As it happened: 2012 Spain - The Race

• 12:30

  Hello there, welcome to the Factbyte Factbox for the Spanish Grand Prix. Already this weekend has provided so many talking points, what can today offer?

• 12:31

  The pitlane has just opened in Barcelona, and the cars are firing up, making their way to the grid.

• 12:32

  Pastor Maldonado will be making his way all the way to the front for the first time in his F1 career.

• 12:32

  Lewis Hamilton was frustrated yesterday after being booted to the back of the grid for not having enough fuel after his lap. Martin Whitmarsh says he is in a better mood today.

• 12:33

  Meanwhile, teammate Jenson Button starts from tenth, and knows it'll be a tough race. "We had a very good run on high fuel on Friday, we've just been running through the numbers… we should have a good race. You never know until the lights go out. There's some quick guys at the front but Red Bull are in the same boat as we are. Beating the Red Bulls is very important for us today."

• 12:33

  Mark Webber starts 11th, behind Button, whilst Sebastian Vettel is only up in 7th. The Red Bull team having a tricky weekend so far.

• 12:35

  Starting Grid

  1	Pastor Maldonado	Williams
  2	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
  3	Romain Grosjean	Lotus
  4	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus
  5	Sergio Pérez	Sauber
  6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
  7	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull
  8	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes
  9	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber
  10	Jenson Button	McLaren

• 12:36

  For a roundup of the qualifying news, you'll have to sit through 120 seconds rather than the normal 60: https://sidepodcast.com/news/barcelona-dishes-up-unpredictable-front-row and https://sidepodcast.com/news/lewis-hamilton-stripped-pole-position-spain

• 12:37

  Tweet from @InsideFerrari: Meteo: The showers located in the North at 45 Km away are not on the path of the circuit. No rain expected for the beginning of the race.

• 12:38

  You might find some live timing handy: http://www.formula1.com/live_timing/live_timing.html and do, please, join the comments: https://sidepodcast.com/dashboard

• 12:41

  Interview with Romain Grosjean: "We are starting P3 today, the car seems to be working very well here, so let's see what we can achieve. I think everything is possible, if you start the race not thinking of the win, it's not good. But we know as well we need points, so let's see what we can get out of the car."

• 12:43

  Nico Rosberg glides through the grid as his mechanics push him into position. The Mercedes boys are starting 6th and 8th today.

• 12:45

  Interview with Christian Horner: "I think, having looked at where he with his tyres, his mood improved dramatically. Grid position here is important, but in modern Formula One tyre usage is just as critical.

  "We think we're alright, but it's ten degrees cooler, there's less wind, how's that going to affect things? We ran pretty well on Friday, the drivers are happy with the car. Hopefully we can make the right strategic calls and make a bit of progress."

• 12:47

  Interview with Paul di Resta: "Upgrades are positive, we're racing them, but they've clearly not been enough, because some of our recent competitors are on pole. I don't think we've maximised what we've got... we're in a reasonable position.

  "Any points here would be a big benefit to us, whether that's ninth or sixth like in Bahrain, we'll grab them with both hands."

• 12:48

  Tweet from @alanbaldwinf1: On the grid. HRT mechanics looking across at Lewis's car. They don't usually get this close to a McLaren.

• 12:50

  Nico Hülkenberg waits calmly for the start of the race.

• 12:52

  Circuit Data

  Circuit de Catalunya
  Local timezone	+02:00 GMT
  First race	1991
  Number of laps	66
  Circuit length	4.655km
  Race distance	307.104km
  Start offset	0.126km

• 12:53

  Comment from Paul_f: Fbfb: what's a start offset?

  It's where the start and finish line are not at the same point on track.

• 12:55

  Five minutes to go until the race begins. Gather your drinks and your snacks and get settled for some afternoon entertainment.

• 12:56

  We've got the hard and soft compounds from Pirelli, and the DRS zone is detected around the last corner and activated down the main straight.

• 12:57

  

  22°C

  Track	33°C
  Humidity	57%
  Wind speed	2.9mps

• 13:00

  The mechanics remove tyre blankets and clear the grid as the cars roar away from the grid for the formation lap.

• 13:02

  A sea of mechanics jog their way back to the pitlane as the cars round the last corner and return to the grid.

• 13:02

  Team radio to Jenson Button: "Bit of information for you, every car is on option. Every car is on option."

