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When Alonso triumphed through chaos to relieve a nation

In the latest feature in our series of classic races picked out by Autosport journalists, we look back on the 2012 European Grand Prix. It was a race that had it all - fine judgement, poor judgement, crashes, emotion and a unique podium

Alex Kalinauckas Apr 20, 2020, 3:06 PM

"It was a colourful narrative of locking wheels and dashed hopes, games of nerve both in the cockpit and on the pit wall."

So reads the description of the 2012 European Grand Prix in the 28 June issue of Autosport magazine that year. It was a race that had it all - from masterful domination undone by mechanical failure, to brave moves leading to good fortune, stupid passes ending in disaster, crashes galore and pitstop blunders, joy, misery and a unique podium.

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.