Reverend
June 21st, 2009, 21:47 PM
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel scored a crushing victory in the British Grand Prix as championship leader Jenson Button's Brawn struggled to sixth.
Vettel took advantage of his team-mate Mark Webber being caught behind Brawn's Rubens Barrichello to build a decisive lead in the first stint of the race.
Webber passed Barrichello at the first pit stops to complete a Red Bull one-two ahead of the Brawn driver in third.
Last year's winner Lewis Hamilton was 16th in a car he said had "no grip".
Felipe Massa's Ferrari was fourth after winning a battle with the Williams of Nico Rosberg. Behind Button, Toyota's Jarno Trulli and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen took the final points positions in seventh and eighth.
The result leaves Button with a reduced but still substantial championship lead of 23 points over Barrichello, with Vettel two further points adrift and 3.5 ahead of Webber.
Button's advantage is still more than two clear victories but, with more than half the season still to go, he will be concerned by the startling pace shown by Red Bull, who introduced a major upgrade to their car and were in a league of their own throughout the weekend at Silverstone.
"It was a completely seamless race by both drivers and they completely dominated it," said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.
"We can really mount a championship challenge from here."
Brawn's potential was reduced by the low temperatures in Northamptonshire - both Button and Barrichello struggled to get their tyres up to the temperature at which they give their optimum grip.
That put the season's dominant team back into the battle with Williams, Toyota and Ferrari behind the leaders - a position from which they did well to finish third and sixth.
Red Bull, by contrast, had looked strong favourites as soon as their updated RB5 car showed its pace in practice in Friday.
Vettel was on pole by more than half a second and he made the most of the fact that Webber, after a frustrating qualifying session, was stuck behind Barrichello on the grid and could not pass him in the opening laps.
The German rising star, 21, pulled away by about a second a lap over the first stint, and was nearly 20 seconds in front of Barrichello by the time the Brazilian became the first of the top three to stop on lap 19.
"It's never easy it's a long race - you have to stay focused and keep your eyes open all the time," said Vettel.
"The start was very important and in the first stint I tried to push as hard as I could and make a gap.
"That worked perfectly and I had a fantastic car. The tyres were fantastic as well. This was a step in the right direction."
British Grand Prix Result:
1. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
3. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Brawn-Mercedes
4. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari
5. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota
6. Jenson Button (GB) Brawn-Mercedes
7. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota
8. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari
Championship Standings:
1. Jenson Button (GB) Brawn-Mercedes 64 pts
2. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Brawn-Mercedes 41
3. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 39
4. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 35.5
5. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 21.5
6. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 16
7. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 15.5
8. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 13
Constructors' Championship:
1. Brawn-Mercedes 105 pts
2. Red Bull-Renault 74.5
3. Toyota 34.5
4. Ferrari 26
5. Williams-Toyota 15.5
BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8111672.stm)
Vettel took advantage of his team-mate Mark Webber being caught behind Brawn's Rubens Barrichello to build a decisive lead in the first stint of the race.
Webber passed Barrichello at the first pit stops to complete a Red Bull one-two ahead of the Brawn driver in third.
Last year's winner Lewis Hamilton was 16th in a car he said had "no grip".
Felipe Massa's Ferrari was fourth after winning a battle with the Williams of Nico Rosberg. Behind Button, Toyota's Jarno Trulli and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen took the final points positions in seventh and eighth.
The result leaves Button with a reduced but still substantial championship lead of 23 points over Barrichello, with Vettel two further points adrift and 3.5 ahead of Webber.
Button's advantage is still more than two clear victories but, with more than half the season still to go, he will be concerned by the startling pace shown by Red Bull, who introduced a major upgrade to their car and were in a league of their own throughout the weekend at Silverstone.
"It was a completely seamless race by both drivers and they completely dominated it," said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.
"We can really mount a championship challenge from here."
Brawn's potential was reduced by the low temperatures in Northamptonshire - both Button and Barrichello struggled to get their tyres up to the temperature at which they give their optimum grip.
That put the season's dominant team back into the battle with Williams, Toyota and Ferrari behind the leaders - a position from which they did well to finish third and sixth.
Red Bull, by contrast, had looked strong favourites as soon as their updated RB5 car showed its pace in practice in Friday.
Vettel was on pole by more than half a second and he made the most of the fact that Webber, after a frustrating qualifying session, was stuck behind Barrichello on the grid and could not pass him in the opening laps.
The German rising star, 21, pulled away by about a second a lap over the first stint, and was nearly 20 seconds in front of Barrichello by the time the Brazilian became the first of the top three to stop on lap 19.
"It's never easy it's a long race - you have to stay focused and keep your eyes open all the time," said Vettel.
"The start was very important and in the first stint I tried to push as hard as I could and make a gap.
"That worked perfectly and I had a fantastic car. The tyres were fantastic as well. This was a step in the right direction."
British Grand Prix Result:
1. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
3. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Brawn-Mercedes
4. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari
5. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota
6. Jenson Button (GB) Brawn-Mercedes
7. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota
8. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari
Championship Standings:
1. Jenson Button (GB) Brawn-Mercedes 64 pts
2. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Brawn-Mercedes 41
3. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 39
4. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 35.5
5. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 21.5
6. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 16
7. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 15.5
8. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 13
Constructors' Championship:
1. Brawn-Mercedes 105 pts
2. Red Bull-Renault 74.5
3. Toyota 34.5
4. Ferrari 26
5. Williams-Toyota 15.5
BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8111672.stm)