• 13:02

  Comment from Steven Roy: Pastor was on pole here on GP2. He stalled

• 13:03 Lap 1

  Race started.

• 13:03 Lap 1

  Alonso moves alongside Pastor down the main straight and takes the lead into the first corner.

• 13:04 Lap 1

  Clean start through the first corner, but Pérez was clipped and ran wide. Left rear puncture on the Sauber.

• 13:04 Lap 1

  Hamilton opted to start on track rather than the pit lane, and is up to 19th already.

• 13:05 Lap 1

  The Spanish crowd are cheering and waving as Alonso passes - race leader for now!

• 13:05 Lap 2

  After one lap, the Ferrari has pulled out a gap of 1.3 seconds.

• 13:05 Lap 2

  Grosjean has a massive lockup going into the first corner, allowing Schumacher to close the gap to him.

• 13:06 Lap 2

  Pérez has got back to the pits, no problems on the tyre change and he's off again straight away.

• 13:06 Lap 2

  Felipe Massa is up to 11th, having started 16th. Ahead of him, Vergne has also made up several places at the start.

• 13:06 Lap 2

  Replays show Pic completing a 360 degree spin, all by himself, and continues onwards, no harm done.

• 13:07 Lap 3

  Maldonado has closed the gap to Alonso a little - 0.9 seconds now, within the DRS activation requirement, although I don't think it's been enabled yet.

• 13:07 Lap 3

  Towards the back, Hamilton is on the back of Senna, he overtakes easily on the inside and moves up to 17th. Kovalainen next.

• 13:09 Lap 3

  Button managed to make up a couple of places on the start, now 8th, whilst Webber, who was right by him on the grid has lost a position - currently down in 12th.

• 13:09 Lap 4

  Race Control: DRS enabled.

• 13:09 Lap 5

  Tweet from @Marussia_F1Team: The grandstand is SOO loud. I can barely hear the radio

• 13:10 Lap 5

  Although he's now sitting last, Pérez sets the fastest lap so far.

• 13:10 Lap 5

  Rosberg also managed to improve at the start, he is currently sitting in fourth place behind Räikkönen, whilst Schumacher sits two places back. It's Lotus, Merc, Lotus, Merc.

• 13:11 Lap 6

  It looks as though Maldonado is keeping tabs on Alonso, but the gap from the first two to Kimi is extending gradually.

• 13:12 Lap 6

  Team radio from Alonso: "Front and rears degrading at the same time."

• 13:12 Lap 7

  Hamilton has managed to get past Kovalainen, now up to 16th place. Who's next on his agenda? Daniel Ricciardo.

• 13:13 Lap 7

  Mark Webber pits, he's put on the harder tyre and he returns to the track 21st.

• 13:14 Lap 8

  I think Webber is 23rd actually. Vettel also comes in for a super early stop. He pits from ninth, it's a really quick stop, and he rejoins 18th, just ahead of Timo Glock.

• 13:15 Lap 9

  Replays show Webber having to brake rapidly behind an HRT as it slows early into the corner. Not good for his new tyres!

• 13:16 Lap 9

  Kobayashi pits from 8th place, a slightly slower stop than Red Bull's mega work. He now hits the track 19th, ahead of Webber.

• 13:17 Lap 10

  With those drivers dropping back due to pit stops, Hamilton is now up to 12th. He passes Di Resta relatively easily and it's 11th place now.

• 13:17 Lap 10

  Mechanics are filling the pitlane, as Button, Rosberg and Di Resta all come in at the same time.

• 13:18 Lap 10

  Jenson Button was released into the path of an incoming Di Resta, it was close, but probably not an unsafe release.

• 13:19 Lap 11

  Alonso pits from the lead of the race, with Maldonado staying out to lead the race. Grosjean and Schumacher also follow the Ferrari to the pitlane.

• 13:19 Lap 11

  Vergne, Massa, Hulk and Petrov all come in as well. A busy few laps in the pit lane.

• 13:20 Lap 11

  De la Rosa has also stopped, right at the back of the field.

• 13:20 Lap 11

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	R Grosjean
  Team	Lotus
  Pit lane	20.223s
  Stopped	3.5s

• 13:20 Lap 12

  Pastor Maldonado comes in from the lead of the race, and Räikkönen follows the Williams in.

