Sebastian Vettel Wins British GP
Review of the F1 World Championship Race at Silverstone
Jun 22, 2009
Red Bull sent out a stark warning to Jenson Button and Brawn GP at Silverstone that the battle for the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship is far from over. Sebastian Vettel started from pole and simply disappeared once the lights went out.
2009 British GP Qualifying
Red Bull arrived at Silverstone with a new aero package and it proved quick straight out of the box. Vettel claimed pole, while his frustrated team-mate Mark Webber managed third in the grid. The Australian felt he could have been higher but was baulked by Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen on his final quick lap.
Sandwiched between the Red Bull pair was Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn, but World Championship leader Button had a frustrating day in the sister car and started down in sixth. It was not what the Englishman had hoped for in front of his home crowd.
Any chance of putting in a fast lap during the dying seconds of Q1 evaporated when Adrian Sutil’s Force India thumped the barriers at Abbey following a brake problem. Sutil walked away from the wreck but the session was red-flagged with less than 30 seconds remaining. When it re-started there was not enough time to get around and start a quick lap.
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton was the hero of Silverstone last year, driving peerlessly in atrocious conditions to win the British Grand Prix. Just 12 months on it was a very different story, with Hamilton languishing in 19th position. Kazuki Nakajima impressed everyone by qualifying his Williams in fifth position, just behind Jarno Trulli’s Toyota.
Vettel Wins 2009 British GP
The top three held station at the start of the race, while Nakajima made up a position to claim fourth. Raikkonen did even better, moving up from ninth to fifth. Button found his path blocked heading into turn one and slipped back to ninth, stuck behind Trulli.
While Webber followed Barrichello’s Brawn around his Red bull team-mate Vettel streaked away at the front, consistently lapping a second quicker than anyone else despite having a heavier car than many of his pursuers.
Webber’s frustration finally ended at the first round of pit stops, when he managed to leapfrog Barrichello. Nakajima was the first of the leaders to pit and, after everyone else had stopped, the Japanese driver was somewhat bemused to find himself back in ninth. Felipe Massa, who started from 11th in his Ferrari, was enjoying himself and emerged from the pit stops in fifth place.
Heikki Kovalainen was fuelled for a long first stint, but eventually pitted, only to emerge in front of his team-mate Hamilton. The defending World Champion was quickly past, but Sebastien Bourdais was not so fortunate in the Toro Rosso. Approaching Club corner Bourdais pulled out to pass, only for Kovalainen to jink left resulting in a collision. Both cars were damaged and eventually retired.
There were spirited battled lower down the field throughout the race. Fernando Alonso and Nick Heidfeld diced for several laps, as did Hamilton and Robert Kubica. In the last few laps Button closed on Nico Rosberg’s fifth placed Williams but could not find a way through. Vettel won the British Grand Prix comfortably from Webber’s similar car. Barrichello was pleased enough with third position, while Massa was delighted to end the day in fourth. They were followed home by Rosberg, Button, Trulli and Raikkonen. Giancarlo Fisichella showed improved pace in his Force India, suggesting that the team’s first points finish may not be far away.
The dominance of the revised Red Bull will not have gone unnoticed by Button and Brawn GP. The second half of the 2009 Formula 1 season could see a fascinating battle develop between the two teams. The next round is the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, which takes place on July 12th.
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