That allowed Vettel to sweep back into the lead, and from there he put the
pedal to the metal and blazed away into a four-second lead after just two
laps.
Behind the reigning three-times champion Alonso produced another of his
storming starts, as he knows he has to do these days given his car’s
shortcomings in qualifying.
From seventh on the grid, Alonso powered past Lotus’ Romain Grosjean, Mark
Webber in his Red Bull and Hamilton.
Hamilton’s woes off the line saw him also fall behind Felipe Massa in his
Ferrari, and although he managed to gain the place back, he went beyond the
track limits and was ordered to cede position.
From that point on, even through the first round of the pit stops, the race
became a procession featuring precious little action.
That was until lap 25 when Daniel Ricciardo made an astonishing error as he
ploughed the nose of his Toro Rosso into the barrier at turn 18.
It sparked the ninth safety car period in six grands prix around this track,
and for a short while it at least suggested Vettel’s cruise to the line was
in danger.
A number of drivers pitted for a second time, including the likes of Alonso,
Grosjean, Massa, McLaren’s Jenson Button, Raikkonen and Sergio Perez in his
McLaren.
That left a top four of Vettel, Rosberg, Webber and Hamilton, who all opted
not to pit, throwing up different strategies for the leaders over the second
half of the race.
But when the safety car exited after five laps – on lap 30 – Vettel simply
unleashed his dominance again and blasted away into the night.
It meant that come the end of lap 44, when his team ordered him to pit again,
he had a 30-second gap over Alonso.
The cushion was enough for Vettel to pit again and emerge ahead of Alonso, and
on a fresh set of tyres, and from there the win was in the bag.
Come the chequered flag he finished 32.6secs clear of Alonso, the largest
winning margin this year, whilst the Spaniard was 11.2secs ahead of Rosberg.
The closing laps at least threw up some entertainment as the majority of those
who had pitted under the safety car saw their tyres fall away rapidly.
That allowed Webber, Rosberg and Hamilton in particular to scythe their way
through on fresher rubber.
Webber should have claimed fourth but suffered a gearbox and engine issue that
forced him into retirement on the final lap.
Behind the leading quintet came Massa, Button – who was running third eight
laps from home – Perez, Nico Hulkenberg in his Sauber and Adrian Sutil for
Force India.
As for Sutil’s team-mate, Paul Di Resta, he also ran into a barrier seven laps
from home – but fortunately not resulting in a safety car – leaving him
without a point now for five consecutive races.
Final positions:
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1hr 59mins 13.132secs
2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:59:45.759
3 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Lotus F1 Team 1:59:57.052
4 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 2:00:04.287
5 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 2:00:06.291
6 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 2:00:17.009
7 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 2:00:36.486
8 Sergio Perez (Mex) McLaren 2:00:36.952
9 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari 2:00:37.393
10 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 2:00:37.800
11 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams 2:00:41.611
12 Esteban Gutierrez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 2:00:51.026
13 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams 2:00:58.293
14 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 2:01:06.644
15 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull at 1 Lap
16 Giedo van der Garde (Ned) Caterham at 1 Lap
17 Max Chilton (Gbr) Marussia at 1 Lap
18 Jules Bianchi (Fra) Marussia at 1 Lap
19 Charles Pic (Fra) Caterham at 1 Lap
Not classified:
20 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India 54 Laps Completed
21 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Lotus F1 Team 37 Laps Completed
22 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 23 Laps Completed
(Edited by Giles Mole)