• 13:21 Lap 12

  Rosberg passes Senna down the home straight, and Grosjean closes up to take advantage of the situation. There's contact between Grosjean and Senna, and a piece of carbon fibre flies. But who was it from?

• 13:21 Lap 12

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	P Maldonado
  Team	Williams
  Pit lane	20.620s
  Stopped	4.2s

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	K Räikkönen
  Team	Lotus
  Pit lane	19.777s
  Stopped	3.5s

• 13:22 Lap 13

  Hamilton is now up to fourth place, but has not yet stopped, of course.

• 13:22 Lap 13

  Kovalainen sits behind McLaren, up in fifth, he must also be due a pit stop too.

• 13:22 Lap 13

  Both Senna and Schumacher are off into the gravel, the Mercedes missing a front wing.

• 13:23 Lap 13

  Yellow flags as Schumacher throws his steering wheel away in frustration. He's out of the car and walking away.

• 13:23 Lap 13

  Senna is bravely returning to the pitlane, but the mechanics know the car won't be fixable and have gone back in the garage.

• 13:24 Lap 14

  Replays show Schumacher slamming into the back of the braking Senna, putting the Williams into a spin and sending them both flying off track.

• 13:24 Lap 14

  Senna hasn't made it back to the pitlane, the Williams car is sitting off track and Senna is out of the car.

• 13:25 Lap 15

  Team radio from Schumacher: "Idiot!"

• 13:25 Lap 15

  Hamilton came in for his stop and the McLaren had a stuttering start away as it looks like he ran over a wheel gun on the way out.

• 13:26 Lap 16

  Actually it looks like the McLaren bumped into one of the wheels that had been taken off, it was not out of the way in time. No damage done, it seems, he's returned to the track in 14th.

• 13:27 Lap 16

  Schumacher and Senna collide.

• 13:27 Lap 16

  Team radio from Hamilton: "Did I hit something?"

  "Lewis, we think you hit one of the other tyres. Everything is okay, carry on."

• 13:28 Lap 17

  Senna is back in the garage, shaking hands with his engineers, he looks more resigned than angry.

• 13:28 Lap 17

  Track is clear.

• 13:29 Lap 17

  Webber is losing places all over, he's been passed by Vergne, Massa and Hamilton all in the space of a couple of corners.

• 13:29 Lap 18

  Hülkenberg has also passed Webber.

• 13:29 Lap 18

  Team radio to Webber: "You are down on front load."

• 13:30 Lap 18

  Webber comes straight into the pits, they've got a new front wing waiting for him. It's amazing how quickly they can swap the nose, but it still takes 8.7 seconds that Webber can hardly spare.

• 13:30 Lap 19

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	M Webber
  Team	Red Bull
  Pit lane	24.864s
  Stopped	8.7s

• 13:32 Lap 19

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	1	Alonso	1
  2	-1	Maldonado	1
  3	1	Räikkönen	1
  4	-1	Grosjean	1
  5	1	Rosberg	1
  6	1	Vettel	1
  7	3	Button	1
  8	1	Kobayashi	1
  9	3	Di Resta	1
  10	4	Vergne	1

• 13:33 Lap 20

  Fernando Alonso is coming round to lap Karthikeyan - the first driver to go a lap down.

• 13:36 Lap 22

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  11	5	Massa	1
  12	12	Hamilton	1
  13	2	Ricciardo	1
  14	5	Hülkenberg	2
  15	3	Kovalainen	2
  16	-3	Petrov	2
  17	-6	Webber	1
  18	-13	Pérez	1
  19	2	Glock	1
  20	0	Pic	1
  21	2	Karthikeyan	1
  22	0	De la Rosa	2

• 13:36 Lap 22

  Webber seems to be back on the pace now, the new front wing has fixed the problems he had. Pérez sets the fastest lap of the race again, currently running 18th.

• 13:37 Lap 23

  One to Watch

  Massa	vs.	Hamilton
  11th	+0.336s	12th

• 13:37 Lap 23

  Race Control: Incident involving Vettel and Massa under investigation - yellow flags.

• 13:38 Lap 24

  Webber overtakes Petrov for 16th place.

• 13:39 Lap 24

  Paul di Resta, who earlier said he was looking for points whether it was ninth or sixth, is currently sitting ninth.

• 13:39 Lap 24

  Hamilton closes up to Massa at the first corner and tries to go round the outside, but backs off, knowing it's a no go.

