Silverstone. The home of motorsport. Fan, driver and team favourite - Formula One had returned to the UK.
After a few weeks break, the fastest sport in the world returned to the track for some racing action. It was a race weekend that brought plenty of news - most of which was regarding Mark Webber's retirement announcement - and drama both on and off the track.
Here's my weekend review of the British Grand Prix, starting off with FP1 and ending with the race.
The GP2 and GP3 fields also took to the track for the next rounds of their championship seasons - the young talent eager to impress in front of the F1 paddock.
Check out my British Grand Prix Preview alongside my Thursday Snap Shot from the circuit.
FP1
It was a damp and overcast start to the first practice session ahead of round eight of the 2013 season. The typical British weather had struck once again with a drenched track that provided unhelpful conditions for teams and drivers.
Valtteri Bottas was the first driver out on track - using the wet Pirelli tyres for his installation lap - alongside several others in what was a quiet start to the session. In fact, with 40 minutes of the session gone the time sheets were blank. Drivers and teams felt that there was too much standing water and that despite wanting to put on a show for the fans in the packed grandstands, rain was not forecast for Saturday and Sunday - meaning that they don't have anything to gain.
It was a case of watching slow motion shots on the TV screen and watching the occasional car take to the track. With 15 minutes remaining, Toro Rosso driver Daniel Ricciardo took to the circuit to set the first lap time of the session - a 2m.00.029. He continued on for some more track time, chipping away at his previous time.
With just 10 minutes remaining on the clock, a number of drivers emerged for a taste of the track conditions - including Alonso and Rosberg. Bianchi was the second driver to take to the time sheets with rival Charles Pic not being able to complete a time after he slithered into the barriers. Hamilton becoming the first British driver to set a time during the 2013 race weekend.
Pic wasn't the only one struggling, #BOTTAS went off track as he entered the Wellington Straight and Hulkenberg took to the ample run-off area at Copse. By the chequered flag, just 11 drivers had set a lap time. Ricciardo was fastest after re-emerging to set a best time of 1m54.249, seven tenths ahead of Hulkenberg. Maldonado, Hamilton and Gutierrez rounded out the top five with Bottas, Vergne, van der Garde, Bianchi, Chilton and Massa rounding out those on the time sheets.
FP2
After the washout that was first practice for the British Grand Prix, the second session was far more productive as dry tyres made their first appearance of the race weekend.
Drivers started off on the intermediate tyres but the fast development of wear soon signalled that it was time to make the change to dry tyres. It was still tricky offline as Raikkonen and more seriously Felipe Massa found.
The Ferrari driver found the barrier for the third race weekend in a row after spinning at Stowe and finding the wall at the inside. The early exit meant he lost a full hour and a half of running - critical after the lack of on track action in the morning session. Teams focused on gathering data and evaluating new parts alongside testing the prototype Pirelli tyres which was given a second chance.
Nico Rosberg ended up topping the practice session in his Mercedes with a best time of 1m32.248, three tenths clear of second placed man Mark Webber. Vettel, Di Resta and Hamilton rounded out the top five with Button down in 11th and fellow Brit Max Chilton in 21st.
Raikkonen finished the session in 13th place, four places behind team-mate Grosjean. In contrast, Toro Rosso had both cars in the top seven and Alonso only just managed to sneak into the top 10. It was a busy session with a mix of evaluation runs on the prototype tyre first before some short runs and race simulations to end the session.
Post-session it was revealed that the Williams team were fined €1000 after Valtteri Bottas sped in the pit lane by 9.8km/h. Hamilton was also summoned to the stewards and was reprimanded for not staying to the right of the bollard on pit entry and Raikkonen was also reprimanded for an unsafe pit release.
FP3
After losing out on 90 minutes of dry running on Friday morning, it was a crucial and vital session for many as teams looked to gather as much data and information as possible ahead of qualifying and the race. However the rain held off and Silverstone was bathed in glorious sunshine.
It was a busy start to the session as drivers gathered momentum and kicked off their first runs. Raikkonen was the first to set a lap time with a 1m34.367 before continuing on with his run. Perez briefly moved to the top before #BOTTAS displaced him in the Williams. However the former suffered a puncture which brought out the red flag due to a large amount of debris at the exit of Copse.
The session restarted a few minutes later, giving marshals time to clear the track before drivers were sent out to continue their running. After 25 minutes, 21 of the 22 cars had set a lap time with Webber provisionally on top. Qualifying runs soon started with Hamilton finding time on his previous attempt to go fastest before Webber reacted, going 0.052 seconds faster.
