Who should succeed Webber?

Mark Webber's impending departure from F1 leaves holes in the hearts of many fans. His earnest and forward approach have earned him a reputation of righteousness and honour amongst the paddock, and will be sorely missed. Red Bull may miss his personality too, but they're going to be at more of a deficit for losing his driving. 

As everyone knows, Red Bull have won the Drivers' and Constructors'for the last 3 years. The Aussie may be comprehensively overshadowed by his all-conquering team mate, but 9 wins since 2009 is no slouch either. Without his efforts, the Constructors' championships would not have been possible, and these accomplishments rather beg the question - With whom will Red Bull replace him? Below, I weigh up the contenders.

Also, it's worth ignoring SkyBet's utter UTTER tosh and bollocks about Jenson Button. If Button joins Red Bull in 2014, I will throw myself into the Baltic sea in a leotard.

SEBASTIAN BUEMI
The Swiss has been out of a race seat for two years now and is surely itching for a chance to get back into the sport. Sitting in the Red Bull Third seat might be close to racing, but it is agonisingly so. None the less, his testing duties will be smiled upon by the Red Bull supremos, as it is a subservient and important role to fulfill. Unfortunately though, two years in the wilderness of testing are not what is required to get back into the sport, let alone at the very top level.

Hard work testing probably wont pay off

VERDICT: No

WHY: Has been away for too long

KIMI RAIKKONEN
For whatever reason, the dreamers out there named The Iceman as a successor to Mark's throne. It's an incredibly tantalising prospect, isn't it? Two of the fastest and most outspoken men in the sport racing together under the same roof would be a soap opera for sure, but the in-house brawling would surely spoil the dream. Whenever teams have been in the wonderful position of picking the cream of the crop, they've generally gone for the two best drivers possible. Most recently this was done by McLaren when they retained Hamilton and signed Button, but having two drivers so hungry for wins meant that the duo were effectively stealing points off one another in 2010 and 2012 (ignore 2011 on account of Vettel's omnipotence) and they both had to settle for top-5 results rather than either one of them rising to the top.

Raikkonen finished Third in his comeback year last season, and will not be content with anything less this time around, or indeed, in 2014.

Kimi's more than happy in the fantastic Lotus Team, for now

VERDICT:Very doubtful

WHY: Too many 5-star Michelin cooks in the Red Bull kitchen

JEAN-ERIC VERGNE
He first came to everyone's attention in the Abu Dhabi Young Drivers' test in 2011 where he absolutely wiped the floor with everyone else, including very highly-rated drivers like Alex Rossi, Robert Wickens, Jules Bianchi and Valtteri Bottas. This earned him his 2012 Toro Rosso seat, which he retains to this day. He scored 4 times in 2012; 8th place every one of them. He grabbed a 10th in Malaysia this year, backed up in Monaco with another of his favourites, and 8th. However his finest hour so far has been in Canada, where his best qualifying was achieved (7th) and also bettered in the race result, finishing 6th. However, it's questionable whether these results alone will gain him that seat. McLaren again provide a good example; when they signed Perez last year it was because of three podium finishes. The STR8 is fast, maybe the fastest in a line, but it 'aint podium-fast.

If Vergne is serious about challenging for the Red Bull Number 2 spot, he needs to continue on the path he appears to be forging. Finishing inside the top 5 will catch the eyes of the Red Bull Brass.

JEV is doing a solid job

VERGNE-DICT: Maybe

WHY: Needs more points

NICO ROSBERG
The son of Keke is finally getting the break he has honestly deserved. Four mediocre years with a Williams team in decline led him to Mercedes. While he was easily able to outshine Michael Schumacher for three seasons (very much easier said than done) he never fully realised his power, save for a faultless weekend in Shanghai in 2012 to take his maiden win. That win may have been a false dawn, but Nico has announced himself as a proper racer just like his old man, with a dominant win in Monaco, and a somewhat inherited victory in Britain. I don't doubt that Nico will win again this season, and why not have a pop at the championship too? 

Mercedes pulled a hell of a lot of strings to get Hamilton there for 2013, and as they build the team around him, maybe Nico's sights should be set even further forward.

As Hamilton makes Mercedes his own, he may jump ship

VERDICT: The Dark Horse
WHY: Already successful, but capable of subservience

PAUL DI RESTA
Paul's emphatic entrance to F1 in 2011 came with a very big claim - The guy that used to beat Sebastian Vettel. In 2006 he won the European Formula 3 series and edged out the World-beater by 11 points to clinch the title, when the two were team mates (along with other F1 drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Geido van der Garde) and thus in equal machinery. Paul's been excellent in 2013. He's led races (Bahrain) and equaled his best result with P4 at the same race. He has strung together points in 7 races this year, only failing to do so in Malaysia where a 2-minute pitstop ruined his day, and an off-the-pace German GP. 

While excellent qualifying and the podium are still proving elusive to the Scot, he should take great pride in his current feats, and should be a strong contender for the seat.

Paul's sensational season marks him as a huge contender

VERDICT: Definitely in the running

WHY: Outperforming his equipment

DANIEL RICCIARDO
In the same way that Arsenal FC replaced Fabregas with Arteta in 2011, swapping Webber for Riccardo would be like getting a 'Lite' version. Maybe it's just an Australian thing and I'm clutching at straws for an observation, but there is some more weight to it than that. Ricciardo (and his colleague Vergne) began their F1 careers at Toro Rosso, which traces its roots back to Webber's rookie team, Minardi. However, STR weren't a bad side at the time of Jean-Eric and Daniel's arrivals, and Minardi were at the bottom of the barrel in 2002 when Mark joined. Out of the two current Toro Rosso drivers, only Ricciardo has the experience of being with a minnows team, when he drove for Hispania in 2011. This also means he's more experienced than his team mate. 

His best result might be one worse than JEV's, but the extra half-year of experience and a superb 5th-place qualifying in Silverstone maybe, just possibly give him a slender advantage.

"The New Webber"?

VERDICT: The most likely

WHY: Flourishing product of Red Bull's junior academy

So there you go, in my eyes, that's how the names line up. Of course, as we dwell on the mid-season predicaments and ponder who will go where next year, all sorts of ridiculous rumours and speculation will be flying around.

Put to bed any notions of 'super teams' of the very very best with Vettel, because they are not going to want to play second fiddle. The big names are below, along with a shooting-down of their prospects of joining Seb:

LEWIS HAMILTON
As mentioned, is being honed by Mercedes and aimed at the WDC.

FERNANDO ALONSO
The Tifosi adore him. He is more than ecstatic on the throne of the Ferrari empire.

FELIPE MASSA
Too devoted to Ferrari, and probably past his peak.

ROMAIN GROSJEAN
Way too much of a liability for a team like Red Bull, although he is getting better.

JENSON BUTTON
Hahahahaha. No really, stop. He's nurturing Perez and trying to revive McLaren, and enjoying team leadership.

I would hate to have to eat my own words about Button come a few months' time, and believe me, I'm not usually such a stubborn person, but it really just feels wrong, to imagine Button at Red Bull; I really don't see it.

Whomever takes the seat will likely be blessed with another fantastic technical specimen courtesy of Adrian Newey and Co. Though the new regulations will shake things up to a high degree, they got it absolutely right last time there was a major change back in 2009, and you could probably put money on them doing it again. The superior machinery, though, comes with a price, which is sacrifice. Everyone knows Vettel is nestled tightly to the bosom of Dr. Helmut Marko and the other Austrian heirarchs, and the 'Lion's Den' aura may put some contenders off.

Nervy Nurburgring

The glorious Eiffel mountains overlook the historic Nurburgring circuit, which plays host to the 9th round of the 2013 season. The towering peaks are a great allegory for the height of the tension reached in the last round. The British GP saw 5 tyre explosions over the weekend. Pirelli and a boisterous piece of kerb both contributed to these blowouts in equal parts, and while the circuit had a slight modification to the corner under scrutiny, Pirelli opted to change the steel belts in the construction of the tyre for ones made of Kevlar. This lowers operating temperatures by about 10 degrees, and reduces explosive blowouts like the ones seen in Northamptonshire.

Pirelli are looking to implement a permanent change from the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards. A change that is immediate, though, is their ban on swapping tyres. Some teams had been found to be swapping their rear tyres from left to right and vice versa, as it increases the lifespan of the tyres. This has an effect on camber which causes the sidewalls to experience opposite load to what they had been, weakening the tyre. Good call, Pirelli.

