That was not a problem for Webber. After the rain-affected shenanigans of
Friday and Saturday, the sun came out to acclaim a magnificent performance
which saw him hunt down and overhaul Alonso with four laps remaining.
Webber had started second to the Spaniard on the grid but benefited from a
different tyre strategy to chase the Ferrari down after the final pit stops.
He eventually passed his friend – and possible team-mate next year – into
Brooklands with four laps to go before cruising to his second victory in
three years at this circuit. It was far less controversial than his first.
Back in 2010 Webber caused an almighty stink with the words “Not bad for a No
2 driver” as he crossed the finish line. It was a comment loaded with
feeling after Red Bull opted to give Sebastian Vettel preferential treatment
prior to the race. This time there was the quiet satisfaction that he is now
second in the championship on merit, 13 points behind Alonso and 16 clear of
Vettel in the standings.
“I won my first race here in ’96 in a Formula Ford so the love affair
continues,” said Buckinghamshire’s finest. “This morning I took the dogs for
a run. The good thing about going home to them is that they don’t know if
I’ve had a crap day or a good day, they’re always happy to see me. It’s good
to be staying at home. I love racing everywhere but here it’s extra
special.”
Horner was impressed, giving his clearest hint yet that he will try to retain
Webber for another season when his contract runs out at the end of the year.
“We have a great relationship with Mark,” Horner said. “I think Mark wants
to be in the team next year. As we have always stated, during the summer we
will sit down and talk about the future. In the next few weeks we will be
talking about 2013.”
Red Bull may have a battle on their hands hanging on to the Australian, who is
rumoured to be attracting Ferrari’s interest, who may well decide to
jettison Felipe Massa for 2013.
“Inevitably there is an awful lot of speculation but he has had all of his
success in Formula One with this team and we would like to see that
continue,” was Horner’s response.
At least there was one Briton on the podium. Three-time world champion Sir
Jackie Stewart was sent up to interview the drivers in a new development for
the sport.
Back in the McLaren garage, Hamilton and Button were licking their wounds. “We
are not as fast as some, but whether we are the fifth or sixth fastest
doesn’t matter,” Hamilton said. “We were first at the beginning of the
year.” Not any more.
Leading Final Positions after Race (52 Laps): 1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red
Bull 1hr 25mins 11.288secs, 2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:25:14.348, 3
Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:25:16.124, 4 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari
1:25:20.807, 5 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Lotus F1 Team 1:25:21.602, 6 Romain
Grosjean (Fra) Lotus F1 Team 1:25:28.389, 7 Michael Schumacher (Ger)
Mercedes GP 1:25:40.441, 8 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:25:47.751, 9 Bruno
Senna (Bra) Williams 1:25:54.635, 10 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren
1:25:55.732, 11 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber-Ferrari 1:25:56.658, 12 Nico
Hulkenberg (Ger) Force India 1:25:59.144, 13 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Scuderia
Toro Rosso 1:26:02.529, 14 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso
1:26:04.601, 15 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:26:08.682, 16 Pastor
Maldonado (Ven) Williams at 1 Lap, 17 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Caterham at 1
Lap, 18 Timo Glock (Ger) Marussia at 1 Lap, 19 Charles Pic (Fra) Marussia at
1 Lap, 20 Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) HRT-F1 at 2 Laps, 21 Narain Karthikeyan
(Ind) HRT-F1 at 2 Laps
Not Classified: 22 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 11 Laps completed,
23 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India 2 Laps completed, 24 Vitaly Petrov (Rus)
Caterham 0 Laps completed
Leading World Championship Standings After British Grand Prix:
Drivers: 1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 129pts, 2 Mark Webber (Aus)
Red Bull 116, 3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 100, 4 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr)
McLaren 92, 5 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Lotus F1 Team 83, 6 Nico Rosberg (Ger)
Mercedes GP 75, 7 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Lotus F1 Team 61, 8 Jenson Button
(Gbr) McLaren 50, 9 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 39, 10 Pastor
Maldonado (Ven) Williams 29, 11 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India 27, 12
Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP 23, 13 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 23,
14 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber-Ferrari 21, 15 Bruno Senna (Bra) Williams
18, 16 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Force India 17, 17 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra)
Scuderia Toro Rosso 4, 18 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 2, 19
Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Caterham 0, 20 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Caterham 0, 21
Timo Glock (Ger) Marussia 0, 22 Charles Pic (Fra) Marussia 0, 23 Narain
Karthikeyan (Ind) HRT-F1 0, 24 Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) HRT-F1 0
Manufacturers: 1 Red Bull 216pts, 2 Ferrari 152, 3 Lotus F1 Team 144, 4
McLaren 142, 5 Mercedes GP 98, 6 Sauber-Ferrari 60, 7 Williams 47, 8 Force
India 44, 9 Scuderia Toro Rosso 6, 10 Caterham 0, 11 Marussia 0, 12 HRT-F1 0