With the clock counting down, the majority of cars emerged from their pit garages with seven minutes to go. The aim? Get some short, qualifying runs in on the medium compound tyre. By the sessions end, Nico Rosberg emerged as the fastest runner with a best time of 1m32.487 with Hamilton just a few tenths behind. Vettel, Webber and Grosjean rounded out the top five with Alonso and Raikkonen in seventh and eighth. Button finished in 12th with team-mate Perez in 18th after mechanics repaired his car in time for some last minute running. However he suffered a spin at Chapel and ended up failing to improve his time.
Qualifying
Q1
The grandstands were packed in time for the first of three qualifying session, with 20 minutes to move out of the dreaded drop-zone. The sun was out, the temperatures were decent and it was a quiet start to the session.
Nico Hulkenberg was eager to get out on track and was the first to set a lap time - a 1m35.806. Grosjean soon moved to the front with his first effort as the drivers wound up the momentum on the ever evolving track.
The big teams emerged with half the session remaining, with Rosberg and then Hamilton going top of the time sheets (to the crowds delight). As the session went on, teams split opinion with Mercedes going for runs on their less favoured medium compound tyre and others using the orange-banded hard compounds.
As the session came to a close, it was all or nothing for those in danger. However it was the Williams of Valtteri Bottas and the Sauber rookie of Esteban Gutierrez who were the midfield drivers knocked out in Q1 alongside Pic, Bianchi, van der Garde and Chilton (who was 1.2 seconds down on his team-mate.)
Fernando Alonso just managed to squeeze through in 15th, finishing just behind his team-mate in 14th. Hamilton was the only driver to dip below the 1m31's with a fastest time of 1m30.995, four tenths faster than Rosberg in second. The Lotus duo of Raikkonen and Grosjean finished third and fourth with Vettel rounding out the top five. Webber set the sixth fastest time with home favourites Button and Di Resta in eighth and 10th.
Q2
Drivers were given just 15 minutes to make the grade and move through to the top 10 shootout, with positions from 11th to 16th being decided.
Mark Webber was the first driver to take to the track in the second qualifying session, opening up the refreshed time sheets with a 1m31.341. Rosberg soon displaced the Aussie at the top but he was using the medium compound tyre in comparison to Webber's hard tyre run.
With half the session remaining, most teams decided to bring their cars in to prepare for their second runs. The Mercedes duo led the chasing pack with Webber, Sutil and Alonso rounding out the provisional top five. However Sebastian Vettel had something to say about that and moved to the front on his first run.
The German managed to maintain his position by the chequered flag but who would be knocked out in the drop zone? Jenson Button was pipped to the final top 10 position by Kimi Raikkonen, setting the 11th fastest time. Massa, Vergne and Perez joined him with Hulkenberg and Maldonado slowest in the second session.
Vettel managed to sneak under the 1m31's with a 1m30.990 but it was close at the front with Webber just behind. Rosberg, Sutil and Ricciardo all made it through with Hamilton, Di Resta and Alonso making up positions from sixth to eighth. Grosjean and Raikkonen just managed to sneak into the top 10 shoot-out for Lotus.
Q3
10 positions and 10 minutes to decide upon the order. It was a close competition with the two Mercedes and Red Bull cars battling for pole position.
It was a busy start to the final qualifying session with drivers eager to kick start their first runs. Daniel Ricciardo was the first driver to get a lap time on the results page but it was soon bettered by the first efforts of Webber and Rosberg. Hamilton went quicker still with a 1m30.096 - smashing the previous fastest lap time of the race weekend - and Vettel slotted in to fourth place after their first attempts.
With half the session remaining, cars returned to the garage ahead of their second runs. As the clock closed in on the chequered flag, drivers emerged from their pit garages in a bid to improve their banker lap time. Di Resta went six tenths off the provisional best time with his first and only attempt, with Ricciardo also going six tenths down.
Webber was the first front runner to cross the line to go second with Rosberg following to go fastest. Hamilton then smashed that time with a 1m29.607 to take pole position for his home race. The Brit went four tenths faster than his team-mate as Mercedes locked out the front row. Vettel and Webber took third and fourth with Di Resta and Ricciardo performing strongly in fifth and sixth.
Sutil, Grosjean and Raikkonen all ended up over a second down on the leading duo with Alonso slowest of the Q3 runners. It was a stunning and faultless lap time for Lewis Hamilton with the crowding bursting into cheers as he went across the line. As expected, a Mercedes 1-2.
