Felipe Massa after his win on Sunday

Valencia: Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton each had their own reasons to feel relieved on Sunday after finishing first and second in a processional European Grand Prix.

Massa’s win on the streets of Valencia wiped away the Ferrari driver’s disappointment at retiring from the Hungarian Grand Prix three weeks earlier with a blown engine while leading with three laps remaining.

The Brazilian, who drove from pole position to chequered flag in masterful fashion, climbed the podium with the race outcome still uncertain pending a stewards’ enquiry.

In the end he escaped with a euro 10,000 fine, with stewards deciding that while his release from his second pit-stop had been unsafe there was no sporting advantage gained.

McLaren’s Hamilton, now six points clear of Massa in the drivers’ standings, was happy to have limited the damage after ‘flu symptoms and a painful neck had made the 23-year-old Briton’s participation doubtful.

The win catapulted Massa back to second place in the championship, ahead of teammate and world champion Kimi Raikkonen who retired in the closing stages with another spectacular engine failure.

Hamilton now leads with 70 points to Massa’s 64 and Raikkonen’s 57.

Ferrari stayed top of the constructors’ standings with 121 points to McLaren’s 113 and BMW Sauber’s 96.

Poland’s Robert Kubica took third place for BMW Sauber despite a steering imbalance caused by a plastic bag blowing across the track and becoming wedged underneath his car during the early laps.

Raikkonen, without a win since the Spanish Grand Prix in April, bungled his second pit-stop and injured a mechanic when he set off before the fuel nozzle had been removed. That incident was also the subject of a stewards’ inquiry.

Fernando Alonso suffered the biggest disappointment, with Spain’s double world champion forced to retire after the opening lap when his Renault was hit by Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams.

In the Force India cars, Italian Giancarlo Fisichella finished in 14th position following a one-stop race, while Adrian Sutil retired on lap 42.