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| The first tyre explosion comes from Lewis Hamilton's car. |
It was Rosberg’s team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, who was on pole
position after displaying blistering pace in qualifying to finish four tenths
ahead of Rosberg in second place. Sebastian Vettel could only manage third in
his Red Bull ahead of Australian Mark Webber, who announced that this would be
his final season in Formula One last Thursday. Paul Di Resta performed superbly
at his home Grand Prix qualifying in 5th position only to be demoted
to the back of the grid due to his car being under the minimum weight
requirement. This promoted Jenson Button in to the top 10 after another
disappointing session left him in 11th place. Fernando Alonso
struggled for Ferrari in 10th position but Di Resta’s penalty moved
the Spaniard up to 9th behind Kimi Raikonnen in 8th.
Hamilton made an excellent start to the race building up a
sufficient 2 second gap between himself and Sebastian Vettel, who had passed
Rosberg at the start of the race. Webber didn’t make a great start and suffered
damage to his car after a collision with the Lotus of Romain Grosjean but this
didn’t escalate in to any serious problems. Suddenly, on lap 8, Hamilton’s
hopes of winning his home Grand Prix for the second time were dashed when his
left rear tyre exploded unexpectedly, forcing him in to the pits, leaving the
Brit in last place. The Silverstone atmosphere was crushed as Sebastian Vettel
eased in to the lead- a sight many British fans did not want to see. Rosberg
could only maintain a reasonable gap as he tried to sustain pressure on the
three time world champion.
Hamilton, however, was only the first of four drivers to
fall victim to tyre issues with Felipe Massa, John Eric-Vergne and Sergio Perez
all experiencing exploding tyres and, interestingly, it was always the left
rear tyre. Due to a high quantity of debris on the track in the aftermath of
the separate incidents involving Hamilton and Vergne, the safety car was
deployed on lap 14 providing an opportunity for many drivers to pit. At the end
of lap 21, the safety car came in. Vettel made a quick getaway as it left the
track creating an adequate gap from Rosberg. Unfortunately for the British
fans, it seemed as if this was going to be a routine victory for Vettel. Lewis
Hamilton displayed a fighting spirit though. The former McLaren driver was
making progress through the grid, enjoying some intense battles with Paul Di
Resta and Esteban Gutierrez.
Having come to terms with the fact that Sebastian Vettel was
likely to enjoy a comfortable win, the British fans were subdued. They continued
to passionately cheer on Hamilton, Button, Di Resta and Chilton but they resigned to accepting it wasn’t going to be
their day. Submissive, the supporters needed something to lift their
increasingly fading spirits.
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| Vettel leaves his car. |
With 10 laps to go, that ‘something’ arrived. As
Sebastian Vettel approached club corner, his car began to slow down and as he
came through on to the final straight, the German pulled up near the pit wall
and stopped. For the first time this season, Vettel was forced to retire
because of a gearbox failure. Loud cheers spread throughout the stands at the
circuit, with fans enjoying what seemed to be a spectacular moment for them. Filled with
renewed optimism, the atmosphere had been fully revived. Vettel’s loss was
Rosberg’s gain as the Mercedes driver soared in to the lead. The next 10 laps
proved to be incredible as Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton went all out to
salvage as many points as possible. Webber was flying through the grid, passing
Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikonnen and Lewis Hamilton on his way to second place.
Showing true Australian courage, Webber wasn’t finished there. Having won here
twice already, the Red Bull driver was targeting a third victory in what would be
his final British Grand Prix. Considered by some as an honorary Brit- Webber
lives in the county of Buckinghamshire very near to Silverstone- he was well
supported by the crowd towards the end with every move being cheered. Although
Webber was dramatically closing in on the leader, he just didn’t have enough
laps to get close enough in order to make that crucial move.
 |
| Rosberg celebrates his victory. |
Rosberg crossed the line at the end of lap 52 to secure a
magnificent victory ahead of Webber and the impressive Fernando Alonso, who
managed to take third place. Lewis Hamilton recovered from his early incident to
finish in a creditable fourth place.
Pirelli have since been under intense scrutiny, with several
of the drivers criticising the quality of the tyres in the aftermath of these
serious problems. In regards to the German Grand Prix, there are fears that
teams could boycott the event if similar problems occur. Pirelli have announced
that kevlar belts will be used on the rear tyres and they will be taking the yellow
marked soft tyres and white marked medium tyres. Nuremberg will host the German Grand Prix which
takes place this Sunday and, if it goes ahead, it should be a thriller.
Full Results
1)
Nico Rosberg- Mercedes AMG Petronas
2)
Mark Webber- Red Bull Racing
3)
Fernando Alonso- Scuderia Ferrari
4)
Lewis Hamilton- Mercedes AMG Petronas
5)
Kimi Raikkonen- Lotus Renault
6)
Felipe Massa- Scuderia Ferrari
7)
Adrian Sutil- Force India
8)
Daniel Ricciardo- Scuderia Toro Rosso
9)
Paul Di Resta- Force India
10)
Nico Hulkenberg- Sauber
11)
Pastor Maldonado- Williams
12)
Valtteri Bottas- Williams
13)
Jenson Button- Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
14)
Esteban Gutierrez-Sauber
15)
Charles Pic- Caterham
16)
Jules Bianchi- Marussia
17)
Max Chilton-Marussia
18)
Giedo van der Garde- Caterham
Retired:
Sebastian Vettel- Red Bull Racing
Romain Grosjean- Lotus Renault
Sergio Perez- Vodafone McLaren
Mercedes
Jean- Eric Vergne- Scuderia Toro
Rosso
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