• 13:39 Lap 24

  Yellow flag.

• 13:40 Lap 25

  Race Control: Turn one incident involving Schumacher and Senna will be investigated after the race.

• 13:41 Lap 26

  Interview with Schumacher: "You can see he moved right to defend his position, but right in the braking zone he moved left. I tried to move into the inside but too late. It was very frustrating. He's done a strange manoeuvre in Brazil, the lap before he had a coming together with Grosjean, I don't know what happened there. We would have got good points. Basically a backmarker that he was, he wasn't in a contending position, being behind a Caterham... it's frustrating."

• 13:42 Lap 26

  The yellow flag is for Karthikeyan, who has stopped just past the pit exit and climbed from the car.

• 13:42 Lap 26

  Jenson Button has pitted, he was complaining over the radio about a flat spotted tyres, so some fresh rubber has gone on the McLaren and he's sent on his way again.

• 13:42 Lap 27

  Replays show Alonso gesticulating wildly at Pic as he attempts to lap the Marussia.

• 13:43 Lap 27

  Alonso then dives into the pit lane, and the Ferrari doesn't get out in time, putting Maldonado into the lead, legitimately.

• 13:45 Lap 28

  Räikkönen pits, a good clean Lotus stop. The Red Bull mechanics wait for Vettel who also has a nice, speedy stop.

• 13:45 Lap 28

  Track is clear.

• 13:45 Lap 28

  Lewis and Massa are still fighting for position, Hamilton attempts the same move as before which doesn't work, and he is stuck behind the Ferrari.

• 13:45 Lap 28

  Race Control: Drive through penalty for Vettel - failing to slow for yellow flags.

• 13:46 Lap 29

  Race Control: Drive through penalty for Massa - failing to slow for yellow flags.

• 13:47 Lap 29

  Massa dives straight into the pits for his drive through. Replays show Vettel, at least, had his DRS open into the yellow flag zone.

• 13:48 Lap 30

  Interview with Senna: "He's not going to say it's his own fault. He had much newer tyres than me, I guess our braking points were quite different into turn one. I already saw Grosjean braking late into turn one and hitting me, I didn't want Michael to do the same... he hit me, what can you do?"

• 13:48 Lap 30

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	MAL	1:28.503
  2nd	ALO	+7.0
  3rd	RAI	+19.3
  4th	GRO	+31.8
  5th	HAM	+38.0

• 13:49 Lap 31

  Massa has pitted again, three stops for him now, and the drive through has released Hamilton from that battle. Vettel comes in for his drive through now.

• 13:50 Lap 32

  Button, in seventh, is now hustling Rosberg ahead of him. He has a brief attempt at a move but the Mercedes pulls away again. Less than half a second between them.

• 13:53 Lap 33

  Hamilton currently sits in 5th place, having only stopped once. Button is sitting 7th, with two stops under his belt. Button will be quite mad if Lewis finishes ahead, having started at the back.

• 13:54 Lap 34

  Button leaves a gap for Kobayashi behind him, who barrels his way past in an unforgiving but smooth move.

• 13:56 Lap 35

  Frank Williams watches on nervously in the garage, as Maldonado continues to lead. 6.5 seconds over Alonso.

• 13:57 Lap 36

  Hamilton's tyres are starting to lose performance now, and the McLaren mechanics wait in the pitlane for him.

• 13:57 Lap 36

  A clean stop!! Hoorah!! Hamilton is in and out in less than 20 seconds. An entire team breathes a sigh of relief.

• 13:58 Lap 37

  Race Control: Drive through penalty for Pic - ignoring blue flags.

• 13:59 Lap 38

  Never mind a drive through, Pic glides into the pit lane and straight into the garage, as the mechanics call his race over.

• 14:00 Lap 38

  Comment from Mr C: ""drive through" didn't mean drive through the garage did it?"

• 14:00 Lap 38

  Tweet from @Marussia_F1Team: Charles has lost drive and is retiring

• 14:02 Lap 39

  Button pits from eight place, and he rejoins the track 14th.

• 14:02 Lap 39

  Yellow flag.

• 14:03 Lap 40

  Massice battle between Hamilton and two Toro Rossos, but the McLaren takes the position after running all the way round the outside of the corner.

• 14:03 Lap 40

  Pérez has pulled to a halt out on track after a bodged pit stop where one of the mechanics fell over. He stuck his thumb up to say he was okay though.