UPDATE
* Paul Di Resta was excluded from qualifying after the FIA found that his car was 1.5kg under the minimum 642kg weight limit. He will now start from the back of the grid.
The Race
The sun was out. Silverstone was ready. The crowd were out in force and we were ready for a fantastic race. This was the British Grand Prix.
With a Brit on pole position, there were high expectations for a Lewis Hamilton victory. However Rosberg, the Red Bull's and Raikkonen were all in the mix and no one could be discounted.
It was a stunning race around the Northamptonshire circuit with plenty of on track action and a fantastic spectacle for the fans. Here's my race report from the 2013 British Grand Prix.
The cars lined up on the grid. As the temperatures rose, the lights went out and we were racing at Silverstone. Off the line Hamilton managed to get a good start but Rosberg was mugged by Vettel. Into turn one and Sutil was up to fourth. As they filed through The Loop, Webber gained damage and dropped down the field. Massa had jumped to fifth from 11th on the grid with Button moving ahead of Alonso.
Webber had dropped to 15th place after a poor start and contact with Grosjean as the cars filed through Becketts. Alonso managed to nab the place back from Button on the run into Stowe. As lap one was completed, Hamilton had eked out a small lead over Vettel and Di Resta had moved to 17th place as his recovery drive kicked off.
As Vettel continued to fall back from leader Lewis Hamilton, team-mate Webber started to make his recovery through the field with front wing damage. He passed Hulkenberg for 12th as he went into Brooklands. With the cars entering lap five, Sutil started to hold up the chasing pack as Hamilton, Vettel and Rosberg started to make the jump.
Perez made a move on his team-mate thanks to a little help from DRS on lap five with Ricciardo and Alonso battling hard up ahead. Hamilton had extended his lead to two seconds as lap six began with Rosberg chasing hard to close the gap on Vettel. Button radioed his team to say that the hard tyres were overheating as he dropped into the clutches of Mark Webber.
The Australian made the move into Stowe corner despite damage to the right endplate of his front wing. However the race story made a dramatic twist after race leader Lewis Hamilton suffered a left-rear tyre failure. The crowd's hearts sank in unison as the Mercedes driver limped to the pits. However he lost a huge amount of time returning to the pit lane as the team put him on the hard Pirelli rubber.
This promoted Sebastian Vettel into the race lead as Rosberg chased him hard. Sutil started to hold up the likes of Massa, Raikkonen, Ricciardo and Alonso. Meanwhile Romain Grosjean took to the pits for the hard compound tyre as did Paul Di Resta. Felipe Massa flew off track on lap nine after he also suffered a left-rear tyre failure. It failed as he swept through the fast Aintree corner and on to the Wellington straight.
With the yellow flags waving, Alonso and Webber both pitted for a fresh set of boots on lap 10. Raikkonen, Ricciardo and Button all made pit stops on lap 12 with the former emerging close to team-mate Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman used the slipstream to good effect to take the 'Iceman' with Fernando Alonso also making his way through on the old pit straight.
Mercedes brought Nico Rosberg in for a pit stop on lap 13 with Sutil joining him in the pit lane. Alonso continued to make progress and displaced Vergne - who had yet to stop - as the two Lotus cars battled into Maggotts and Becketts. Vettel made his first pit stop at the end of lap 13 and it was a faultless stop. The triple world champion emerged a few seconds clear of Rosberg as the lead battle resumed.
Pirelli's tyre failures continued after Jean-Eric Vergne's hard compound tyre exploded on the run to Stowe at close to 190mph. It was a dramatic incident that took place just in front of the duelling Raikkonen and Grosjean who used DRS (and a helpful "Kimi is faster than you" message to Grosjean) to get past.
Charlie Whiting felt it was only right to bring out the safety car on lap 16. With so much damage on track and three high speed tyre failures in just 13 laps, the race was starting to get dangerous. Behind the safety car, the top 10 consisted of: Vettel, Rosberg, Sutil, Alonso, Raikkonen, Grosjean, Ricciardo, Perez, Webber and Button. Hamilton was running in 14th with Massa in 22nd as the race took a breather.
The safety car pulled into the pits at the end of lap 21 and the racing resumed at the Silverstone circuit. Vettel made the jump just prior to Stowe and eked out a small lead as he crossed the line. Webber was on it from the start and went around the outside of Perez into Brooklands. Rosberg made a good jump on Adrian Sutil as lap 23 opened up. Further back his Mercedes team-mate attempted a move on Gutierrez at Luffield but he had to back out of it in order to save his front wing.
The drivers engineers were warning them to steer clear of the kerbs in order to prevent the tyre failures. However there wasn't much evidence of the drivers obeying that command as they pushed hard. Daniel Ricciardo moved ahead of Romain Grosjean on lap 28 with a strong move up the inside. Webber made a move on Grosjean too but this time around the outside at Brooklands. Esteban Gutierrez dropped some debris on the run to Stowe and pitted for a new nose.
Alonso and Grosjean pitted on lap 31 for a fresh set of Pirelli tyres to rejoin ahead of Kimi Raikkonen. Mark Webber visited the pit lane on the following lap and up ahead Hamilton made a failed lunge on Di Resta at turn six.
Daniel Ricciardo and Jenson Button made their second trip to the pits on lap 33 as the pit sequence kicked into life. The next lap saw Sutil and Di Resta take to the pit lane on lap 34 in an impressive double-stacked pit stop. Rosberg was the next car to change tyres on the following lap with Red Bull reacting shortly after to cover him. Jean-Eric Vergne quietly retired from the race.
Mark Webber continued to recover from his poor first lap by taking Alonso into Stowe corner. Perez jumped ahead of Massa into the final turn and Di Resta made light contact with Hulkenberg at The Loop. The overtaking continued in the midfield with Button using DRS to take Massa. Lewis Hamilton made his third stop - the second scheduled stop - on lap 37 and emerged ahead of Di Resta. The two battled along the Wellington Straight but the Scot had the upper-hand.
The duel continued onto the following lap with Hamilton getting the switchback at turn four to move up to 12th place. Sutil and Ricciardo narrowly avoided a collision on the run to Copse after the former chopped in-front of the Aussie. The race threw another curve-ball after Sebastian Vettel "lost drive" in the final sector. The safety car was deployed after the Red Bull Racing driver parked his car on the pit straight.
The race was once again neutralised as the crowd burst into cheers. The likes of Rosberg and Webber pitted under the safety car for effectively a free pit stop as the pack bunched up once again. The race restarted at the end of lap 45 for a sprint to the flag. Rosberg and Raikkonen made a good jump with Ricciardo and Webber battling for fourth and fifth. The Red Bull driver made the move on his potential successor with Alonso also moving through the field.
The drama continued onto the Hangar Straight with Perez suffering a tyre failure. The Mexican retired shortly after and team-mate Button lost out as he backed off. Webber doing the opposite and moving ahead of Sutil for third. Ricciardo lost two places within the same amount of corners after losing out to Alonso and Hamilton.
The fresh set of tyres was obviously the right call as he swept ahead of Raikkonen into Copse. Alonso moved ahead of Sutil with the German also losing out to early leader Lewis Hamilton in what was a busy end to the race.
Alonso displaced Kimi Raikkonen from the top three on lap 50 as the Finn struggled with his tyres. He was easy prey for Hamilton on the following lap as the home favourite charged through to take fourth. Webber closed in on Rosberg but it wasn't enough as the German took the British Grand Prix victory.
It was a stunning but somewhat lucky race victory for Nico Rosberg after the troubles of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. However he put in a hugely consistent drive in front of a fanatical crowd to take a brilliant race win. He made the most of the opportunities given and kept with Vettel in impressive style to take over the lead. For the final stint he controlled the race strongly and held off a late challenge from Mark Webber to take the full 25 points.
Webber was a strong second after a horrendous start and damage at the first corner. It was an impressive battle from the Aussie but we know that he is a fighter and wasn't going to go down without a fight. He battled right until the end and manage to displace Raikkonen and Alonso in good moves in the closing stages. Alonso rounded out the podium finishers after also driving through the pack in classic style to close in on Vettel's championship lead.
Lewis Hamilton may have missed out on the race win but a strong recovey drive to fourth was well deserved and impressive in front of his home crowd. He proved that the Mercedes was equally as strong in the race and was strong in the early laps to establish a lead before that tyre failure that kicked off what was a crazy race. Raikkonen dropped to fifth but broke Schumacher's record for the most consecutive points finishes, taking his 25th consecutive points scoring result. Massa had a storming start but also dropped down the order with a spectacular tyre failure though Aintree corner.
Sutil held third position at the final safety car period but dropped to an eventual seventh place due to the progression of the front runners. Ricciardo just missed out on Sutil's spot and hunted him down to the flag. The Aussie performed strongly to take eighth with Di Resta making it two British drivers in the points.
