Race: Webber claims his first victory, Red Bull achieves another one-two finish

The Red Bull Renault team once again demonstrated superiority today in Formula 1 at the German Grand Prix. The Austrian team secured another one-two finish, allowing Mark Webber, still recovering, to win his first Formula 1 Grand Prix after 130 races. Vettel came in second, ahead of Massa. The Brawn GP team once again struggled with the cold weather, finishing only 5th and 6th… Bourdais retired due to mechanical reasons.

Despite a ‘drive-through’ penalty due to an incident at the start of the race, Webber still clinches his first victory in Formula 1. Red Bull, his team, scores their third one-two finish of the year.

The Brawn GP could not compete with the RBR on the Nurburgring. Button finishes 5th, ahead of his teammate with three-stop strategies. A strategy that was not enough to make up for the lack of grip due to the tire issues that BGP encountered during the race.

The start of the ninth race of the season was very turbulent. With Ferrari and McLaren having the KERS, all four drivers were able to gain several positions at the start. Thus, Hamilton started 5th on the grid to climb to 2nd place at the entrance of the first corner. He goes wide and re-enters the pack amidst wheel-to-wheel contact. A wing, Webber’s, touches his right rear tire, and it punctures. His race is already over. It will take him two minutes to get back to the pits to change the tire.

Webber, author of a tumultuous start, sees Barrichello’s Brawn GP come alongside him. To prevent him from gaining the advantage, he makes a slight but sharp turn of the wheel, causing the Brazilian driver to swerve. For his early race missteps, the Australian receives a ‘Drive Through’ penalty and loses 15 seconds by passing through the pits on the 16th lap.

After the first round, Barrichello emerges victorious from his duel with Webber. He is in first place. Behind, Kovalainen and Massa take advantage of their KERS to overtake Button and Vettel. Button gets to work and overtakes Massa at the beginning of the second lap. However, he will not be able to overtake Kovalainen until his first pit stop.

Webber enters the pit to serve his penalty at the same time Barrichello comes in for his first pit stop. Barrichello then takes the lead of the Grand Prix but does not regain the same race pace. After Webber’s first stop, he is much faster than the other leaders on track. The Australian gains nearly a second per lap on the Brazilian and begins to believe in his chances of victory again. The comeback is even quicker because Barrichello rejoined into traffic and is hindered by Massa.

Barrichello even has a problem during his second pit stop. The refueler doesn’t work, and the team has to change hoses. The Brazilian loses three seconds and doesn’t get the amount of fuel he should have. He comes in earlier for his last refueling and loses his lead to Webber. Worse, his teammate can even overtake him. Button comes out ahead, in 5th place.

The Brawns have been in difficulty for more than twenty laps, a period that benefited Massa and Rosberg in consolidating their 3rd and 4th positions. At the end of the race, it’s Alonso who is the fastest. The Renault driver sets the fastest lap in the race and gains a second per lap on the Brawns and Rosberg.

With 8 laps to go, Alonso is less than seven-tenths behind Barrichello. The R29 is not fast enough on the straight to get close enough to attempt an overtaking. Alonso started 12th and finishes 7th, being stuck behind Glock for over 15 minutes. He is ahead of Kovalainen in the first McLaren. The Finnish driver didn’t see his strategy work out but leads a train of four other drivers fighting for the last point. Glock (Toyota) started from the pits and finishes 9th, ahead of Heidfeld (BMW), Fisichella (Force India), and Nakajima (Williams).

Force India showed good form this weekend. Sutil was in third place for a while, before being hit by Räikkönen as he exited the pits. The front wing had to be changed, and the German, at his home race, could have scored his first points. Fisichella, on the other hand, missed the eighth place point by a few seconds.

Piquet finishes 13th, ahead of Kubica. The Pole still does not control his car. Sutil is 15th ahead of Buemi. The Toro Rosso driver finishes the race, transparently. Sébastien Bourdais, for his part, suffers from a hydraulic problem midway through the race and has to return to his garage… disappointed.

Trulli on a strategy that didn’t work out is the last of those who didn’t experience issues. Hamilton is behind and after his puncture, he couldn’t get back in the race.

Results of the German Grand Prix – Sunday, July 12, 2009: