Fernando Alonso extended his lead in this year’s Formula One drivers’ world championship yesterday when he drove to a flawless victory for Ferrari in the German Grand Prix.

Driving with perfect judgement and great speed, the 30-year-old Spaniard started from pole position and dominated the 67-lap race in consummate style.

The Spaniard came home 3.7 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull, who was later handed a 20-second drive-through penalty for passing Jenson Button.

Vettel was handed the penalty for running off the track at a hairpin exit as he tried to pass McLaren’s Button on the penultimate lap and dropped back to fifth place, leaving Button second at 6.949 seconds.

Finland’s Kimi Raikkonen, of Lotus, completed the podium at 16.409 seconds.

Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi, of Sauber, was fourth at 21.925 with Vettel slotting back into fifth at 23.732.

It was Alonso’s third win this year after his triumphs in Malaysia and at the European Grand Prix, and it was also the 22nd consecutive race in which he had finished in the points for Ferrari.

He moves 34 points clear of Mark Webber in the title race with 154 points to the Australian’s 120.

“We’ll enjoy the win,” said Alonso.

“Starting on pole was key because it was difficult to overtake and we were not the fastest but we kept the position.”

Drawing a parallel with Europe’s troubled economic situation, Alonso added: “I don’t really know politics, but it is true that the situation is not great in Spain... but a Spanish driver in an Italian car, designed by a Greek man is good to win here.”

Vettel, whose Red Bull team were only cleared to take part in the race after stewards decided to take no further action against them for reported engine mapping irregularities, said: “The last thing you want to do is make contact. I tried to give him enough room but it’s difficult to see.

“I went wide. We were all struggling with tyres, Jenson in particular, which is why I was able to pass him.”

Button’s McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who had hoped to mark his 100th Formula One GP with a race to remember, ended up with one to forget as he collected a puncture after two laps and eventually had to retire.

A crash at the opening corner involving the Ferrari of Felipe Massa, Frenchman Romain Grosjean of Lotus and Brazilian Bruno Senna of Williams marred the start of the race but, surprisingly, there was no red flag following the incident.

As a result, a lot of debris was left on the circuit and led to Hamilton’s puncture.

Hockenheim GP result

1. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) - 1h31m05.862s
2. Jenson Button (McLaren) at 6.949 secs
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) - 16.409
4. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) - 21.925
5. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) - 23.732
6. Sergio Perez (Sauber) - 27.896
7. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) - 28.970
8. Mark Webber (Red Bull) - 46.941
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) - 48.162
10. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) - 48.889
11. Paul Di Resta (Force India) - 59.227
12. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) - 1:11.428
13. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) - 1:16.829
14. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) - 1:16.965
15. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) - 1 lap
16. Vitaly Petrov (Caterham) - 1 lap
17. Bruno Senna (Williams) - 1 lap
18. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) - 1 lap
19. Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham) - 2 laps
20. Charles Pic (Marussia) - 2 laps
21. Pedro De la Rosa (HRT) - 3 laps
22. Timo Glock (Marussia) - 3 laps
23. Narain Karthikeyan (HRT) - 3 laps

Retired from race: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) - 57th lap
Alonso’s average speed: 201.844 km/h.
Fastest lap: M. Schumacher – lap 57 – 1:18.725.
Next race: Hungarian GP – July 29.

Overall standings

Drivers
1. Alonso (ESP) 154 points, 2. Webber (AUS) 120, 3. Vettel (GER) 110, 4. Raikkonen (FIN) 98, 5. Hamilton (GBR) 92, 6. Rosberg (GER) 76, 7. Button (GBR) 68, 8. Grosjean (FRA) 61, 9. Perez (MEX) 47, 10. Kobayashi (JPN) 33, 11. Maldonado (VEN) 29, 12. Schumacher (GER) 29, 13. Di Resta (SCO) 27, 14. Massa (BRA) 23, 15. Hulkenberg (GER) 19, 16. Senna (BRA) 18, 17. Vergne (FRA) 4, 18. Ricciardo (AUS) 2.

Constructors
1. Red Bull Racing 230 points, 2. Scuderia Ferrari 177, 3. McLaren Mercedes 160, 4. Lotus 159, 5. Mercedes AMG 105, 6. Sauber 80, 7. Williams 47, 8. Force India 46, 9. Scuderia Toro Rosso 6.