SILVERSTONE, England, July 10 (UPI) -- Fernando Alonso took advantage of Sebastian Vettel's lengthy pit stop after 27 laps Sunday, passing him en route to victory at the British Grand Prix.
Vettel's crew had trouble reattaching his rear wheels during the second of his three pit stops, allowing Alonso of Red Bull Racing to exit the pit ahead of him and grab the lead.
He held the advantage the remainder of the 52-lap race, giving Ferrari its first win of the season. It was Alonso's first victory since last October's Korean Grand Prix and the 27th in his Formula One career -- tying him with Jackie Stewart for fifth all-time.
Vettel fell to sixth after the mishandled pit but the defending world champion moved up to second and held off Mark Webber down the stretch to finish in the runner-up spot.
The young German established an insurmountable 80-point lead over Red Bull teammate Webber in the points standings. The Red Bull team gave Webber orders to not overtake Vettel at the end of race.
Alonso pulled to within 12 points of Webber with the win, good for third in the F1 standings.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton held off Ferrari's Felipe Massa for fourth place.
