Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)FERNANDO Alonso took advantage of Lewis Hamilton’s bad luck to clinch second spot on the penultimate lap of the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Spaniard looked set to finish third before Britain’s Hamilton suffered an agonising puncture after a near-flawless drive.
Ferrari’s high-profile driver leapt up a place to finish behind winner, Australian Mark Webber in front of his home crowd in Barcelona.
Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher, last-year’s champion Jenson Button and Felipe Massa completed the top six.
Spain’s Alonso explained: “It was a fantastic weekend for us, some unexpected positions. But we saw we need to improve the car.”
Despite his late retirement, Hamilton refused to be downbeat after a largely positive drive.
“I was just cruising to the finish line and it was great points for me, but then I blew a tyre,” said the 2008 world champion.
“That’s motor-racing, but it was quite a good race for me. I had really good fun out there.”
