Race: Vettel and Red Bull Humiliate Brawn GP at Home!

On the occasion of the British Grand Prix at the Silverstone circuit, Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel delivered an astonishing performance, outclassing their competitors from the start of the weekend until the end of the race. With Webber alongside Vettel, the Austrian team achieved a one-two finish and took advantage of Brawn GP’s misstep to catch up (a little) in the championships. Button finished only 6th, Alonso was only 14th, Hamilton 16th, while Bourdais had to retire.

Crossing the finish line under the checkered flag as the leader, Vettel demonstrates to Brawn GP and Button that the championship is not over yet. The German takes the opportunity to win his first Grand Prix in dry conditions.

Vettel put an end to all doubts of a ‘bluff’ by taking an advantage of more than 20 seconds over his pursuers, Barrichello and Webber, as early as the first pit stop. Vettel managed his lead to consolidate his performance and avoid making the same mistake as in Turkey two weeks ago when the German, off-track, handed the victory to Button.

Barrichello was never able to challenge Vettel or even the Red Bulls. The Brazilian pitted before the two men for the first time, he was lighter, and Webber immediately stole second place from him and didn’t let it go. Barrichello was even challenged during his second stint by Nico Rosberg (Williams) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari) to reach the podium.

The podium was decided during the second pit stop. Barrichello took full advantage to consolidate his position, while Massa will occupy the 4th position. The Brazilian completed a long second stint on soft tires to overtake Rosberg during his second pit stop. The Ferrari shows signs of improvement but is still far from the RB5s and BGP001s.

Eighth from the start until his second pit stop, Button was not really able to challenge anyone today, due to a car much more unbalanced than usual and suffering greatly in cooler conditions. The British driver, a favorite with the English crowd, managed to overtake Räikkönen and Trulli in his final stop to ultimately secure 6th place and bring three points to the championship.

Jarno Trulli finished the Grand Prix in 7th place after starting from 4th position. The Italian failed to capitalize on his starting position and lost most of his places on the first lap. However, he finished ahead of Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari), who struggled with grip. The Finn managed to secure a point, but just barely, battling for the 8th place during the last half-hour with Timo Glock and Giancarlo Fisichella.

Fisichella in the Force India, racing at home here, took advantage of a battle in front of him between Alonso and Heidfeld to slip into 12th place in the Grand Prix. After a particularly well-suited strategy, the Italian finished 10th, close to the points, and even reached 3rd position on lap 18. Sutil, his teammate, was indeed strong since the beginning of the weekend before experiencing a mechanical issue and a major accident that forced him to start from the pits today. The German finished 17th with the feeling of having missed out on something.

Nakajima also experienced glory. 4th during the first 15 minutes of the race, the Japanese driver fell victim to his strategy and an early pit stop. The Williams driver lost 5 places after his first pit stop, then 2 more during his second stop. He finally finished 11th, ahead of the nonexistent race of Piquet Jr (Renault). However, the Brazilian finished ahead of his teammate.

Alonso started 9th and missed his start to find himself 12th after the first corner, then blocked by Heidfeld during his first stint. He couldn’t optimize his strategy. The Spaniard finished in 14th place, behind Kubica and ahead of Heidfeld.

Even more in trouble, Lewis Hamilton only finished in 16th place in his home race. The Englishman struggled with grip all weekend. He battled with Alonso for the show and narrowly avoided disaster after a spin at Stowe. He finished the race for his fans and offered them several controlled spins at the end of the race, despite the FIA’s strict ban.

Buemi finishes 18th for Toro Rosso. His teammate Sébastien Bourdais was 16th for a good part of the Grand Prix, before colliding with Kovalainen. The two men got in each other’s way and Bourdais couldn’t avoid a braking maneuver by the McLaren driver. The Toro Rosso loses its wing by hitting the left rear wheel of the McLaren. Bourdais goes straight on, changes the front wing, then abandons the race definitively due to a water pressure problem. Kovalainen, on his part, returns to the pit with a blown tire. He comes back on track only to return again to the pits a lap later, the car too damaged to continue.

See you in three weeks for the continuation of the Formula 1 adventures and the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.

Results of the British Grand Prix – June 21, 2009: