Great Britain 2010
JUST AS MARK WEBBER WAS THE CENTRAL CHARACTER OF THE LAST GRAND PRIX WITH HIS HORRENDOUS CRASH THAT BROUGHT OUT THE SAFETY CAR AND THE SUBSEQUENT CONTROVERSY, SO HE WAS AT SILVERSTONE BUT FOR A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT REASON.
RED BULL WERE FULLY EXPECTED TO DOMINATE HERE AS THEY HAD LAST YEAR. TO AID THEM, THEY HAD BROUGHT 2 NEWLY-DESIGNED FRONT WINGS, ONE FOR EACH CAR. TO COUNTERACT THIS, MCLAREN HAD ALSO BROUGHT A HUGE PACKAGE OF AERO-UPDATES, INCLUDING THEIR VERSION OF RED BULL'S 'BLOWN DIFFUSER' THAT USES THE EXHAUST GASES TO INCREASE REAR DOWN-FORCE.
RED BULL WENT WELL DURING THE VARIOUS FREE PRACTICES BUT ON FRIDAY EVENING MCLAREN DECIDED THE UPDATES WERE NOT ONLY NOT WORKING BUT THEY WERE MAKING THE CAR SLOWER. COMPLETE REBUILD OVERNIGHT AND THE CARS APPEARED FOR SATURDAY'S FREE PRACTICE IN MORE OR LESS ORIGINAL TRIM BUT ONLY HAD ONE HOUR TO TEST EVERYTHING AND SET THE CARS UP FOR THE QUALIFYING SESSION TO FOLLOW.
RED BULL THEN SUFFERED A PROBLEM WITH SEBASTIAN VETTEL'S NEW FRONT WING - BASICALLY IT DROPPED DOWN TO FLOOR LEVEL AT HIGH SPEED BUT, FORTUNATELY, IT DID NOT DETACH COMPLETELY AND HE WAS ABLE TO PULL UP SAFELY. THEN FOLLOWED ONE OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL DECISIONS F1 HAS SEEN - RED BULL TOOK THE NEW, UNDAMAGED FRONT WING OFF MARK WEBBER'S CAR AND PUT IT ON VETTEL'S FOR QUALIFYING AND HE DULY TOOK POLE POSITION WITH MARK 2ND.
IT WAS JUSTIFIED ON THE BASIS OF HIS SLIGHTLY BETTER POSITION IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND THAT IT WAS MORE SUITED TO HIM THAN TO MARK. YOU COULD JUST ABOUT ACCEPT THIS IF IT WAS THE LAST RACE OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND SEBASTIAN HAD A CHANCE TO WIN THE TITLE WHILST MARK COULD NOT. BUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEASON WITH LESS THAN HALF THE RACES COMPLETED, IT WAS UNFORGIVEABLE AND SMACKED OF INTERNAL POLITICS WITHIN THE TEAM. CHRISTIAN HORNER WAS LEFT WITH THE UNCOMFORTABLE JOB OF TRYING TO JUSTIFY THE DECISION.
MARK HIT BACK WITH ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR WINS AT SILVERSTONE. HE EASILY OUTDRAGGED VETTEL TO THE FIRST CORNER, A RIGHT-HANDER, DRIFTED TO LEFT FOR THE NEXT, A LEFT-HANDER AND VETTEL KEPT HIS FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR, HOPING TO FORCE MARK INTO AN ERROR BUT, IN THE END, WENT OFF HIMSELF, PICKED UP A PUNCTURE AND HAD TO LIMP SLOWLY BACK TO PITS AND RESTART IN LAST POSITION. 'POETIC JUSTICE' WAS DONE AND SEEN TO BE DONE.
WEBBER'S RADIO COMMENTS AFTER HE CROSSED THE LINE SUMMED UP HIS FEELINGS PERFECTLY - "NOT BAD FOR A NUMBER 2 DRIVER!"
A SAFETY CAR SESSION HALFWAY THROUGH CLOSED THE FIELD UP AND ALLOWED VETTEL TO RECOVER ENOUGH GROUND TO EARN SIX POINTS. LEWIS HAMILTON HAD FOUGHT TO KEEP MARK HONEST BUT NEVER GOT CLOSE ENOUGH TO ATTEMPT AN OVERTAKE AND FINISHED SECOND WHILST A DETERMINED DRIVE BY NICO ROSBERG GOT HIM A WELL-DESERVED THIRD. JENSON BUTTON, WITH A DISASTROUS QUALIFYING POSITION OF 14TH, OVERTOOK 6 CARS ON THE FIRST LAP AND GRADUALLY WORKED HIMSELF UP TO FINISH A VERY CREDITABLE 4TH.
RUBENS BARRICHELLO MAINTAINED WILLIAMS RECENT IMPROVEMENT WITH A 5TH PLACE AND KAMUI KOBAYASHI PUT IN ANOTHER ERROR-FREE DRIVE TO GO ONE BETTER THAN LAST TIME AND FINISH 6TH.
STARTING GRID
| | | |
| 1.
|
Sebastian Vettel
|
| 2.
|
Mark Webber
|
| 3.
|
Fernando Alonso
|
| 4.
|
Lewis Hamilton
|
| 5.
|
Nico Rosberg
|
| 6.
|
Robert Kubica
|
| 7.
|
Felipe Massa
|
| 8.
|
Rubens Barrichello
|
| 9.
|
Pedro de la Rosa
|
| 10.
|
Michael Schumacher
|
| 11.
|
Aidrian Sutil
|
| 12.
|
Kamui Kobayashi
|
| 13.
|
Nico Hulkenberg
|
| 14.
|
Jenson Button
|
| 15.
|
Vitaly Petrov
|
| 16.
|
Sebastien Buemi
|
| 17.
|
Jaime Alguersari
|
| 18.
|
Heikki Kovalainen
|
| 19.
|
Timo Glock
|
| 20.
|
Vitantonio Liuzzi
|
| 21.
|
Jarno Trulli
|
| 22.
|
Lucas di Grassi
|
| 23.
|
Karun Chandhok
|
| 24.
|
Sakon Yamamoto
|
RESULT
| |
| 1.
|
Mark Webber
|
| 2.
|
Lewis Hamilton
|
| 3.
|
Nico Rosberg
|
| 4.
|
Jenson Button
|
| 5.
|
Rubens Barrichello
|
| 6.
|
Kamui Kobayashi
|
| 7.
|
Sebastian Vettel
|
| 8.
|
Aidrian Sutil
|
| 9.
|
Michael Schumacher
|
| 10.
|
Nico Hulkenberg
|
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers :
| |
| Lewis Hamilton
|
145
|
| Jenson Button
|
133
|
| Mark Webber
|
128
|
| Sebastian Vettel
|
121
|
| Fernando Alonso
|
98
|
| Nico Rosberg
|
90
|
| Robert Kubica
|
83
|
| Felipe Massa
|
67
|
| Michael Schumacher
|
36
|
| Adrian Sutil
|
35
|
Constructors :
|
| McLaren
|
278
|
| Red Bull Racing
|
249
|
| Ferrari
|
165
|
| Mercedes
|
126
|
| Renault
|
89
|
| Force India
|
47
|
| Williams
|
31
|
| BMW Sauber
|
15
|
| Scuderia Toro Rosso
|
10
|
| Lotus
|
0
|
| Hispania Racing
|
0
|
| Virgin Racing
|
0
|
Race Results posted by
David Little
12th July 2010
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