Fernando Alonso has become the first double-winner of the year at the European Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver took the victory from eleventh place on the grid thanks to a blistering performance, and the retirement of three of the top-runners.
Sebastian Vettel dominated the first half of the race and had a twenty second lead over second-place man Romain Grosjean before a collision between Caterham's Heikki Kovalainen and Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne brought the safety car out on lap 30.
Immediately after this, Vettel's car lost drive and he retired from first position. It is unclear as to the reason for his car's failure although the Red Bull mechanics suspect it may be related to debris from the Kovalainen-Vergne incident.
Vettel's retirement made Grosjean the leader but his car gave up the ghost with sixteen laps to go thanks to alternator failure. Hamilton was in line for a podium before an altercation with Pastor Maldonado in the closing stages of the race saw him buried in a barrier. Maldonado finished the race in 10th but was given a 20-second penalty for his collision with Hamilton, relegating him to 12th.
Mercedes's Michael Schumacher finished in third place -- his first podium since his return to the sport in 2010 -- and Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen in second as the cars crossed the finish line.
Mark Webber put in an impressive performance, finishing fourth in the race from 19th on the grid at a circuit which the drivers criticised for its lack of overtaking opportunities.
Jenson Button finished 8th after another poor performance.
This means that Alonso leads the drivers' championship with 11 points, almost a race clear of Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton with 91 and 88 respectively. Red Bull leads the constructors' championship by 176 points, 39 ahead of McLaren.
