A chaotic start, the result of Tonio Liuzzi touching the grass, sliding along it and rejoining the race sidewards in the middle of the field, put four drivers out of the grand prix before lap one was completed.The Safety Car came out for two laps as marshals cleared the debris and for two more the tifosi had the chance to celebrate Fernando Alonso's P1 position.
However, the Spaniard was soon overtaken by Vettel in a very brave move and from there it was game over as the Red Bull driver extended his lead lap by lap.
He was given a helping hand by Michael Schumacher, who held up Lewis Hamilton for 28 laps in some great driving that was reminicent of the Schumacher of old. This allowed Button to catch Hamilton and overtake him. He also made short work of Schumacher, something Hamilton could not do.
But, once free of the Mercedes GP, who yielded and was not overtaken, Hamilton found his pace and began to chase down the podium.
Button meanwhile overtook Alonso for second and pulled away while in the latter stages of the race Hamilton was able to close up on Alonso. But, once again, he couldn't overtake.
Times
01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h20:46.172
02. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 9.590
03. Alonso Ferrari + 16.909
04. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 17.471
05. Schumacher Mercedes + 32.677
06. Massa Ferrari + 42.993
07. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
08. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
09. Senna Renault + 1 lap
10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
11. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
13. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap
14. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
15. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
Did Not Finish
Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 40
Perez Sauber-Ferrari 34
Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 23
Sutil Force India-Mercedes 11
Webber Red Bull-Renault 6
D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 3
Petrov Renault 1
Rosberg Mercedes 1
Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1
Source: Planet-F1
