car whilst it went to the grid.
The Safety Car came in after six laps. Webber restarted the race with the order remaining the same.
Fernando Alonso seemingly struggled at the back, having a tough time trying to pass the Virgin of Lucas di Grassi. He managed to dive down the inside into the chicane and make the required move before dispatching Jarno Trulli, Timo Glock and Heikki Kovalainen within a handful of laps.
Lewis Hamilton became the first front-runner to make a pitstop, coming out ahead of Fernando Alonso which then led to the majority of the grid pitting.
Lap 32 saw yet another Safety Car after Rubens Barrichello suffered a mechanical problem which span him round into the barriers, finishing in the middle of the track facing the wrong way.
A third Safety Car was deployed on lap 43 after a Marshall spotted a loose drain cover. However it lasted only two laps after the FIA decided it was safe enough to continue.
Karun Chandhok and Jarno Trulli came together into the penultimate corner bringing the fourth and final Safety Car of the race. The SC peeled back into the pits with a few hundred yards remaining.
Michael Schumacher managed to pass Alonso into the final corner, snatching sixth place.*
*Note: Schumacher was penalised after the race for passing Alonso under regulation 40.13. This resulted in him moving down to 12th after a 20-second time penalty was added.
Results after the penalty can be found here.
Race Results (provisional):
Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Pit |
---|---|---|---|---|
01 | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:50:13.355 | 1 |
05 | L. Hamilton | McLaren | +4.363 | 1 |
02 | S. Vettel | Red Bull | +0.448 | 1 |
23 | J. Button | McLaren | 0 | |
07 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +6.341 | 1 |
08 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +6.651 | 1 |
06 | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | +5.712 | 1 |
03 | R. Kubica | Renault | +1.675 | 1 |
04 | F. Massa | Ferrari | +2.666 | 1 |
19 | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 0 | |
12 | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | +9.135 | 1 |
10 | V. Liuzzi | Force India | +7.305 | 1 |
11 | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso | +8.199 | 1 |
09 | A. Sutil | Force India | +6.970 | 1 |
13 | V. Petrov | Renault | +5 laps | 3 |
18 | R. Barrichello | Williams | 1 | |
22 | P. de la Rosa | Sauber | 0 | |
24 | N. Hulkenberg | Williams | 0 | |
21 | T. Glock | Virgin | 1 | |
16 | H. Kovalainen | Lotus | 2 | |
20 | L. di Grassi | Virgin | 0 | |
15 | J. Trulli | Lotus | +8 laps | 1 |
17 | B. Senna | HRT | 2 | |
14 | K. Chandhok | HRT | +8 laps | 1 |
All timing unofficial