• 14:04 Lap 41

  Hülkenberg pits from tenth place and Ricciardo also comes in for a stop.

• 14:05 Lap 41

  Four cars, led by Vergne, with Di Resta chasing hard were approached by Massa. He got past the Force India and Button also got through.

• 14:05 Lap 42

  Button then turns his attention to Massa and gets past by being later on the brakes than the Ferrari. Button up to 10th now.

• 14:06 Lap 42

  Maldonado pits from the lead of the race, it's a medium slow stop for Williams - this could close the battle with Alonso considerably.

• 14:06 Lap 42

  Replay shot of the Sauber man on the ground. We think he was fine though.

• 14:08 Lap 43

  The Red Bull mechanics have brought out another new front wing, this time it's for Vettel. Two nose changes for two cars in one race, with no accident damage to speak of. Odd.

• 14:10 Lap 45

  The Ferrari mechanics are in the pitlane as Alonso comes in from the lead. Maldonado speeds past easily, retaining his lead for now. Although Kimi is technically in P1, due a stop.

• 14:11 Lap 46

  In Hamilton-watch, he's up to seventh. Meanwhile, Webber sets the fastest lap of the race so far from 12th. 1:27.857.

• 14:12 Lap 46

  Maldonado has closed up behind Räikkönen, he'll be wanting the Lotus to pit any second now, else he'll need to make some kind of risky overtaking move. Alonso behind him is closing.

• 14:13 Lap 47

  Into the DRS zone, it's an easy pass for Maldonado as he goes back into the lead of the race. Alonso now has to deal with Kimi.

• 14:15 Lap 48

  Kimi rounds the final corner and does not dive into the pitlane, so Alonso makes use of the DRS to copy the move Maldonado did, into 2nd.

• 14:16 Lap 49

  Now the Lotus mechanics meander into the pitlane with their tyres, and Räikkönen comes into the pits for the third time of the afternoon.

• 14:16 Lap 49

  It looks as though all the tyres throughout the field are on the hard tyres now, the silver sidewalls.

• 14:17 Lap 50

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	K Räikkönen
  Team	Lotus
  Pit lane	20.073s
  Stopped	4.0s

• 14:21 Lap 52

  Grosjean comes into the pitlane, from fourth place, but all the attention is on the front with Alonso closing the gap to Maldonado all the time.

• 14:22 Lap 53

  Felipe Massa moves out of the way as Maldonado and Alonso come through to lap him. Massa is currently sitting in 15th place.

• 14:24 Lap 53

  There are downsides to a close battle at the front. Maldonado and Alonso have merged into one.

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	MAL	1:28.181
  2nd	ALO	+0.8
  3rd	RAI	+20.0
  4th	GRO	+38.8
  5th	ROS	+52.2

• 14:24 Lap 54

  Romain Grosjean sets the fastest lap of the race from fourth place - 1:26.250.

• 14:26 Lap 55

  Finally, the race seems to have settled down. The battle at the front remains relatively stable as they continue to make their way through traffic.

• 14:27 Lap 56

  Team radio to Jean-Éric Vergne: "Keep pushing, keep pushing, the race leaders are coming around."

• 14:27 Lap 56

  Ten laps to go.

• 14:28 Lap 57

  Fastest Pit Times

  Di Resta	Force India	3.3
  Massa	Ferrari	3.3
  Grosjean	Lotus	3.5
  Räikkönen	Lotus	3.5
  Hülkenberg	Force India	3.5

• 14:29 Lap 57

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	0	Maldonado	3
  2	0	Alonso	3
  3	1	Räikkönen	3
  4	-1	Grosjean	3
  5	1	Rosberg	3
  6	3	Kobayashi	3
  7	17	Hamilton	2
  8	2	Button	3
  9	-2	Vettel	4
  10	3	Hülkenberg	3

• 14:30 Lap 58

  Comment from Stuart Taylor: "Maldonado doesn't seem be shaken by this. Top dude"

• 14:30 Lap 58

  Team radio to Alonso: "You can keep the overtake on. Press the overtake, keep it on until I tell you."

• 14:31 Lap 59

  Team radio to Räikkönen: "Kimi, your pace is looking very good. You're catching the leaders at 1, 1 and a half seconds a lap. We may catch them by the end of the race."

