Just like the summer now upon us, the F1 racing season just got a whole lot hotter with the British Grand Prix at the Silverstone circuit in Northhamptonshire, England.
That's where the Red Bull Racing duo of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber changed the complexion of the Grand Prix season. They achieved this with a one-two finish at the 2009 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix.
In this race, the tandem halted a string of victories by Brawn GP's Jenson Button. This means the battle for the Drivers and Constructors Championship is taking on a new life. It's a more competitive one that promises to thrill Formula 1 fans for the rest of the season. The British Grand Prix saw Sebastian Vettel take the pole position in qualifying. He never relinquished this position when it came to Sunday race day. He led from start to finish with an excellent display of disciplined driving.
It's probably the last race at Silverstone for F1 fans. An aging track, it looks like Donington Park in Derby will take over next year as the venue for the Formula 1 British Grand Prix. Silverstone held the very first race when the current Formula One World Championship model began in 1950. Guiseppe Farina in an Alfa Romeo won that first round that year at Silverstone.
More than 300,000 Grand Prix fans descended upon Silverstone for race day. It was a chance to say goodbye to a storied circuit, and welcome Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton back to home turf. In fact, Jenson button used a new British-themed racing helmet. It had a new design with the words "Push the Button" emblazoned on it. Designed by Bernie Zobl, it was Button's way of acknowledging how special racing at home is to him.
The starting grid had Vettel on pole, Rubens Barrichello of Brawn GP second and Mark Webber in third. The race began with Vettel getting off to a great start. Jenson Button, who started sixth on the grid immediately dropped down to ninth position. Vettel built up a significant lead over the rest of the pack during the first fifteen laps of the race.
Rubens Barrichello indicated that his soft tires were not heating up fast enough. This meant he was not getting the grip he desired. He could not make up ground on Vettel as the race progressed. He, of course, like the other drivers would have to utilize hard tires in the race as well.
With Vettel pulling away, other "dramas" on the Silverstone circuit were taking place. Nick Heidfeld of BMW Sauber had front wing trouble. His team radioed for him to come in for repairs. However, Heidfeld wouldn't come in, saying he would come in on his scheduled pit stop.
As a side note to the race, BMW Sauber indicated they would concentrate on more aerodynamic improvements for the rest of the season. They stated they probably would not use the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) for the rest of the year. This system allows F1 cars to recover some energy used in braking and store it for acceleration use later in the race. Ferrari, in contrast, indicated they were doing well with KERS.
As the race continued, Ferrari's Felipe Massa came out in good shape after the first set of pit stops. After pitting, he emerged in fifth spot. His team employed a strategy of staying on the track longer and pitting on the 23rd lap. Lewis Hamilton let his crew know that he was experiencing lack of tire grip throughout the British Grand Prix. He ended up down on the chart battling in the 15th, 16th, 17th place area.
Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg of Williams drove well and tried to reign in third-place Rubens Barrichello. However, they fell short of a podium position, ending up fourth and fifth respectively. It wasn't much of a Sunday drive for McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen and Toro Rosso's Sebastien Bourdais. They crossed paths in a bang-up, with Kovalainen leaving the race on Lap 36. Bourdais subsequently left the race on Lap 37.
The race was a difficult one for Renault's Fernando Alonso who slid off the track early on. He recovered, but had frustration with the BMW's ahead of him, as did Lewis Hamilton. In the end, Alonso finished in 14th place, with Hamilton a disappointing 16th place. Hamilton did make an impressive move passing Heidfeld at one point. He subsequently lost position to him again, and Heidfeld finished one spot ahead of him.
Mark Webber drove a smooth race once he was able to pass Rubens Barrichello and slot himself into second place. With Vettel and Webber cruising to a comfortable one-two finish, other cars jockeyed for the remaining points available. Jenson Button battled back to sixth spot and in the points. Jarno Trulli of Toyota and Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari finished seventh and eighth respectively, and claimed the remaining championship points, sponsored by an
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Now it's a bit of a summer recess for the F1 teams and drivers. The next race is the German Grand Prix. Of course, work will continue for the engineers and mechanics. They will all be looking for ways to fine-tune their cars for greater performance. It's all about the Formula 1 season continuing to blaze a hot path through the summer and through to the autumn.
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