Alonso takes commanding win in China

Fernando Alonso drove a commanding race in Shanghai on Sunday to bring Ferrari its first win of the season, and the Spaniard the 31st of his career. If anyone still had doubts that the two-time world champion didn¡¯t have the car to take this year¡¯s drivers title, they were dispelled in China at the weekend.

The race was dominated by tire strategy, given supplier Pirelli¡¯s decision to run the medium and fast-degrading soft compounds. Alonso had opted to begin the race on the softs, a strategy also run by Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus, and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, who finished second and third on the podium, respectively.

The drivers who opted to start on the medium tire ¡ª including reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, of Red Bull ¡ª came to lead the race thanks to differing pit stop timings, but suffered when they were forced to run on the softer rubber later in the race.

Having started from third position, Alonso quickly overtook slow-starting Raikkonen, and then both the Spaniard and his Brazilian teammate, Felipe Massa, managed to get past Hamilton on lap five.

Once on the medium tire, Alonso clawed his way through traffic, giving him the edge over the drivers who were running the same strategy. Vettel left his stint on the soft Pirellis until the last five laps of the race, by which time Alonso¡¯s victory was all but assured.

The Ferrari finished a full 10 seconds ahead of second-placed Raikkonen, with Hamilton crossing the line two seconds later in third. Vettel managed fourth place, while Jenson Button brought his McLaren in fifth and Massa was sixth.

The win was a welcome result for Alonso, who was forced to retire on the first lap of the last Grand Prix, in Malaysia, due to wing damage after he came together with another car.

Speaking after the race, Alonso remained guarded over his chances for a third title. ¡°I think it is a little bit too early to say, we need to wait for after the summer break to see a clear contender,¡± he told the press. ¡°Hopefully we are in that group after the summer. Hopefully Felipe can be in that group as well and that will mean the car is going well. I think at the moment Lotus, Red Bull and Mercedes are in the same position as us. I don¡¯t see anyone having a clear advantage.¡±

The Spaniard said he was also hopeful that he could pull out another strong performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix, which will take place next Sunday.

¡°The team did a perfect job with the set-up of the car. We had perfect pit stop times and pit stop execution so at the end of the race the victory is a good reward for all the team and well deserved after the disappointment in Malaysia,¡± he said. ¡°We need to keep going in this direction with no extra risk and hopefully in Bahrain get another podium.¡±

Meanwhile, Red Bull was forced into damage-limitation mode on Sunday, after Mark Webber retired from the race after losing a wheel due to a botched pit stop, bringing to a conclusion a nightmare weekend for the Australian. He was left at the back of the grid after running out of fuel during qualifying on Saturday. In Malaysia, Vettel had disobeyed team orders and passed Webber on track, prompting questions for team principal Christian Horner about a possible conspiracy against Vettel¡¯s teammate. ¡°That is complete rubbish,¡± Horner replied. ¡°It is all about trying to get two cars to finish as high as we can.¡±

After three races Vettel continues to lead the championship, with 52 points, with Raikkonen second on 49. Alonso is third in the drivers¡¯ standings with 43 points. Red Bull leads the constructors¡¯ championship with 78 points, while Ferrari is in second place just five points behind.