VETTEL'S TURN TO RUN THE SHOW
Well first the 2009 British Grand Prix was to be the last one at Silverstone, then there was the suggestion that there would be no 2010 British Grand Prix at all. And then finally came the guarantee that there would be a 2010 British Grand Prix, and there was the possibility that it could be at Silverstone rather than Donnington. That was just for starters. Eight teams now want to set up a breakaway series independent of the FIA and as much as it would hurt to see the end of F1 as we know it, I have to admit, with eight out of the ten of them rebelling, the teams have Max over a barrel. The concern is that they may get too petty themselves. However, enough about that, at Silverstone, for possibly the last time, it was time to put quality racing cars on a track.
Qualifying proved to be ugly for Lewis as again his McLaren looked nowhere near fit for the job and he wound up starting P19. though Jenson dodged a bullet himself. Again in Q2, Jenson wasn't able to cruise through but he survived, unlike Massa. In Q3 well Barrichello set the first time but then got mugged by pretty much everyone, Vettel coming out on top. Webber then edged his teammates before Rubens hit the front again but Vettel wound up having the last laugh to collect his second pole in a row. Barichello took P2(matching his best grid slot of the season), Webber P3(matching his best grid slot of the season). Trulli P4, Nakajima coming up with P5(not only the best gridslot of a career that started in Brazil '07 but the best gridslot of any Japanese driver since Takuma Sato's effort in Japan '05). Jenson was never in the mixer for pole and was forced to start P6.
In the race itself, well initially Lewis didn't do too badly and found himself moving up to 14th initially. However after some decent duels with fellow underachievers Kubica and Alonso he went into the pits and came out 20th. Starting all over again he was again able to make his way up through the pack to a limited extent before his second pitstop. He looked to save his engine during the last stint and must be getting bored of being lapped. He finished 16th, the worst finish of his career. Yet the reigning world champions is still hoping for improvments before the end of the season. The most he can hope for at this point though is a podium at best.
Jenson for once didn't have the best of races either. First he found himself down to 8th and then he found himself fighting his car to an extent that he hasn't had to do all season. The problem? His Brawn needs to have heat in it's tyres, you get heat in your tyres from braking, you don't get to do much braking at Silverstone. He still managed to put on a surge in his final stint though and made his way back up the field but couldn't get any higher than 6th before the chequered flag. Last season, 6th was his best finish of the year but this time around he won't be so happy. Still, it was getting to the point where he could afford an off race, and in theory, it's just a blip.
Up front, well before the race Webber told the BBC "if Sebastien gets a good start, it'll be a boring race for him and it'll be a boring race for you guys". Sure enough, Vettel got a good start. Webber also got a good start and got past Barrichello for 2nd. Massa in the meantime took advantage of the fact that starting outside the top ten meant no fuel restrictions and the main battle turned out to be between him and Barrichello for 3rd but the Brawn veteran won that one. So, Vettel cruised through for his second win of the season, Webber finished 2nd for the third time in what has been the best season in the Aussie's career by far to complete Red Bull's 2nd 1-2 of the season. Barrichello finished 3rd, Massa finished 4th(matching his best finish of the season) with Rosberg in 5th(matching his best finish of the season).
And yet, when the dust settled, Jenson was still leading the championship with 64 points, even if his lead had been cut to twenty three points. Further down, Lewis remains in 11th on 9 points.
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