Race Notes - Fernando Alonso wins Spanish GP

Spaniard Fernando Alonso won his home Grand Prix at Barcelona today, in commanding fashion in his Ferrari. Kimi Raikkonen in the Lotus-Renault, on a three-stop strategy, finished in second place, 9.3 seconds behind, while Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari finished third, 26.0 seconds behind Alonso.

The race saw Ferrari using their tyres on as fast a pace as possible - on a four-stop strategy, while Raikkonen conserved to stop one less times. Mercedes GP, on the front row of the grid, once again struggled with tyre wear through the race - Nico Rosberg finishing sixth and Lewis Hamilton 12th. Red Bull also struggled to keep the pace of Ferrari and Lotus and could only manage fourth and fifth.

The win is Alonso's 32nd career win, overtaking Nigel Mansell for fourth in the all-time win list - behind Micharl Schumacher, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. Alonso's win is the first time in a dry race at Barcelona where the winner came from outside the top three grid positions. It is also Alonso's second time winning the Spanish Grand Prix, the first time coming in 2006, in a Renault. It is Ferrari's 221st world championship victory.

Sebastian Vettel (38.2s) finished fourth in the Red Bull-Renault, followed by his team mate Mark Webber (47.9s) in fifth place, Polesitter Rosberg (68.0s) in the Mercedes GP was sixth, Paul di Resta (68.9s) in the Force India-Mercedes was seventh, Jenson Button (79.5s) in the McLaren-Mercedes was eighth, his team mate Sergio Perez (81.7s) was ninth and Daniel Ricciardo (1 lap) finished in the Toro Rosso-Ferrari in the final points paying position.

Vettel continues to lead the world championship (89 points), but with Raikkonen's consistency he has closed to just four points behind (85), while Alonso jumps up to third place (72), followed by Hamilton (50), Massa (45) and Webber (42). Red Bull-Renault continues to lead the constructors' championship with 131 points, while Ferrari is now second with 117 points followed by Lotus-Renault (111), Merceded GP (72), Force India-Mercedes (32) and McLaren-Mercedes (29).

Before the start with the Mercedes GP duo on the front of the grid, the question is whether they can translate there qualifying performance into a race result. Massa starts from ninth place after being given a three-grid place penalty for block Webber during qualifying. Esteban Gutierrez was also given a three-grid place penalty and starts 19th.

All of the top ten starters are on the Pirelli medium compound tyre - the softer of the two available compounds. Everyone starting on medium compound tyres except for Jules Bianchi, Max Chilton and Charles Pic on hard compound tyres at the back of the grid.

At the start Rosberg takes the lead from pole. Vettel overtakes Hamilton at the first corner for second place. Alonso then passes Hamilton on the outside of turn 3 to take third.

At the end of the first lap Rosberg leads Vettel, Alonso, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Perez, Massa, Adrian Sutil, Romain Grosjean, and Di Resta in tenth.

On lap 2, Massa passes Perez for sixth place, and then sets fastest lap at 1m30.3 s.

Sutil is up to 8th place from 13th on the grid, while Webber has fallen to 11th. Button fell to 17th.

On lap 3 Bianchi pits, and replaces his front wing.

On lap 5 the top ten runners are covered by only seven seconds.

On lap 6 Raikkonen and Massa are pressuring Hamilton in fourth place.

On lap 7 Raikkonen dives down the inside Hamilton to take fourth.

On lap 8 Webber pits for hard tyress. Massa passes Hamilton for fifth on the outside at turn 10.

On lap 9 Massa, Sutil, Nico Hulkenberg, Pastor Maldonado and Pic all pit. Grosjean pits with a right rear suspension damage and retires.

On lap 10 Alonso, Hamilton, Di Resta, Jean-Eric Vergne, Guido Van der Gar and Valtteri Bottas all pit.

On lap 11 Rosberg, Vettel, Raikkonen, Perez, and Ricciardo pit.

As Rosberg and Vettel leave the pitlane, Alonso passes Vettel into the first corner. Massa gets past Raikkonen in the stops.

Gutierrez, yet to pit, leads the race.

On lap 12 Button pits. Sutil sets fastest lap at 1m28.2 seconds.

On lap 13 Gutierrez pits from the lead. Maldonado pits to serve a penalty for speeding in the pitlane.

Alonso passes Rosberg for the lead at the first corner. Vettel then passes Rosberg at turn 6. Massa passes Rosberg as well, the Mercedes is falling back rapidly as the German struggles with his tyres. Raikkonen passes the Mercedes as well.

At lap 15 Alonso leads Vettel by 1.9 seconds, followed by Massa (3.5s), Raikkonen (6.0s), Rosberg (7.7s), Webber (10.9s), Perez (12.2s), Di Resta (14.4s), Ricciardo (15.9s), and Hamilton (18.6s) in tenth.

On lap 16, Ricciardo passes Hamilton for ninth place.

