European Grand Prix sets record for most finishers | 2011 European GP stats and facts

European Grand Prix sets record for most finishers | 2011 European GP stats and facts: "

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull,
Valencia, 2011

Sebastian Vettel did the triple: win, pole position and fastest lap. Surprisingly, that’s the first time this has happened this year: the last driver to do the same was Fernando Alonso at Singapore last year.
He came very close to getting what would have been his first perfect result: he led all bar one lap, when Felipe Massa got ahead during the first round of pit stops. As it was, Vettel scored his second hat trick, the other coming at Silverstone in 2009.
He added to his tally of fastest laps for the first time this year and now has seven. He was one pole position for the seventh time this year – the 22nd of his career.
His 16th career victory gives him as many as Stirling Moss – and one more than Lewis Hamilton. It was his tenth podium finish in a row.
Out of 499 laps raced this year, Vettel has led 408 of them – 81.8%. The next highest lap leader is Jenson Button, with 31.
Vettel’s tally of 186 points means he has scored more in eight races this year than he did in 15 last year.
Vettl, Button and Mark Webber all scored points for the tenth race in a row.
It was the 50th consecutive points-scoring finish for a Renault-powered car – a streak which goes back to the 2008 European Grand Prix. Mercedes- and Ferrari-powered cars have been in the points for the last 46 and 30 races respectively.
Kamui Kobayashi failed to score points for the first time since the Australian Grand Prix (where he finished eighth but was disqualified).
Alonso and Vitantonio Liuzzi are the only drivers to have out-qualified their team mates in every race this year. Alonso has started in front of Massa for the last 14 races in a row.
The European Grand Prix set a new record for most drivers to finish a race, with all 24 taking the chequered flag. The record was broken earlier this season in China, where 23 drivers finished.
This also meant Narain Karthikeyan became the first driver to finish a race in 24th place.
Jaime Alguersuari matched his best ever race result of eighth – which he scored for the first time two weeks ago in Canada.
Review the year so far in statistics here: