Grand Prix of Spain 2013 Results: Reaction, Leaders and Post-Race Analysis

In one of the more dominant performances you’ll ever see in Formula 1, Spain’s own Fernando Alonso and his Ferrari stole the show Sunday by winning the 2013 Grand Prix of Spain in front of his home crowd.

Alonso finished 9.3 seconds ahead of eventual second-place finisher Kimi Raikkonen.

All stats and standings via ESPNF1.com.

Full 2013 Grand Prix of Spain Results

Finish	Driver	Team	Gap (secs)	Points
1.	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari		25
2.	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus	+9.3	18
3.	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+26.0	15
4	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	+38.2	12
5.	Mark Webber	Red Bull	+47.9	10
6.	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+68.0	8
7.	Paul di Resta	Force India	+68.9	6
8.	Jenson Button	McLaren	+79.5	4
9.	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+81.7	2
10.	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1 lap	1
11.	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber	+1 lap
12.	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+1 lap
13.	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1 lap
14.	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+1 lap
15.	Nico Hülkenberg	Sauber	+1 lap
16.	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1 lap
17.	Charles Pic	Caterham	+1 lap
18.	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+2 laps
19.	Max Chilton	Marussia	+2 laps
20.	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	Retired
21.	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	Retired
22.	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	Retired

Alonso is one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers in history, and after yet another dominating run in front of the Spanish crowd—he started fifth and climbed to the front early—it’s clear that the veteran driver is looking for an overall championship.

Using his car’s speed and their four-stop pit strategy, Alonso was able to hold on to the lead throughout the day and bring the field to the finish line as the winner.

The native of Spain took his victory lap with the nation’s flag and was showered with chants from the capacity crowd (h/t ESPN F1):

As Oliver Brown from The Daily Telegraph reminds us, this victory couldn’t have come at a better time for the struggling nation of Spain:

While Alonso was dominating the field throughout the day, Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen was doing his best to make it a viable race, climbing into second place and splitting up the Team Ferrari domination Sunday.

Third place went to Alonso’s teammate Felipe Massa, giving Ferrari two drivers on the podium and proving why the team is viewed as one of the best in the sport.

Overall points leader Sebastian Vettel finished in a disappointing fourth place but still retains his spot as the top driver in the F1 Championship standings with 89 points.

2013 F1 Championship Standings

Position	Driver	Overall Points
1.	Sebastian Vettel	89
2.	Kimi Räikkönen	85
3.	Fernando Alonso	72
4.	Lewis Hamilton	50
5.	Felipe Massa	45
6.	Mark Webber	42
7.	Romain Grosjean	26
8.	Paul di Resta	26
9.	Nico Rosberg	22
10.	Jenson Button	17
11.	Sergio Perez	12
12.	Daniel Ricciardo	7
13.	Adrian Sutil	6
14.	Nico Hülkenberg	5
15.	Jean-Éric Vergne	1

Vettel’s Red Bull teammate Mark Webber rounded out the top five, but the biggest negative note from this race had to be just how poor Team Mercedes performed at the Spanish GP. Not only did pole-sitter Nico Rosberg fall all the way to sixth place, fan-favorite Lewis Hamilton could do no better than 12th.

The talented driver took to Twitter to express his frustration and thank the fans for their unwavering support:

"

Incredibly tough day today but your comments really help. Thank you for all your support & for always believing in me. Much love

— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) May 12, 2013"

Force India had a solid showing with Paul di Resta finishing in seventh place, and Jenson Button and Sergio Perez finished eighth and ninth, respectively, for McLaren.

Daniel Ricciardo raced his way into a top-10 finish for Toro Rosso as well.

After a wild day on the beautiful Circuit de Catalunya, it’s clear that the 2013 Formula 1 season is shaping up to be one of the wildest in years, and the excitement over the rest of the races this season has even the most causal F1 fans excited about the sport.

With two weeks until the Monaco Grand Prix at the Circuit de Monaco (May 26), the excitement from Sunday’s amazing Spanish GP should be enough to get the Formula 1 fans through the downtime.