“I was just thinking that to finish at the front, as I did five years ago,
would be very, very special for me – and it has been.
“I couldn’t believe it when I crossed the line – a feeling inside like an
explosion. It was really just incredible.
“That’s what I love about racing, and if I continue to have this feeling for
many, many years, then hopefully I’ll be here for a long, long time.”
The result hinged on Hamilton’s lap-50 stop as at that stage he led by four
seconds from Alonso, with Vettel in close attendance.
It then became a question of whether either man would pit again, or attempt to
run to the finish on a one-stop plan.
When it became clear the latter was on the cards, Hamilton was left to close
down an initial 15-second gap.
On the fresher rubber Hamilton eased past Vettel on lap 62, the German
deciding immediately to pit again, even though he knew it would cost him a
podium.
Two laps later and Hamilton targeted and passed former team-mate Alonso, whose
tyres proceeded to badly let him down as he wound up fifth behind Lotus’
Romain Grosjean, Sauber’s Sergio Perez and Vettel.
Hamilton’s race was in stark contrast to team-mate Jenson Button who again
suffered badly for pace, finishing 14th and a lap down on his fellow Briton.
Now trailing Hamilton by 43 points, Button said: “It was a terrible race, I’ve
never had one like it, and they seem to get worse and worse.
“I’m pushing the car to its limits and yet I’m so far off the leaders. It’s a
little bit confusing.
“Every time you jump in the car you’re confident and excited it’s going to go
well, and every time you make changes you think you are going to improve.
But it’s not happening.
“I’m confused and very lost. I don’t really understand what is going on at the
moment.”
Behind Alonso, Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg was sixth, followed by Mark Webber in
his Red Bull, Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen, Kamui Kobayashi in his Sauber and
Ferrari of Felipe Massa, with Force India’s Paul di Resta 11th.