Alonso makes a welcome return to the podium

Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix brought with it some good news for Ferrari and Fernando Alonso. The Italian team has not managed to improve its car to the level of championship leader Red Bull, but it has at least got dangerously close to it. After a poor start to the season, Alonso is now able to fight for podiums and maintain a rhythm comparable to the Red Bulls during the race. That said, in Turkey it was Sebastian Vettel who led the way, taking his third win of the year, out of four races. His teammate Mark Webber took the second spot on the podium, with Alonso in third.

Vettel not only won the race, but managed to dominate proceedings in a way that left his competitors in the shadows. The 23-year-old German, starting from pole, took the lead almost unchallenged, while his teammate Webber lost a place to Nico Rosberg, in the Mercedes. A mistake by McLaren's Lewis Hamilton let Alonso slip into fourth position, having started from fifth.

It was a strong start for the Spaniard, who was clearly unwilling to settle for a secondary role in the race. After six laps, he found himself in third place, thanks to his overtaking of Rosberg, with Ferrari's first podium of the season starting to look likely.

Alonso managed to work his way up to second place, and did his best to hang on to the position. But with just a few laps to go, it became clear that the Red Bulls were unstoppable, and Mark Webber passed the double world champion like a rocket, having just put in four consecutive fastest laps. Vettel took the 13th victory of his career, and extended his lead in the championship. The German now has 93 points, with Hamilton in second place with 59, Webber in third with 55 and McLaren's Jenson Button in fourth with 46. Alonso remains in fifth, with 41 points, but on the strength of Sunday's performance, has every chance of improving his position in Spain at the Barcelona Grand Prix on May 22.