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| Fernando Alonso secured his first win of the season at Silverstone |
From the moment he locked horns with Lewis Hamilton when they were team-mates at McLaren in 2007, most British fans have railed against the Spaniard, with many believing him to be arrogant and his spats with Briton Hamilton have not been forgotten.
However, his supreme drive at Silverstone to win the 2011 British Grand Prix has reaffirmed his status as one of the best drivers in Formula One and those very same fans could only take their hats off to his superb racing.
Some of the criticism of him in Britain is unfair, while some of it is entirely justified (as proved in the final race of last season, with his gestures towards Vitaly Petrov after he failed to pass him), but his talent as a racing driver has never been under question. He is a world-class driver.
He has proved his talent over a period of some years now, even turning an uncompetitive Renault into a contender to win races, and he has two world titles under his belt.
The way he won at Silverstone simply underlined this again.
He certainly had some luck, with McLaren and Red Bull both having problems both with pit stops and with their cars, but Alonso always looked super-quick and always seemed the most likely winner.
There were some frustrating moments for him in the early exchanges, though.
Alonso was overtaken by old rival Hamilton on lap 15 for third place, but he kept his patience and took advantage of DRS on lap 24 to retake third.
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| Alonso always appeared to be in control |
He pitted along with Alonso but, due to a problem with the team's wheel nut gun, the Spaniard leapfrogged him into the lead of the Grand Prix.
From then on, Alonso streamed away and his race win never seemed in any real doubt.
He had been very patient for his chance to lead the race and once he got ahead, he was never going to give that up.
Due to the diffuser row (which is so boring I won't even go into it), Ferrari and Alonso had been significantly advantaged over the Red Bulls and McLarens so Alonso knew he had potentially the best car and that he would get better as the race went on.
In the early phase of the race - where half of the track was wet and half was dry - he struggled, but he always seemed to be in contention and when Alonso and his car are on song, he is a very difficult man to stop.
It could be argued Vettel may have won the race if it wasn't for his pit stop troubles, but in reality Alonso would probably have overtaken him anyway.
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| Alonso and Vettel salute the British fans after the race |
The German will be disappointed he did not win the race but the reality is he extended his lead in the drivers' championship despite problems with his pit stop, problems with KERS and the diffuser argument, so he should be pleased he has moved one step nearer to winning a second world crown.
Formula One has been widely criticised over the last two weeks after the relatively sedate race in Valencia, but this is a superb season.
It may not be tight at the top of the drivers' championship, with Vettel 80 points clear, but the majority of the races have been exhilarating, with this Grand Prix up there with the recent race in Canada in terms of excitement.
Formula One is as exciting as it ever has been and it is about more than just the title race. The racing this season has been enthralling and that should not be overshadowed by the one-sidedness of the title race. Vettel has been driving supremely and thoroughly deserves his massive lead.
One of the major talking points after this race was the use of team orders at Red Bull, with team principal Christian Horner instructing Mark Webber not to overtake Sebastian Vettel in the closing stages despite the Australian having the quicker car.
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| Webber appeared set to overtake Vettel in the closing laps |
A lot of race fans are disgusted with Red Bull and Horner for their use of team orders - after they heavily criticised Ferrari's use of them last year - but they should look at the bigger picture here.
Yes, it would have been great to see the two Red Bulls racing to the chequered flag, with the fastest car coming out on top.
However, it would have been madness for the team not to order Webber to not overtake Vettel.
Webber's chance of an overtake was in the final two laps and the team could not afford to run the risk of losing one, perhaps two, cars so close to the end of the race.
Red Bull would probably have let them race each other had it been earlier in the race, but it would have been idiotic for them to allow it to happen on the last two laps, particularly now teams are not restricted by team orders rules.
This incident was nowhere near as bad as the Ferrari one last year - where the team ordered Felipe Massa to let Fernando Alonso through despite the two being close in the drivers' championship and with plenty of the race left - but Webber will be extremely disappointed by it.
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| Last year's incident between Alonso and Massa was hugely controversial |
By finishing second, that earned Vettel three more crucial points towards his target of retaining the title so Webber will feel cynical about the reasons behind the order.
He will always be number two to Vettel at Red Bull and it would not be a surprise to see the Australian driving for a different team next year. Problems have persisted since, ironically, last year's British Grand Prix when Webber made his famous "not bad for a number two driver" statement, so it is perhaps fitting this issue has raised its head again at Silverstone.
Webber made things hard for himself from the outset, with Vettel overtaking him for first place before the first corner, and if the Australian had managed to stay ahead and build a lead, there would have been little his team-mate could have done about it.
The instructions may have taken a bit of the fun away at the end but it was an entirely necessary request when considering the potential implications of both cars crashing out.
There was plenty for home fans to shout about although McLaren will have mixed emotions and will be left ruing their errors after the race.
Lewis Hamilton, starting 10th, immediately fought his way up to sixth and that made the rest of the race significantly easier for him.
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| Hamilton recovered excellently from a poor qualifying session |
He looked assured of a podium place but that was snatched away from him by an extremely poor team error: they under-fuelled him, meaning he had to go painfully slow over the last few laps to save fuel and ensure he got to the end of the race.
He was left defenceless as Webber overtook him and then Felipe Massa closed up right behind him heading into the final lap. It looked like Hamilton may have been set to lose his fourth place.
At the final corner, Massa appeared to overtake him but Hamilton slid up the inside, they touched, and Massa was forced to run wide. The two cars then raced to the line and Hamilton just prevailed, providing real entertainment for the excellent Silverstone crowd.
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| It looked like Massa had overtook home favourite Hamilton |
It is now beyond much question that the three best (and most exciting) drivers in Formula One are Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso and this race only served to underline that even more.
As for Button, only McLaren's incompetence cost him a good points finish.
He drove brilliantly throughout but when he pitted on lap 39, the team allowed him to drive away without a wheel nut and so his front right tyre was not properly attached.
He barely made it out of the pit exit and was forced to retire.
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| Button's race was ruined by the mechanics' mistake |
It is very rare to see McLaren make such a mistake, but to make two in one race - the team's home race - is simply unacceptable and they will need to ensure such errors are cut out in the rest of this season.
For a long time it looked like both Hamilton and Button were set for podium places and only the mistakes of the team cost them.
With McLaren's errors, Red Bull's mistake with Vettel's pit stop and Force India's error with Paul Di Resta's pit stop - where they were set to give him Adrian Sutil's tyres - this was a bad day for the mechanics.
It did add to the excitement though and this was a classic British Grand Prix at a new-look Silverstone, team orders or no team orders.
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| This race was the first for Silverstone's new pit lane |
It was similar to this season's Canadian Grand Prix in terms of excitement and the start, with half the track dry and half wet, more than contributed to that. It provided the ultimate test for the drivers and set the tone for the rest of the race.
The British Grand Prix is a very special occasion, something I found out when I attended it last year.
It is hard to describe the sense of occasion there is at Silverstone and that, coupled with the exciting racing, brilliant fans, noise of the cars and speed of the cars makes for a great experience.
The British Grand Prix always seems to produce a great race and it was just a pity for the fans that Hamilton and Button did not get the true rewards they deserved.
But for the poorness of the McLaren team, both could have been on the podium but take nothing away from the brilliant drive of Fernando Alonso.
His win may have come too late for him to launch a title challenge but one thing is for sure: he won't be giving up.
Vettel is still very much the man to beat but Alonso's victory just makes it that bit more interesting.
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