You often hear it said that, to make Formula One more interesting, Bernie Ecclestone, the sport’s ringmaster, should have sprinkler systems installed at every track so that water can be brought into play.

At a thrilling, chaotic and dramatic European Grand Prix here yesterday – won by an ecstatic Fernando Alonso for McLaren Mercedes, from Felipe Massa, who was second for Ferrari, and Mark Webber, who was third for Red Bull Racing – you could see exactly why people think that.

The only difference was that, in rural northwest Germany, the rain gods did not just provide a little of the wet stuff but a biblical downpour as the race got under way. This produced one of the most extraordinary starts to a grand prix in recent years, during which one driver after another went off, aquaplaning on dry-weather tyres, forcing a restart after lap four and leaving an unknown rookie who had started last – Markus Winkelhock, of Spyker – the improbable race leader.

When the grand prix eventually got back under way with a depleted field, we witnessed some regulation dry-track racing, featuring three of the four championship contenders in this classic season, Massa, who led for most of the race after gobbling up Winkelhock, Kimi Raikkonen, the second Ferrari driver, who eventually retired when third with a technical failure, and Alonso.

Then, in the closing stages, with the rain revisiting the Nürburgring for a dramatic final twist, Alonso produced the move of the race to get the better of Massa, stealing his third race win of the year, with five laps to go.

Massa had looked safe in the lead after negotiating the best part of the race without incident. But when the rain came down again, the two leaders had to pit again, their fourth stop of the race, and Massa saw his five-second advantage over the McLaren driver cut to a second.

The Spanish double world champion is a master in the rain – we saw that in his brave performance, ultimately to no avail, at last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix – and he looked the more comfortable of the two as he and Massa went wheel-to-wheel time and again as the track conditions deteriorated.

Alonso filled the Brazilian’s mirrors, risking a valuable eight points for second position as he pushed for glory. It was dangerous stuff and every time the Spaniard went off the racing line on to the wetter areas of the track he was vulnerable. But he stole past Massa as he boldly went round the outside at turn five and the race was his.

The red Ferrari and the silver McLaren touched twice in the encounter, resulting in handbag-swinging between winner and runner-up as the two drivers prepared to go on the podium. This was what could be termed a “robust exchange of views”, complete with finger-pointing and looks of mock outrage, but it quickly subsided once champagne had cooled tempers.

The season-long battle between Ferrari and McLaren – which is also the subject of the spying scandal due to be adjudicated upon at the FIA’s headquarters in Paris this week – is probably closer than it has ever been. The Ferraris may have had a slight edge in the dry conditions, but the McLarens were quicker in the wet and looked more competitive than at Silverstone two weeks ago.

For Lewis Hamilton, the championship leader who started in the unaccustomed position of tenth place after a big crash in qualifying on Saturday, the race proved a battle too far at the end of his first difficult weekend in Formula One. But the young rookie, who had finished on the podium in each of his first nine races, did not give up and fought to the end, trying to salvage at least a point, but missed out by one place when finishing ninth.

“It’s a new experience for me, not having to find my way to the podium,” he said. “You come from a bad weekend, you find the lessons from this and I will find them.” Alonso, who is still finding his feet at McLaren amid fresh rumours about his unhappiness with the way the team operate, has closed the gap on his teammate at the top of the championship to two points, with Massa a further nine points back in third place. With seven races to go, the championship is poised to go to the wire.

“For the championship, for myself it is an important race, but as we always say, the championship is so long and you never know what’s going to happen in 15 days’ time at the next race in Hungary,” Alonso, who now has 18 career wins, said. “We’re still working in the same direction, same way. No doubt it will be tight in the end for all four drivers. I like the rain, there’s no doubt. Always when it rains I’m quite happy and have some fun.”

Results from the Nurburgring

(60 laps): 1, F Alonso (Sp, McLaren Mercedes) 2hr 6min 26.358sec; 2, F Massa (Br, Ferrari) at 8.155sec behind; 3, M Webber (Aus, Red Bull Renault) 1min 5.674sec; 4, A Wurz (Austria, Williams Toyota) 1:05.937; 5, D Coulthard (GB, Red Bull Renault) 1:13.656; 6, N Heidfeld (Ger, BMW Sauber) 1:20.298; 7, R Kubica (Pol, BMW Sauber) 1:22.415; 8, H Kovalainen (Fin, Renault); 9, L Hamilton (GB, McLaren Mercedes); 10, G Fisichella (It, Renault); 11, R Barrichello (Br, Honda); 12, A Davidson (GB, Super Aguri Honda); 13, J Trulli (Ita, Toyota) all at 1 lap behind. Not classified: 14, K Raikkonen (Fin, Ferrari) 34 laps completed; 15, T Sato (Japan, Super Aguri Honda) 19 laps; 16, R Schumacher (Ger, Toyota) 18 laps; 17, M Winkelhock (Ger, Spyker Ferrari) 13 laps; 18, J Button (GB, Honda) 2 laps; 19, A Sutil (Ger, Spyker Ferrari) 2 laps; 20, N Rosberg (Ger, Williams Toyota) 2 laps; 21, S Speed (US, Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari) 2 laps; 22, V Liuzzi (It, Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari) 2 laps. Fastest lap: Massa 1min 32.853sec (lap 34).

Qualifying positions: 1, Raikkonen 1min 31.450sec; 2, Alonso 1:31.741; 3, Massa 1:31.778; 4, Heidfeld 1:31.840; 5, Kubica 1:32.123; 6, Webber 1:32.476; 7, Kovalainen 1:32.478; 8, Trulli 1:32.501; 9, Schumacher 1:32.570; 10, Hamilton 1:33.833; 11, Rosberg 1:31.978; 12, Wurz 1:31.996; 13, Fisichella 1:32.010; 14, Barrichello 1:32.221; 15, Davidson 1:32.451; 16, Sato 1:32.838; 17, Button 1:32.983; 18, Speed 1:33.038; 19, Liuzzi 1:33.148; 20, Coulthard 1:33.151; 21, Sutil 1:34.500; 22, Winkelhock 1:35.940.

Championship positions Drivers 1, Hamilton 70pts 2, Alonso 68 3, Massa 59 4, Raikkonen 52 5, Heidfeld 36 6, Kubica 24 7, Fisichella 17 8, Kovalainen 15 9, Wurz 13 10, Coulthard 8 = Webber 8 12, Trulli 7 13, Rosberg 5 14, Sato 4 15, Schumacher 2 16, S Vettel (Ger, BMW Sauber) 1 = Button 1

Constructors: 1, McLaren Mercedes 138; 2, Ferrari 111; 3, BMW Sauber 61; 4, Renault 32; 5, Williams Toyota 18; 6, Red Bull Renault 16; 7, Toyota 9; 8, Super Aguri Honda 4; 9, Honda 1.

Races to come: Aug 5: Hungarian GP (Budapest). Aug 26: Turkish GP (Istanbul). Sept 9: Italian GP (Monza). Sept 16: Belgian GP (Spa-Francorchamps). Sept 30: Japanese GP (Fuji). Oct 7: Chinese GP (Shanghai). Oct 21: Brazilian GP (Interlagos).