Hulkenberg took the final point in what was a quiet campaign for Sauber. Maldonado and Bottas just missed out in Williams' first points of the season and picked up places in the crazy closing stages. Button dropped to a disappointing 13th after sitting well into the points and continued his run of poor luck at his home race. Gutierrez finished 14th after suffering damage mid-way through the race with the backmarkers following.
Pic was the leading back-marker but it was close between himself and Bianchi's Marussia. Chilton managed to not finish last on his home turf with van der Garde rounding out the finishers.
Grosjean retired from the race late on with Perez retiring with damage from his late tyre failure. Championship leader Sebastian Vettel exiting in a highly dramatic turn of events on lap 42. Vergne was the first retirement from the race on lap 36.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Here's my weekend review of the British Grand Prix, starting off with FP1 and ending with the race.
The GP2 and GP3 fields also took to the track for the next rounds of their championship seasons - the young talent eager to impress in front of the F1 paddock.
Check out my British Grand Prix Preview alongside my Thursday Snap Shot from the circuit.
FP1
It was a damp and overcast start to the first practice session ahead of round eight of the 2013 season. The typical British weather had struck once again with a drenched track that provided unhelpful conditions for teams and drivers.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Valtteri Bottas was the first driver out on track - using the wet Pirelli tyres for his installation lap - alongside several others in what was a quiet start to the session. In fact, with 40 minutes of the session gone the time sheets were blank. Drivers and teams felt that there was too much standing water and that despite wanting to put on a show for the fans in the packed grandstands, rain was not forecast for Saturday and Sunday - meaning that they don't have anything to gain.
It was a case of watching slow motion shots on the TV screen and watching the occasional car take to the track. With 15 minutes remaining, Toro Rosso driver Daniel Ricciardo took to the circuit to set the first lap time of the session - a 2m.00.029. He continued on for some more track time, chipping away at his previous time.
With just 10 minutes remaining on the clock, a number of drivers emerged for a taste of the track conditions - including Alonso and Rosberg. Bianchi was the second driver to take to the time sheets with rival Charles Pic not being able to complete a time after he slithered into the barriers. Hamilton becoming the first British driver to set a time during the 2013 race weekend.
Pic wasn't the only one struggling, #BOTTAS went off track as he entered the Wellington Straight and Hulkenberg took to the ample run-off area at Copse. By the chequered flag, just 11 drivers had set a lap time. Ricciardo was fastest after re-emerging to set a best time of 1m54.249, seven tenths ahead of Hulkenberg. Maldonado, Hamilton and Gutierrez rounded out the top five with Bottas, Vergne, van der Garde, Bianchi, Chilton and Massa rounding out those on the time sheets.
FP2
After the washout that was first practice for the British Grand Prix, the second session was far more productive as dry tyres made their first appearance of the race weekend.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
The Ferrari driver found the barrier for the third race weekend in a row after spinning at Stowe and finding the wall at the inside. The early exit meant he lost a full hour and a half of running - critical after the lack of on track action in the morning session. Teams focused on gathering data and evaluating new parts alongside testing the prototype Pirelli tyres which was given a second chance.
Nico Rosberg ended up topping the practice session in his Mercedes with a best time of 1m32.248, three tenths clear of second placed man Mark Webber. Vettel, Di Resta and Hamilton rounded out the top five with Button down in 11th and fellow Brit Max Chilton in 21st.
Raikkonen finished the session in 13th place, four places behind team-mate Grosjean. In contrast, Toro Rosso had both cars in the top seven and Alonso only just managed to sneak into the top 10. It was a busy session with a mix of evaluation runs on the prototype tyre first before some short runs and race simulations to end the session.
Post-session it was revealed that the Williams team were fined €1000 after Valtteri Bottas sped in the pit lane by 9.8km/h. Hamilton was also summoned to the stewards and was reprimanded for not staying to the right of the bollard on pit entry and Raikkonen was also reprimanded for an unsafe pit release.
FP3
After losing out on 90 minutes of dry running on Friday morning, it was a crucial and vital session for many as teams looked to gather as much data and information as possible ahead of qualifying and the race. However the rain held off and Silverstone was bathed in glorious sunshine.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
The session restarted a few minutes later, giving marshals time to clear the track before drivers were sent out to continue their running. After 25 minutes, 21 of the 22 cars had set a lap time with Webber provisionally on top. Qualifying runs soon started with Hamilton finding time on his previous attempt to go fastest before Webber reacted, going 0.052 seconds faster.