• 14:32 Lap 59

  Vettel has just overtaken Button for eighth place, in a very odd place on track - he came from a long way back and stuck it out for the position.

• 14:32 Lap 60

  Comment from Alex Andronov: Things have started picking up since the FBFB said things were starting to settle down

• 14:33 Lap 60

  The gap between Maldonado and Alonso is up to 1.4 now, outside the DRS.

• 14:34 Lap 61

  Towards the rear of the pack, Kovalainen has slipped to 16th but is ahead of Petrov after qualifying behind him.

• 14:34 Lap 61

  Kobayashi takes an opportunity to try a pass on Rosberg, they touch wheels but it doesn't come off. Next set of corners, the Sauber driver makes it work and moves up to fifth place.

• 14:35 Lap 62

  Five laps to go.

• 14:36 Lap 62

  Having seen off Button, Vettel has now closed up behind Hamilton. The gap between them is just three tenths.

• 14:36 Lap 62

  Tweet from @OfficialSF1Team: great move!!! #Kamui as we like him most. P5. bring it home now.

• 14:37 Lap 63

  Hamilton's doing a great job keeping Vettel behind him, but the gap is shrinking rapidly.

• 14:37 Lap 63

  Conversely, at the front, Maldonado's lead has crept to 2.3 seconds. Just four laps to go now.

• 14:38 Lap 64

  Vettel makes a nice and clean pass, wheel to wheel for a moment down the straight, and the Red Bull is past for seventh place.

• 14:39 Lap 64

  Alonso looks a bit wobbly now, and he'll have to be wary of Räikkönen, who is closing up rapidly. There's six seconds between the Ferrari and Lotus.

• 14:40 Lap 65

  Much better.

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	MAL	1:28.869
  2nd	ALO	+3.0
  3rd	RAI	+7.4
  4th	GRO	+18.1

• 14:40 Lap 65

  Vettel makes yet another move as Rosberg runs wide around the corner. The Red Bull is now up to sixth, after starting tenth.

• 14:41 Lap 66

  The final lap begins as Maldonado crosses the line, still leading. Alonso has lost two seconds to Kimi on the last lap.

• 14:42 Lap 66

  Pastor Maldonado wins the Spanish Grand Prix!

• 14:43

  That makes five winners from five teams in five races! Amazing start to the year!

• 14:43

  Meanwhile, the action continues, as Hamilton closes right up behind Rosberg, hoping for some more points.

• 14:44

  Into the final corner and they are close, but it is Rosberg that takes seventh place, with Lewis 8th - after starting last!

• 14:44

  Race Winner

  Driver	Pastor Maldonado
  Team	Williams
  Race time	1:39.09.145
  Race distance	307.104km
  Average speed	185.837km/h

• 14:46

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	0	Maldonado	3
  2	0	Alonso	3
  3	1	Räikkönen	3
  4	-1	Grosjean	3
  5	4	Kobayashi	3
  6	1	Vettel	4
  7	-1	Rosberg	3
  8	16	Hamilton	2
  9	1	Button	3
  10	3	Hülkenberg	3

• 14:47

  Maldonado climbs from the car and leaps into the arms of Dickie Stanford. Alonso is waiting in the wings for a brief slap on the back before Pastor disappears into the crowd of mechanics.

• 14:48

  Into the podium ante-room and Alonso congratulates Pastor again, the pair conversing happily as they take swigs of water.

• 14:49

  The top three make their way onto the podium, Pastor can't help but keep on giving a thumbs up. Incredibly happy as we hear a new national anthem belting out.

• 14:51

  Retirements

  Driver	Reason	Lap
  Pérez	Bodged pit stop	39
  Pic	Lost drive	38
  Karthikeyan	Wheel nut	24
  Senna	Accident	13
  Schumacher	Accident	13

• 14:52

  The trophies are handed out next, with Pastor raising his above his head with a beaming smile. Kimi looks slightly more subdued.

• 14:52

  The champagne is poured with Alonso aiming his directly into Maldonado's face. Charming!

• 14:55

  Interview with Bruno Senna; "The best thing about it is that these guys work so hard. They had such a difficult year last year... winning a race now, I'm so happy for them. It wasn't my time, this time, but we know we have a good car for the rest of the season."

• 14:57

  Press Conference Quotes - Pastor Maldonado: "I think it's a wonderful day, not just for me, for all the team. We've been pushing so hard since last year to improve race by race and here we are. It was a tough race, after the strategy as well, because of the rear tyres. After a couple of laps we were struggling.

