British Grand Prix

22nd June 2009

It was Red Bull stampede at Silverstone, as Sebastian Vettel took a dominant win in last weekend’s British Grand Prix ahead of team mate Mark Webber.

There was less luck for championship leader Jenson Button who could only manage sixth in front of his home crowd. After a making a poor start the Brawn GP ace dropped to ninth and could only make up three places by the time the flag dropped.

Ahead of him Vettel set a searing pace, pulling clear of the rest of the field at a rate of over a second per lap. By the first round of pit stops the young German was 20 seconds clear of second placed Rubens Barrichello, who dropped to the third behind Webber when they both stopped for fuel and tyres.

These three then held position until the end, although Barrichello gradually dropped back from the leading duo. He eventually finished only four seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, who fought from a lowly eleventh position on the grid to fourth at the end.

Further back Italian veteran Giancarlo Fisichella had a strong race in his Force India, finishing in tenth place. Behind him were the BMW Sauber’s of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, and the Renault of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

Lewis Hamilton had yet another race to forget, finishing in sixteenth place a lap down on the leaders. At least he fared better than team mate Heikki Kovalainen. The Finn retired at around half distance following a collision with the Toro Rosso of Sebastien Bourdais.

However, there were no such problems for Red Bull’s senior team, which finally delivered on its early season promise. “I had a fantastic car”, exclaimed Vettel. “I mean it was unbelievable. I was able to push, push, push more and more and more. This is what I was dreaming of when I saw the first grands prix here in Silverstone in the era of Mansell and so on, so it is kind of unreal now to think I am here and I have made it. I have won this grand prix, so I am very, very happy”.

The next round is the German grand prix at the Nurburgring on 12 July.

Results

1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault
3. Barrichello Brawn GP-Mercedes
4. Massa Ferrari
5. Rosberg Williams-Toyota
6. Button Brawn GP-Mercedes
7. Trulli Toyota
8. Raikkonen Ferrari
9. Glock Toyota
10. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes
11. Nakajima Williams-Toyota
12. Piquet Renault
13. Kubica BMW Sauber
14. Alonso Renault
15. Heidfeld BMW Sauber
16. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
17. Sutil Force India-Mercedes
18. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari


Driver Championship

1. Jenson Button 64
2. Rubens Barrichello 41
3. Sebastian Vettel 39
4. Mark Webber 35.5
5. Jarno Trulli 21.5
6. Felipe Massa 16
7. Nico Rosberg 15.5
8. Timo Glock 13
9. Fernando Alonso 11
10. Kimi Räikkönen 10


Constructer Championship

1. Brawn-Mercedes 105
2. RBR-Renault 74.5
3. Toyota 34.5
4. Ferrari 26
5. Williams-Toyota 15.5
6. McLaren-Mercedes 13
7. Renault 11
8. BMW Sauber 8
9. STR-Ferrari 5

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