With the clock counting down, the majority of cars emerged from their pit garages with seven minutes to go. The aim? Get some short, qualifying runs in on the medium compound tyre. By the sessions end, Nico Rosberg emerged as the fastest runner with a best time of 1m32.487 with Hamilton just a few tenths behind. Vettel, Webber and Grosjean rounded out the top five with Alonso and Raikkonen in seventh and eighth. Button finished in 12th with team-mate Perez in 18th after mechanics repaired his car in time for some last minute running. However he suffered a spin at Chapel and ended up failing to improve his time.
Qualifying
Q1
The grandstands were packed in time for the first of three qualifying session, with 20 minutes to move out of the dreaded drop-zone. The sun was out, the temperatures were decent and it was a quiet start to the session.
Nico Hulkenberg was eager to get out on track and was the first to set a lap time - a 1m35.806. Grosjean soon moved to the front with his first effort as the drivers wound up the momentum on the ever evolving track.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
As the session came to a close, it was all or nothing for those in danger. However it was the Williams of Valtteri Bottas and the Sauber rookie of Esteban Gutierrez who were the midfield drivers knocked out in Q1 alongside Pic, Bianchi, van der Garde and Chilton (who was 1.2 seconds down on his team-mate.)
Fernando Alonso just managed to squeeze through in 15th, finishing just behind his team-mate in 14th. Hamilton was the only driver to dip below the 1m31's with a fastest time of 1m30.995, four tenths faster than Rosberg in second. The Lotus duo of Raikkonen and Grosjean finished third and fourth with Vettel rounding out the top five. Webber set the sixth fastest time with home favourites Button and Di Resta in eighth and 10th.
Q2
Drivers were given just 15 minutes to make the grade and move through to the top 10 shootout, with positions from 11th to 16th being decided.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
With half the session remaining, most teams decided to bring their cars in to prepare for their second runs. The Mercedes duo led the chasing pack with Webber, Sutil and Alonso rounding out the provisional top five. However Sebastian Vettel had something to say about that and moved to the front on his first run.
The German managed to maintain his position by the chequered flag but who would be knocked out in the drop zone? Jenson Button was pipped to the final top 10 position by Kimi Raikkonen, setting the 11th fastest time. Massa, Vergne and Perez joined him with Hulkenberg and Maldonado slowest in the second session.
Vettel managed to sneak under the 1m31's with a 1m30.990 but it was close at the front with Webber just behind. Rosberg, Sutil and Ricciardo all made it through with Hamilton, Di Resta and Alonso making up positions from sixth to eighth. Grosjean and Raikkonen just managed to sneak into the top 10 shoot-out for Lotus.
Q3
10 positions and 10 minutes to decide upon the order. It was a close competition with the two Mercedes and Red Bull cars battling for pole position.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
With half the session remaining, cars returned to the garage ahead of their second runs. As the clock closed in on the chequered flag, drivers emerged from their pit garages in a bid to improve their banker lap time. Di Resta went six tenths off the provisional best time with his first and only attempt, with Ricciardo also going six tenths down.
Webber was the first front runner to cross the line to go second with Rosberg following to go fastest. Hamilton then smashed that time with a 1m29.607 to take pole position for his home race. The Brit went four tenths faster than his team-mate as Mercedes locked out the front row. Vettel and Webber took third and fourth with Di Resta and Ricciardo performing strongly in fifth and sixth.
Sutil, Grosjean and Raikkonen all ended up over a second down on the leading duo with Alonso slowest of the Q3 runners. It was a stunning and faultless lap time for Lewis Hamilton with the crowding bursting into cheers as he went across the line. As expected, a Mercedes 1-2.
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| (c) Getty Images |
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m29.607s
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m30.059s + 0.452s
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m30.211s + 0.604s
4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m30.220s + 0.613s
5. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m30.736s + 1.129s*
6. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m30.757s + 1.150s
7. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m30.908s + 1.301s
8. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m30.955s + 1.348s
9. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m30.962s + 1.355s
10. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m30.979s + 1.372s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m31.592s Gap **
11. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m31.649s + 0.659s
12. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m31.779s + 0.789s
13. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m31.785s + 0.795s
14. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.082s + 1.092s
15. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.211s + 1.221s
16. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m32.359s + 1.369s
Q1 cut-off time: 1m32.512s Gap *
17. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m32.664s + 1.669s
18. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.666s + 1.671s
19. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m33.866s + 2.871s
20. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m34.108s + 3.113s
21. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m35.481s + 4.486s
22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m35.858s + 4.863s
107% time: 1m37.364s
UPDATE
* Paul Di Resta was excluded from qualifying after the FIA found that his car was 1.5kg under the minimum 642kg weight limit. He will now start from the back of the grid.