  I'm pretty happy because the car was so competitive since the first lap. Fernando did a better start than me, but I was just following the pace and it was so great. It's my first podium and my first victory, you can imagine what I feel."

• 14:58

  Press Conference Quotes - Fernando Alonso: "We led the race for the first part and then Williams anticipate the stop and get in front. It was close because we had newer tyres than Pastor... then the very last laps, I felt the car was strange, we lost a lot of grip. Then we were close to Kimi. This second place feels fantastic at home. Thanks for the people who came here. Definitely a step forward."

• 14:59

  Press Conference Quotes - Kimi Räikkönen: "Bit disappointed, I expected to be a bit stronger in the race, especially in the beginning. We showed in the end we had the speed.. maybe we took the wrong choice in the first pit stop, but we were not fast enough in the beginning. That cost us the race. I was not that disappointed in the race because I saw that we couldn't follow them, but as we were closing up towards the end, you get a disappointed feeling. We've scored some good points for the team and we're going in the right direction."

• 15:00

  Press Conference Quotes - Pastor Maldonado: "We were looking to manage the tyre degradation so I mustn't push that hard, just keep the tyres alive for the end of the race. Fernando got too close, there were some moments we were so close, especially at the end of the straight. But I was managing the gap, our pace today was pretty strong. We did a small mistake in the last pit stop but it doesn't affect our performance."

• 15:01

  Press Conference Quotes - Fernando Alonso: "We were a little bit unlucky maybe. We had a Marussia get a penalty, it's not any solution now but hopefully people will start to understand that they need to respect the rules. It's more a penalty than the penalty they pay. In the last stint, if we were faster than the Williams, we had the opportunity to overtake, but they were faster than us."

• 15:03

  Rewind a little bit, Fernando and Kimi lifted Pastor onto their shoulders on the podium. Wonderful moment!

• 15:07

  Lewis Hamilton has fought his way into the Williams motorhome to congratulate Frank, who is surrounded by media.

• 15:07

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Sebastian Vettel	61
  2	Fernando Alonso	61
  3	Lewis Hamilton	53
  4	Kimi Räikkönen	49
  5	Mark Webber	48
  6	Jenson Button	45
  7	Nico Rosberg	41
  8	Romain Grosjean	35
  9	Pastor Maldonado	29
  10	Sergio Pérez	22

• 15:08

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Red Bull	109
  2	McLaren	98
  3	Lotus	84
  4	Ferrari	63
  5	Mercedes	43
  6	Williams	43
  7	Sauber	41
  8	Force India	18
  9	Toro Rosso	6
  10	Marussia	0

• 15:11

  Interview with Lewis Hamilton: "I'm proud of myself and proud of the team. We did a good job today, to come from all the way back there. I had a great race, it was really a fantastic race for me. Someone told me I was the only one to do a two stop, considering everyone's always talking about how aggressive my driving style is and how my teammate is better on tyres than me, and I think today was a good demonstration that they are, perhaps, wrong."

• 15:13

  2012 Race Wins

  Pos	Driver	Total
  1	Fernando Alonso	1
  2	Jenson Button	1
  3	Nico Rosberg	1
  4	Sebastian Vettel	1
  5	Pastor Maldonado	1

• 15:15

  Quickly scanning through some race stats - Alonso has outqualified and finished above Massa in all five race weekends so far.

• 15:16

  Hülkenberg has, with his 10th place finish, finally got one over on Di Resta, whilst Glock still holds a 5-0 race finish lead over teammate Charles Pic.

• 15:18

  Tweet from @rubarrichello: so nice to see Dickie Stanford up there on the podium...great guy...could not be a better choice to receive the trophy for Williams

• 15:19

  A fantastic race, as expected, and a great win for Williams - who, as Frank said, really needed the victory.

• 15:20

  Some good drives, including Vettel's last minute sprint and Hamilton's rise from the back of the grid. Some crashes to ponder, too, with the Schumacher and Senna battle set to rumble on.

• 15:20

  I've enjoyed the racing today, I hope you have too. Stay tuned to https://sidepodcast.com and http://f1minute.com for all the news and views on today's action and more.

• 15:21

  Thanks for joining me today, I will be back in two weeks for the Monaco Grand Prix. Hope to see you then! Stay cool, fact fans.