Back to business then; Vettel is starting to push clear of the rest of the field. No one single driver had been massively dominant, with Raikkonen and Alonso staking serious claims to the title, as well as the Mercedes boys pushing up the rear, but now it looks like triple champ Seb is making his customary break for it.

Friday doesn't really matter that much, but fastest in session one was Hamilton. Vettel didn't post a particularly impressive time in the morning, but by the afternoon session he had found his feet and clinched the fastest time. He carried this pace into Saturday morning, slamming his RB9 on the top again.



QUALIFYING REPORT

Saturday afternoon came around. At this mid point, who's improvements would be making the difference? Well, there was no change at the back. Caterham, Marussia, and Williams sunk into the bottom six slots once again. In the battle of the Frenchmen-in-Young teams, Charles PICked himself up another small victory over Jules Bianchi. These two have been noticeably more impressive than their respective team mates, save for Geido's impressive 14th place qualifying in Moncao. However Pic was unfortunate to gain himself a 5-place grid penalty for a gearbox change.

Drivers eliminated after Q1 (With penalties applied)
17) Bottas
18) Maldonado
19) Bianchi
20) van der Garde
21) Chilton
22) Pic

The second session was extremely surprising - last week's British GP winner Nico Rosberg was knocked out. He was nearly joined by Mark Webber in midfield mediocrity. The Aussie just barely scraped into the final shootout by a tenth of a second, edging out Nico. Former Ferrari favourites Massa and Raikkonen were the top two in Q2, a distinction they also claimed in Q1.

Drivers Eliminated after Q2
11) Rosberg
12) di Resta
13) Perez
14) Sutil
15) Gutierrez
16) Vergne

Q3 was a tense as ever clusterbomb of nerve and pace. Mark Webber looked racy and set the benchmark, but was knocked off the crown by his team mate. A Red Bull 1-2 would not please Mercedes on home turf, and so with Rosberg out, Hamilton made it his mission to grab pole, which he managed by just over a tenth. Button and Hulkenberg had not expected to be in the third session, after the earlier than expected demises of Rosberg and the Force India, and so they opted not to run, and saved their tyres for the race.

The final top 10
1) Hamilton
2) Vettel
3) Webber
4) Raikkonen
5) Grosjean
6) Ricciardo
7) Massa
8) Alonso
9) Button
10) Hulkenberg

RACE DAY
 
Sunday afternoon was a beautiful blue haze, perfect for racing. All eyes were on the Mercedes Number two at home. The team would have expected a great getaway, but Lewis was pounced upon by both Red Bulls. It marks a drastic change of approach for Red Bull. Sebastian has never been slow to get away, but Mark is notorious for his mollusc-like launches. Both drivers did some work on their clutch bite-points during the warm up lap, and it seemed to do the trick.

After another disappointing qualifying session Sergio Perez sought to claw his way back into the top 10, a feat he came closer to by passing his teammate Jenson Button on Lap 2. On Saturday he was fastest in Q1 and Q2, and on Sunday, Felipe Massa claimed another superlative - fastest retirement of the race. At the beginning of Lap 4 he hurtled towards turn 1, locked his rear brakes, and stalled trying to get back onto the circuit. Later investigations revealed this was due to a gearbox failure.

Massa's decent qualifying and good start were swiftly undone

Most drivers pitted around laps 6/7 with the Soft tyres not lasting very long at all. Grosjean and Raikkonen confirmed the nurse-maiding effects of the Lotus E21 were still prevalent, as both drivers stayed out on their Soft tyres for much longer than anyone else. Grosjean's stint was particularly impressive and saw him lead the race for a while. Fernando Alonso had started on Medium tyres, indicating a longer first stint, but the Spaniard pitted even earlier than Grosjean who was on softer tyres. Clearly the Ferrari had changed strategy, and was three-stopping.

Romain Grows-jean - The Frenchman was extremely impressive in Germany

Mark Webber pitted from the lead on Lap 8. He was the Bridesmaid in Silverstone, and was pushing hard to test his team mate, who had pitted on Lap 7. After all, the Nurburgring was the venue of his first win 2009. The stop looked routine, but the right rear tyre failed to secure correctly. The lollypop man didn't notice the right rear mechanics frantically flapping their limbs at the tricky tyre, and let Webber go. The tyre slid off of the rim, and rolled down the pitlane. It caught an uneven piece of cement and began bouncing, and struck TV cameraman Paul Allen in the back. He suffered a broken Collarbone and two broken ribs, and Red Bull were fined £26,000.