The Race
The sun was out. Silverstone was ready. The crowd were out in force and we were ready for a fantastic race. This was the British Grand Prix.
With a Brit on pole position, there were high expectations for a Lewis Hamilton victory. However Rosberg, the Red Bull's and Raikkonen were all in the mix and no one could be discounted.
It was a stunning race around the Northamptonshire circuit with plenty of on track action and a fantastic spectacle for the fans. Here's my race report from the 2013 British Grand Prix.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Webber had dropped to 15th place after a poor start and contact with Grosjean as the cars filed through Becketts. Alonso managed to nab the place back from Button on the run into Stowe. As lap one was completed, Hamilton had eked out a small lead over Vettel and Di Resta had moved to 17th place as his recovery drive kicked off.
As Vettel continued to fall back from leader Lewis Hamilton, team-mate Webber started to make his recovery through the field with front wing damage. He passed Hulkenberg for 12th as he went into Brooklands. With the cars entering lap five, Sutil started to hold up the chasing pack as Hamilton, Vettel and Rosberg started to make the jump.
Perez made a move on his team-mate thanks to a little help from DRS on lap five with Ricciardo and Alonso battling hard up ahead. Hamilton had extended his lead to two seconds as lap six began with Rosberg chasing hard to close the gap on Vettel. Button radioed his team to say that the hard tyres were overheating as he dropped into the clutches of Mark Webber.
The Australian made the move into Stowe corner despite damage to the right endplate of his front wing. However the race story made a dramatic twist after race leader Lewis Hamilton suffered a left-rear tyre failure. The crowd's hearts sank in unison as the Mercedes driver limped to the pits. However he lost a huge amount of time returning to the pit lane as the team put him on the hard Pirelli rubber.
This promoted Sebastian Vettel into the race lead as Rosberg chased him hard. Sutil started to hold up the likes of Massa, Raikkonen, Ricciardo and Alonso. Meanwhile Romain Grosjean took to the pits for the hard compound tyre as did Paul Di Resta. Felipe Massa flew off track on lap nine after he also suffered a left-rear tyre failure. It failed as he swept through the fast Aintree corner and on to the Wellington straight.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
With the yellow flags waving, Alonso and Webber both pitted for a fresh set of boots on lap 10. Raikkonen, Ricciardo and Button all made pit stops on lap 12 with the former emerging close to team-mate Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman used the slipstream to good effect to take the 'Iceman' with Fernando Alonso also making his way through on the old pit straight.
Mercedes brought Nico Rosberg in for a pit stop on lap 13 with Sutil joining him in the pit lane. Alonso continued to make progress and displaced Vergne - who had yet to stop - as the two Lotus cars battled into Maggotts and Becketts. Vettel made his first pit stop at the end of lap 13 and it was a faultless stop. The triple world champion emerged a few seconds clear of Rosberg as the lead battle resumed.
Pirelli's tyre failures continued after Jean-Eric Vergne's hard compound tyre exploded on the run to Stowe at close to 190mph. It was a dramatic incident that took place just in front of the duelling Raikkonen and Grosjean who used DRS (and a helpful "Kimi is faster than you" message to Grosjean) to get past.
Charlie Whiting felt it was only right to bring out the safety car on lap 16. With so much damage on track and three high speed tyre failures in just 13 laps, the race was starting to get dangerous. Behind the safety car, the top 10 consisted of: Vettel, Rosberg, Sutil, Alonso, Raikkonen, Grosjean, Ricciardo, Perez, Webber and Button. Hamilton was running in 14th with Massa in 22nd as the race took a breather.
The safety car pulled into the pits at the end of lap 21 and the racing resumed at the Silverstone circuit. Vettel made the jump just prior to Stowe and eked out a small lead as he crossed the line. Webber was on it from the start and went around the outside of Perez into Brooklands. Rosberg made a good jump on Adrian Sutil as lap 23 opened up. Further back his Mercedes team-mate attempted a move on Gutierrez at Luffield but he had to back out of it in order to save his front wing.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Alonso and Grosjean pitted on lap 31 for a fresh set of Pirelli tyres to rejoin ahead of Kimi Raikkonen. Mark Webber visited the pit lane on the following lap and up ahead Hamilton made a failed lunge on Di Resta at turn six.
