Vettel shrugs off doubts to coast to sixth win

Defending Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel won the European Grand Prix here on Sunday to extend his lead in the overall standings with his sixth win in eight races.

His 16th career victory made him the first man to finish first or second in the opening eight races of a season in the history of the Formula One world championship.

The 23-year-old German dispelled any thoughts that his last lap error in Canada a fortnight ago which cost him victory would have an adverse effect on him as he coasted home in his Red Bull to beat Spain's Fernando Alonso in a Ferrari.

Vettel's Australian team-mate Mark Webber was third.

Vettel's victory saw him open up a huge 77-points gap in this year's title race. He now has 186 points after eight of the season's 19 events, ahead of nearest rival Briton Jenson Button on 109.

It was just the fourth time in Formula One history that all the drivers finished the race and first time since the Italian Grand Prix in 2005.

Vettel said that it had been far from easy.

"For some reason I enjoy this track, even though we maybe think it doesn't suit our car because there are no 100 per cent fast corners," he explained.

"Maybe it looked easy for me from the outside, but I can tell you it was not like that for me - there was so much going on. It was never a boring race for me."

Alonso was delighted with his second place.

"It was interesting for the fans today to see my fight with Webber all the way through," said the two-time world champion.

"In the end, I think second place was the maximum we could hope for. It was a great achievement for the team. We're definitely moving in the right direction but need to keep working."

Webber was as honest as always about his performance.

"It was my fault that I didn't finish second - my call on the final pit-stop - and I came in too soon," said the 34-year-old.

"Apart from that, it was my best race of the year and I should have been second, as I say. I lost out."

Great Britain's 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton for McLaren honoured his pledge to restrain his daredevil style and finish the race, taking fourth place.

However, he was not happy with the way he saw things going for the team.

"I think we've taken a step back this weekend - or maybe the others have gone forward," he said.

Brazilian Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari and Briton Jenson Button, in the second McLaren, finished fifth and sixth.

German Nico Rosberg was seventh for Mercedes and Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari produced a stunning drive to take eighth for Toro Rosso with Germans Adrian Sutil ninth for Force India and Nick Heidfeld 10th for Renault.

Red Bull team chief Christian Horner paid tribute to Vettel.

"He just enjoyed this afternoon as you could see. He drove a fantastic race and he got everything right. It was just perfect."

On a sweltering early summer afternoon by the Mediterranean, Vettel produced a start to match the weather as the air temperature rose beyond 30 degrees Celsius and the track temperature hit the high-40's.

This signalled potential degradation problems for the tyres, but Vettel made light of any concerns as he pulled clear without any fuss to lead by 1.3 seconds at the end of the opening lap.

Both McLarens were slow to pull off the grid and gave the Ferraris of Alonso and Massa an invitation to attack. Webber, caught in a scarlet pincer move, managed to survive.

That left him second behind the champion with Alonso third, Massa fourth and Hamilton fifth at the end of the opening lap, Rosberg also having started well to find his way past Button into sixth.

The 2009 champion, however, was not content to bide his time and found a way past the young German with a late-braking move into Turn Two that lifted him into the top six.

The positions pretty much stayed the same in a race lacking in the drama from Canada a fortnight ago with only Alonso's daring overtaking of Webber enough to send the home crowd into ecstasy.