NUERBURG, Germany – Two-time defending Formula One champion Fernando Alonso outdueled Felipe Massa on a slippery track, passing the Ferrari driver late in the race Sunday to win the European Grand Prix.

“It was exciting to drive and I hope to watch,” said Alonso, who closed to within two points in the standings of leader Lewis Hamilton. The rookie was ninth, finishing out of the top three for the first time in 10 races this season.

Massa was eight seconds behind in second place, and Mark Webber was 1:05 back in third for Red Bull to equal his career best, at Monaco in 2005.

The race was halted after four laps because of a heavy shower. The rain returned with 11 laps left with Massa in the lead ahead of Alonso.

Three laps later, it began to rain harder and both drivers went in for wet-weather tires.

Alonso squeezed out Giancarlo Fisichella's Renault in the pit lane to get into position to attack Massa.

A great battle ensued over the next two laps, and with less than five laps remaining, the two touched wheels as Alonso pushed past and go on to record his 18th career F1 victory.

He crossed the line in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 26.358 seconds over 60 laps on the 3.2-mile Nuerburgring circuit.

“The rain at the end helped us a lot, I think we were better in wet conditions,” Alonso said. “Luckily, I had six laps to try to pass him. I enjoyed the race and the different conditions. I like the rain.”

Alonso and Massa exchanged heated words before the victory ceremony and Alonso said later he had apologized for the wheel-touching incident.

Massa said he wasn't happy with his last set of tires.

“I couldn't keep the pace, Fernando was faster,” Massa said.

Hamilton, who also drives for McLaren, leads Alonso 70-68. He started 10th on the grid following his crash in qualifying Saturday.

Kimi Raikkonen, who started from the pole position but lost the lead in a chaotic start, pulled out in the 34th lap due to a mechanical problem with his Ferrari.

A heavy shower drenched the track barely two laps into the race.

With the drivers sliding all over, the safety car came out, but even that did not prevent some cars from skidding off at the first turn. They crashed into the wall, they crashed into each other, and one even hit the truck trying to extract one of the crashed cars. Even the safety car came close to being hit, and the race was halted after four laps.

Hamilton, who only passed a medical checkup earlier Sunday to be cleared to drive, was among the six cars that slid off the track but got back on to resume racing just before the red flag came out.

The race resumed after a 30-minute break.

Hamilton was allowed to make up one lap that he lost after the resumption. He was put at the back of the field, but on the same number of laps.

He chose dry tires and was quickly lapped again by all other 16 remaining cars, who were still on wet tires. However, the weather defied predictions and stayed dry, and Hamilton began clocking faster and faster laps at the back of the field.

By the 14th lap, the other cars were also on dry tires with Massa in the lead, ahead of Alonso and Raikkonen.

Nick Heidfeld drove his BMW-Sauber into Ralf Schumacher's Toyota, forcing Schumacher out of the race. His older brother, Michael, the seven-time champion who retired at the end of the last season, had one of the curves names after him on the circuit before the race.

Michael Schumacher won this race five times and presented the winner's trophy.