Alonso gets season cracking with a win

Massa completes Ferrari one-two; Schumacher sixth

In a race led for more than two thirds of the distance by Germany's Sebastian Vettel before the Red Bull slowed and was reeled in, the Spaniard laid down a marker for the season with his 22nd career victory.

“There is no better way to start the relationship,” said Alonso “I’m with the best team in the world.”

Brazilian Felipe Massa was overtaken by Alonso at the first corner and finished runner-up, 16 seconds behind. Britain's Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, completed the podium for McLaren with Vettel slipping to fourth after starting on pole.

Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher was sixth for Mercedes and one place behind fellow-German team-mate Nico Rosberg.It was Alonso's first triumph since he won the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix for Renault and he weaved his car jubilantly across the track as he approached the chequered flag without a rival in sight.

With no refuelling allowed and after racing in searing temperatures at the newly-extended desert circuit, Alonso collected 25 points for the win under a scoring system that now rewards the top 10 finishers.

Malaysian-owned Lotus, their exalted name returning to the sport after a 16-year absence, proved to be the best of the three all-new teams and the only ones with a car still running at the finish.Finland's Heikki Kovalainen was 15th, two laps down, and Italian Jarno Trulli 17th and last of those classified.

Liuzzi finishes ninth
Karun Chadhok’s F1 debut didn’t even last two laps but Vitantonio Liuzzi’s ninth place finish earned Force India two invaluable points.

While the best Chandhok could have achieved was to complete the race, Adrian Sutil’s 10th place on the starting grid had raised Force India hopes for a good finish.
The German driver, however, dropped out of the points race after an opening lap scramble to eventually finish 12th.

In contrast, Hispania driver Chandhok’s Formula One debut was a bllink-and-miss affair with the Indian forced into an early exit by a bump in the circuit.
At the starting grid, Sutil’s VJM03 was among the cars that spun in the start, pushing the Force India driver down to the second last position.

Sutil tried to claw his way back and rose through the cluttered mid-field but that was not enough to finish among the points. Liuzzi was more in control of the race as he drove to his first points for the Silverstone-based squad.