Blunder from down Under - Mark was released even though the rear right was not secured

The incident cost Red Bull more than just money, as Webber's lead was lost and he dropped to the very back of the field. 
 

Allen suffered serious injuries after the odd accident

Grosjean finally relinquished the lead on Lap 13, when he grabbed a set of Medium tyres. His team mate had already made the switch and was making light work of the Mercedes cars. First he passed Rosberg on lap 13, and 6 laps later he pipped Lewis too. The two Lotuses were right on pace with Vettel and barely lost sight of him in the early stages of the race. The brilliant tyre management of the British machine means that Lotus are able to push for longer than most other teams, which certainly gives them an advantage.

They had a great scrap in Canada, and Hamilton and Alonso were at it again in Germany. As Alonso got within DRS range at the final corner, he hounded Hamilton all the way down the pit straight to begin lap 21. The Brit covered the inside and as the former teammates made their way around the first few corners, he did not give Fernando any opportunities, but gave him enough room to survive.

Their epic battle was cut short, however. Jules Bianchi's engine cried enough in spectacular fashion, expiring just before the Veedol chicane at the end of the lap. The Cosworth engine spewed out gusts of smoke and the car set ablaze, but those were only minor perils compared to the bizarre incident that followed. 
 

Sacre Bleu! We don't usually see V8s blow up like that

Due to the uphill nature of the area, and the fact that the gearbox was probably blown to smithereens by the engine failure (thus the wheels were not in any gear) the car began coasting backwards, across the circuit. The leaders came around to discover the driverless Marussia making its bid for freedom, but by this time, it had already rolled clear of any danger.
 

They see me rollin', they brakin'...

The Safety Car was immediately summoned, but it was quite safe really - the car was only on the track momentarily, and came to a halt on the other side of the track, where it bumped over an advertising board and was recovered safely. The Safety car was out for far longer than necessary really, which gave Webber a chance to get back onto the lead lap.

Reminiscent of the old V10 failures that happened every race in the 2000s

Mark was not out of trouble just yet though, as he was stuck behind Mexican Esteban Gutierrez. The young rookie proved troublesome and Mark took 10 laps to overpower him. An early pitstop leapfrogged him past the Sauber, and his recovery continued. Meanwhile, the Lotuses were still not giving Vettel any breathing space. Raikkonen took the lead on Lap 41, after Vettel ducked into the pits for tyres, something Grosjean had done a lap before. He replaced his worn medium tyres for some scrubbed Soft tyres to try and reel in his contemporaries. Alonso made a similar move, to try and catch Grosjean by the end of the race.

Williams celebrated their 600th Grand Prix here, but they had little to celebrate really. No points so far, and now Maldonado had a tricky pitstop, with one of the wheelguns failing. This dropped him way down the order. Fellow South American Gutierrez was also in trouble. He had been in the points for a while, but he was slammed way down the order when the two Nico-bergs, Rosberg and Hulkenberg got past.

Raikkonen made light work of his teammate on lap 55, but this was due to a team order; Grosjean was told not to hold him up for the sake of the World Championship. Kimi's tyres were thought to be hugely faster than Sebastian's, and while he was catching the German, it was not quite at the vast rate of knots expected. The Iceman lingered just outside the DRS zone for a few laps, but it looked like the Red Bull had the measure.

So close but so far...

Half a minute down the road, Button was having the race of the Season for McLaren, in a strong 5th place. However, after starting on, and falling from pole, Hamilton was not content with scoring just a single-digit amount of points at his team's home race, and relegated Jenson to 6th on the very last lap. The move was made right in front of the Mercedes grandstand, and brought the local German fans some joy.

Gentlemen racers - Former Teammates Lewis and Jenson give each other space

It could not match that which Vettel brought though. Raikkonen got DRS on the final lap, but it was too late, and the distance to make up too vast. Sebastian Vettel brought his car across the line to win his home Grand Prix for the first time ever. It also marked his 30th career win, a feat only 6 others have managed. Raikkonen chased all the way, finishing just a second down, while Grosjean narrowly beat Alonso to the final podium spot, repeating the podium of Bahrain earlier this season.

