NUERBURGRING,
Germany (Reuters):
McLaren's Fernando Alonso won a wet and wild European Grand Prix yesterday to cut championship-leading team-mate Lewis Hamilton's lead to just two points.
While Spain's double world champion celebrated his third victory of the season, after a wheel-banging thrust past Ferrari's Felipe Massa just four laps from the finish, Hamilton's run of nine podiums in a row came to an end.
The 22-year-old British rookie, passed fit only yesterday morning after emerging unscathed from a high-speed crash in qualifying, finished ninth and lapped in a race thrown into chaos by the wildly fluctuating conditions.
Brazilian Massa finished second with Mark Webber of Australia fending off Austrian Alexander Wurz's Williams to take third place for Red Bull.
Hamilton has 70 points, Alonso 68 and Massa 59.
McLaren, facing a hearing in Paris on Thursday over a 'spying' controversy that could cost them heavily, stretched their lead over Ferrari to 27 points.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who started on pole position in search of his third win in a row, retired with hydraulics failure at a circuit full of bitter memories for him, and slipped to fourth overall on 52 points.
Retire twice
In the past, the Finn had to retire twice while leading grand prix with his previous team McLaren.
Despite clawing back vital points, Alonso kept his jubilation in check: "It's an important race but the championship is so long.
"You never know what's going to happen in 14 days. In Hungary, anything can happen."
Hamilton started 10th and made a blistering start to fourth place before he joined five others who skidded off at the first corner on the third lap. However, he kept the engine running and was lifted back on to the track by crane to continue for the restart a lap down on the leaders.
"It's a new experience for me, not having to find my way to the podium," he said.
"I came here completely sick, had one of the biggest crashes I ever had, then got a puncture, went into the gravel, it started to rain - it was really a great weekend in terms of learning," said the Briton.