On lap 17 Alonso extends his lead to 3 seconds over Vettel, running low 1m29s laps - half a second faster than the Red Bull.

On lap 18 Ricciardo is pressuring Di Resta in eighth. Vergne passes Gutierrez for 12th.

On lap 19 Ricciardo passes Di Resta for eighth place,

On lap 20 Massa, Webber and Vergne make their second stops.

On lap 22, Alonso pits from lead, and takes on another set of hard tyres - rejoining in fourth place. Massa sets fastest lap at 1m28.1s. Hulkenberg pits as well.

Massa passes Ricciardo and Perez in quick succession.

On lap 23 Van der Garde's rear wheel comes off the car after a pitstop and he limps back to the pits and retires.

On lap 24 Massa passes Rosberg for fourth place. Perez pits for hard tyres. Alonso sets fastest lap at 1m27.7s.

On lap 25 Vettel pits from second place taking on more hard tyres, handing the lead to Raikkonen. Vettel rejoins in fifth. Ricciardo pits from sixth. Webber passes Gutierrez for sixth place.

On lap 26 Vettel passes Rosberg for fourth place. Hamilton pits for hard tyres.

On lap 27 Raikkonen pits for his second stop from the lead taking medium tyres, rejoining behind Vettel.

On lap 28 Maldonado passes Hamilton for 14th. Ferrari now running 1-2.

On lap 29 Gutierrez pits from sixth. Button pits as well. Hamilton repasses Maldonado for 14th. Hamilton tells the team, "I can't drive any slower".

At lap 30 Alonso leads his Ferrari team mate Massa by 10.7 seconds, followed by Vettel (17.6s), Raikkonen (18.2s), Webber (28.8s), Di Resta (40.5s), Hulkenberg (43.8s), Perez (45.4s), Rosberg (47.0s), and Ricciardo (48.9s) in tenth.

On lap 31 Rosberg passes Perez for eighth place.

On lap 33, Vettel and Raikkonen battle, and then Raikkonen passes the Red Bull into the first corner to take third place.

Ricciardo passes Perez for ninth

On lap 35 Hulkenberg and Vergne pit - the two coming together as Hulkenberg exited his pit. The incident is under investigation.

Raikkonen is closing the gap to Massa - now 3 seconds behind the Ferrari.

On lap 36 Alonso pits for a third time and takes on medium tyres - and rejoins in second behind Raikkonen, as Massa pits as well.

Alonso is 1.7 seconds behind Raikkonen.

On lap 37 Webber and Hamilton pit.

On lap 39 Hulkenberg is given a 10 second stop/go penalty. Vergne pits again. Sutil sets fastest lap at 1m26.5s.

Alonso on new tyres easily passes Raikkonen to retake the lead. Webber passes Rosberg for fifth.

On lap 40 Vettel pits from third and rejoins in fourth.

At lap 40 Alonso leads Raikkonen by 3.0 seconds, followed by Massa (15.4s), Vettel (29.0s), Webber (38.5s), Rosberg (46.1s), Gutierrez (53.2s), Button (53.7s), Di Resta (60.0s) and Perez (66.1s) in tenth.

On lap 41 Button passes Gutierrez for seventh place in the first corner.

On lap 44, Gutierrez pits.

On lap 45 Alonso continues to pull away from Raikkonen, now leading by 9.7 seconds.

On lap 46 Raikkonen finally makes his third pitstop taking on hard tyres, and rejoining ahead of Vettel.

On lap 47 Di Resta passes Button for seventh place.

On lap 48 Button pits. Rosberg pits from sixth place.

On lap 50 Alonso makes his fourth and final stop from the lead, switching to hard tyres and rejoining still in the lead.

On lap 51 Sutil pits. Webber pits from fifth place. Perez pits from eighth. Hamilton pits from 12th. Red Bull tells Vettel to be careful with his left front tyre.

On lap 52 Massa and Vettel pit from second and fourth respectively. Raikkonen takes over second place, on a three stop strategy.

Ricciardo pits from seventh.

On lap 53 Webber passes DiResta for fifth place. Di Resta then pits.

On lap 55, Maldonado and Hulkenberg pit. Gutierrez pits as well.

At lap 56 Alonso leads Raikkonen by 13.1 seconds, followed by Massa (21.9s), Vettel (40.5s), Webber (51.7s), Rosberg (73.5s), Di Resta (74.4s), Button (78.2s), Perez (79.0s) and Ricciardo (84.9s) in tenth place.

On lap 58 Gutierrez sets fastest lap at 1m26.2s.

On lap 59 Perez closes on his team mate Button in eighth place.

Massa in third place is complaining of oversteer.

On lap 63 Di Resta closes on Rosberg in sixth place.

On lap 64 Ricciardo and Gutierrez are battling for the final point for 10th place.

Alonso takes the chequered flag to take his home Grand Prix over Raikkonen and Massa.