This is the third time we've seen this podium now. Give someone else a go!

Lap Leaders

S Vettel 1-7

M Webber 8

R Grosjean 9-13

S Vettel 14-40
K Raikkonen 41-49

S Vettel 50-60

Finishing Positions
1. S Vettel, Red Bull
2. K Raikkonen, Lotus
3. R Grosjean, Lotus
4. F Alonso, Ferrari
5. L Hamilton, Mercedes AMG
6. J Button, McLaren
7. M Webber, Red Bull
8. S Perez, McLaren
9. N Rosberg, Mercedes AMG
10. N Hulkenberg, Sauber
11. P di Resta, Force India
12. D Ricciardo, Toro Rosso
13. A Sutil, Force India
14. E Gutierrez, Sauber
15. P Maldonado, Williams
16. V Bottas, Williams
17. C Pic, Caterham
18. G van der Garde, Caterham
19. M Chilton, Marussia

Out/Unclassified

JE Vergne, Toro Rosso (Hydraulics)
J Bianchi, Marussia (Engine)

F Massa, Ferrari (Spun Off)

PENULTIMATE PONDERING
There were two very odd incidents in this race, and for the middle part of the race they masked a bit of a dull proceeding. However the race was bookened by supreme performances by the Lotus drivers. Grosjean's first stint was superb he briefly led the race, and made his Soft tyres last longer than anyone else, yet he was still able to put in some of the fastest laps early on.



Webber's bizarre stop and the possessed Marussia of Bianchi provided the spectacle thereon, and the ensuing Safety Car took away the spice from the race. Hamilton and Alonso were dicing at the time and perhaps that would have climaxed, had Bianchi's engine not disintegrated. There was little action from the Safety Car coming in and about Lap 40, which was when the leaders began adapting their strategies. 

The chase to the flag was very intense, much like that in Silverstone a week before. Grosjean and Vettel were running together on Medium tyres, while Raikkonen and Alonso were ahead on Soft tyres. Their pit stops subsequently dropped them behind Seb and Romain, and while Alonso was unable to make any gains, Kimi eased past his colleague, and narrowly missed out on the victory. Like in Silverstone - where Webber would have passed Rosberg if given 1 or 2 more laps; Kimi didn't quite have enough time, and the old saying once again rings true, that it's one thing to catch up, but overtaking is a whole other story.

Driver of the day: Romain Grosjean

A word on Grosjean, too. His calamitous 2012 season meant a very low opinion of him by many fans and drivers alike, so when he puts in a performance like he did here, and in Bahrain, he seems to stand out. In my opinion though, the Frenchman definitely seems to be honing his racecraft and calming down a touch. He's had two third places thus far, and even led the German Grand Prix for a handful of laps. I can't remember if he's led a race before, but it's an impressive feat none the less. He did have four crashes in Monaco, and that indicates some of his GP2 petulance is still present. But more 'respected' drivers like Perez and Massa had some questionable incidents there too. You are entitled to have a bad day at times, so for the Frenchman's sake, I hope this was his only of the season.
THANKS 
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Silly Silverstone Spectacle

The home of Motorsport in the UK has taken many forms, from Brooklands, to Aintree, Brands Hatch and Donnington; but none of them compare to Silverstone in rural Northamptonshire.

This'll be the fourth time that the race is run on the 'Arena' layout after modifications in 2009. I must admit a tragic nostalgia for the old layout, turning left at Abbey, then through Bridge and Priory into Luffield, rather than the new Arena section and 'Wellington Straight'. The new facilities around the start/finish straight are exceptional, though.

NEWS

It has been three weeks since the race in Canada and a number of things have developed.
Firstly, Mercedes got away Scot-free from their tyre testing debacle with Pirelli, with their heaviest deficit being reprimanded and banned from taking part in the Young Driver Test in Silverstone in July. No penalties, race bans or fines were applied. I was pretty shocked by this really, but because the rules were unclear, their punishments were restricted.

New rules have been drafted in for 2014, too.
A penalty points system like those used in real life driving offences will be introduced, so that misbehaving drivers can be well and truly taught a lesson. It will see 1-3 points applied per incident depending on severity, with 12 points gaining an automatic ban. You can bet that incidents like Romain Grosjean's crash in Belgium last year will warrant a full 3 points.