Daniel Ricciardo and Jenson Button made their second trip to the pits on lap 33 as the pit sequence kicked into life. The next lap saw Sutil and Di Resta take to the pit lane on lap 34 in an impressive double-stacked pit stop. Rosberg was the next car to change tyres on the following lap with Red Bull reacting shortly after to cover him. Jean-Eric Vergne quietly retired from the race.
Mark Webber continued to recover from his poor first lap by taking Alonso into Stowe corner. Perez jumped ahead of Massa into the final turn and Di Resta made light contact with Hulkenberg at The Loop. The overtaking continued in the midfield with Button using DRS to take Massa. Lewis Hamilton made his third stop - the second scheduled stop - on lap 37 and emerged ahead of Di Resta. The two battled along the Wellington Straight but the Scot had the upper-hand.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
The race was once again neutralised as the crowd burst into cheers. The likes of Rosberg and Webber pitted under the safety car for effectively a free pit stop as the pack bunched up once again. The race restarted at the end of lap 45 for a sprint to the flag. Rosberg and Raikkonen made a good jump with Ricciardo and Webber battling for fourth and fifth. The Red Bull driver made the move on his potential successor with Alonso also moving through the field.
The drama continued onto the Hangar Straight with Perez suffering a tyre failure. The Mexican retired shortly after and team-mate Button lost out as he backed off. Webber doing the opposite and moving ahead of Sutil for third. Ricciardo lost two places within the same amount of corners after losing out to Alonso and Hamilton.
The fresh set of tyres was obviously the right call as he swept ahead of Raikkonen into Copse. Alonso moved ahead of Sutil with the German also losing out to early leader Lewis Hamilton in what was a busy end to the race.
Alonso displaced Kimi Raikkonen from the top three on lap 50 as the Finn struggled with his tyres. He was easy prey for Hamilton on the following lap as the home favourite charged through to take fourth. Webber closed in on Rosberg but it wasn't enough as the German took the British Grand Prix victory.
Nico Rosberg wins the British Grand Prix
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Webber was a strong second after a horrendous start and damage at the first corner. It was an impressive battle from the Aussie but we know that he is a fighter and wasn't going to go down without a fight. He battled right until the end and manage to displace Raikkonen and Alonso in good moves in the closing stages. Alonso rounded out the podium finishers after also driving through the pack in classic style to close in on Vettel's championship lead.
Lewis Hamilton may have missed out on the race win but a strong recovey drive to fourth was well deserved and impressive in front of his home crowd. He proved that the Mercedes was equally as strong in the race and was strong in the early laps to establish a lead before that tyre failure that kicked off what was a crazy race. Raikkonen dropped to fifth but broke Schumacher's record for the most consecutive points finishes, taking his 25th consecutive points scoring result. Massa had a storming start but also dropped down the order with a spectacular tyre failure though Aintree corner.
Sutil held third position at the final safety car period but dropped to an eventual seventh place due to the progression of the front runners. Ricciardo just missed out on Sutil's spot and hunted him down to the flag. The Aussie performed strongly to take eighth with Di Resta making it two British drivers in the points.
Hulkenberg took the final point in what was a quiet campaign for Sauber. Maldonado and Bottas just missed out in Williams' first points of the season and picked up places in the crazy closing stages. Button dropped to a disappointing 13th after sitting well into the points and continued his run of poor luck at his home race. Gutierrez finished 14th after suffering damage mid-way through the race with the backmarkers following.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Grosjean retired from the race late on with Perez retiring with damage from his late tyre failure. Championship leader Sebastian Vettel exiting in a highly dramatic turn of events on lap 42. Vergne was the first retirement from the race on lap 36.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Rosberg Mercedes 1h32:59.456
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 0.765
3. Alonso Ferrari + 7.124
4. Hamilton Mercedest + 7.756
5. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 11.257
6. Massa Ferrari + 14.573
7. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 16.335
8. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 16.500
9. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 17.993
10. Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari + 19.700
11. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 21.100
12. Bottas Williams-Renault + 25.000
13. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 25.900
14. Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari + 26.200
15. Pic Caterham-Renault + 31.600
16. Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth + 36.000
17. Chilton Marussia-Cosworth + 1:07.600
18. van der Garde Caterham-Renault + 1:07.700
19. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 1 lap
Fastest lap: Webber, 1:33.401
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
Perez McLaren-Mercedes 47
Vettel Red Bull-Renault 42
Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 36
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