In-season testing will be re-introduced once again. At the moment all we have is 8 promotional 'filming days' (where the teams are not allowed to collect data) and a three-day young driver test which will take part in Britain this year, from July 17th-19th. The new regulations will see four two-day testing sessions on the Tuesday and Wednesdays after a race weekend at European tracks to keep costs low.

Finally, stepped/Platypus style noses have been banned for next year. In 2012 the FIA changed the rules so that noses had to be lower, but chassis had to be higher. This led to extremely ugly cars as most teams opted to set the parameters of the front of their cars to the extremes, and the only two teams who went for conventional, sloping fronts were McLaren and Marussia.

The biggest news story though, was Mark Webber announcing his retirement, which you can read more about right here.

QUALIFYING REPORT

The weather nearly cracked the odd beam of sunlight but being Britain you could always bank on it staying somewhat overcast. There were not surprises in Q1, with the cars from the young teams falling, as well as Gutierrez and Maldonado. Dutchman Geido van der Garde had contact with Mark Webber in Canada and broke the Aussie's front wing, and he received a grid penalty for Silverstone; He qualified second to last, though.

Car eliminated after Q1 (With penalties applied)
17) Gutierrez
18) Pic
19) Bianchi
20) Chilton
21) di Resta (the Scot was
22) van der Garde *

In their home race, McLaren continued to struggle. Perez lined up 14th with Button 11th, but their long term nemesis Ferrari wasn't doing great either, Massa was 12th and Alonso only just made it into Q3.

Cars eliminated after Q2
11) Massa
12) Vergne
13) Perez
14) Hulkenberg
15) Maldonado
16) Bottas

The final session was tense as ever. Rosberg looked to have it for much of the session despite great efforts from Webber and Vettel, but then at the very end, Lewis Hamilton absolutely destroyed his teammate's time, by almost half a second, grabbing pole and with it the new lap record for the Arena Circuit. As you can imagine, the grandstand erupted as the sea of red white and blue rejoiced a Brit on pole.

The Final Top Ten
1) Hamilton
2) Rosberg
3) Vettel
4) Webber
5) Ricciardo
6) Sutil
7) Grosjean
8) Raikkonen
9) Alonso
10)Button

After qualifying, Paul di Resta was found to be 1.5 Kilograms too light. Not his car, Paul himself. This put his overall car and driver weight just under the legal parameters, and his time was excluded from Q3, which had been 5th best. The result promoted everyone up the grid, apart from van der Garde.
 

RACE DAY

Hamilton proudly led the field round the formation lap. As the five red lights went out, Hamilton and Vettel got off the line perfectly; their teammates did not. Rosberg got too much wheelspin and dropped behind Sebastian, but Webber made his customary dreadful start and dropped to tenth by turn one. It was there that he re-ignited his crash love affair with Romain Grosjean. The 'First lap nutcase' veered into the side of Mark and damaged his front wing; the Aussie dropped to 15th.

Alonso's view of Grosjean's rash move

By contrast, Massa had a blinding start and came from 11th to 5th within the first few corners. After a below-par qualifying both Ferraris surged forwards. Massa had made huge gains and now his team mate Alonso powered past Romain Grosjean to take 9th on lap 2. The leaders - The rapid quartet of both Mercedes and Red Bulls - were beginning to canter away from the rest of the field, but on Lap 8 home hero and race leader Lewis Hamilton was halted in his pursuit of victory by a catastrophic failure of his left-rear tyre. This occurred at Aintree corner, only a few corners after the pit lane' Lewis had to drag the crippled Merc around for nearly a full lap. Understandably, the crowd and also he, were distraught.

You have to admire Mercedes for trying new things, but this... beh, I'm doubtful

Early armchair pundits on Twitter and commentators speculated a shoddy set of tyres on Pirelli's part; however, Hamilton's plight was only the beginning of what was a very woeful race indeed. Just two laps later, Felipe Massa had a failure on the same, left-rear tyre. Both incidents happened in the same place on the circuit. Was there a problem with the kerb at turn 4? Replays revealed that Massa's tyre had delaminated before the corner, so maybe not. Later checks would discover a two-inch jagged and razor sharp piece of kerbing jutting out from the edge of the track, slicing into the rubber.

What a Massa-ive spin! I'll see myself out...

With Massa and Hamilton limping back to the pits and grabbing fresh rubber, it was time for a less-experienced hand to be cruelly curtailed. Jean-Eric Vergne was fighting with both Lotus cars when his tyre exploded on lap 15, this time on the Hangar straight. Just as he was waved past his "slower" team mate (cough cough, team orders) Raikkonen was pelted with flying shards of rubber and kevlar. Both he and Grosjean were lucky to avoid the airborne Pirelli shrapnel, and Vergne too was fortunate (at first) that his failure was just before pit entry. However, the force of the explosion was so great that it damaged part of his rear wing and he later retired.

News on Vergne's tyre: The band is splitting up.

There was so much debris on the track that the safety car had to be scrambled. For six long laps the field were processioned around as the Marshals diligently retrieved all of the scraps of rubber from the track surface. At the restart Vettel bolted quickly, catching Rosberg unawares. All the team radio snippets that could be heard said the same thing:

"STAY OFF THE BLEEDIN' KERBS" - A paraphrased amalgamation of all the race engineers.

 

OMG the Safety Car is winning! It doesn't even have a front wing!

As the race restarted on Lap 21, several drivers began recovering their races; Webber nabbed Grosjean,Hamilton seized Gutierrez' 13th place and Massa passed Bottas. Despite their setbacks the trio marched valiantly onwards as points were still high upon the agenda. 
By lap 32 Hamilton had clawed his way back inside the top 10. Unhappy with being third of the four British drivers (Button yet to stop) he relentlessly harried Paul di Resta's Force India for 8th place. The VJM06 was in study hands though, and Lewis had to stay put.

A battle of Britons!

Mercedes made a bit of a mistake with his strategy. After the blowout on Lap 8 Hamilton had a set of Hard tyres fitted. They may last longer than the Mediums, but by Lap 33 they were way past their best, and the Brit was pounced upon by both Raikkonen and Alonso in between Copse and Maggotts. Strangely, the team didn't react to this hinderance until Lap 37, and when he emerged from the pits, he slotted in nicely just behind di Resta once again.

He may not have been able to fight for the British win that the crowd so eagerly wanted, but the two Britons partook in a titanic dogfight with Lewis finally getting past on Lap 38, at the now-infamous tyre shredder that is Turn 4.

Lap 41 was perhaps the most shocking of the race, and with all the events that had taken place thus far, that was saying something. Sebastian Vettel's gearbox disintegrated into a box full of neutral, broken cogs, and he ground to an agonising halt on the start/finish line. His situation then exuded a sense of bathos as he tripped over his front wing on the way back to the garage, extending the list of casualties from the incident to four:

Vettel out. Note the gearbox 'N' which stands for "Nope. No win for you."

- Vettel's Car's Gearbox
- Adrian Newey's heart
- Renault's eardrums after Helmut Marko lectures them
- and now, Vettel's shin.

Seb mate, the Harlem Shake is well old...

The partizan crowd rejoiced in the downfall of young Seb, and while rather unsporting, time would prove their reactions apt - his parking caused the safety car to be deployed, and made for an incredible, unmissable race to the finish. Bernd Maylander was scrambled again, leaving the pits immediately, and popping back in on Lap 47. Fernando Alonso pitted just as the SC was deployed, and Webber and Rosberg followed suit. Hamilton didn't stop as his tyres were new enough, but Raikkonen had missed the window of opportunity, and although stayed second for the restart, would pay the penalty for past-prime Pirellis. Please note my exceptional use of alliteration. 

At the restart Webber pipped his fellow Aussie, while Alonso hustled the McLarens. He nabbed Button's 7th into Copse, and slip-streamed Perez down Hangar Straight. However, Sergio had the scariest and last tyre blowout of the weekend as Fernando was looking to get past; the Spaniard's quick reactions prevented any calamities, but Perez' race could not be saved, as the explosion destroyed his left sidepod.

Punctured Pirellis prove problematic for poor Perez

Alonso and Hamilton plundered ever-forwards, both snatching points from Ricciardo and Sutil. The two rode in tandem, cleaving their way towards the podium. They both overcame Raikkonen too as his old tyres let go. But there was only room for one of the former-McLaren team mates and Alonso had the edge - Lewis could find no way past. 

Meanwhile, Webber had been making headway of his own. Disposing of Hamilton, Alonso, Sutil and now Raikkonen, he was sitting pretty in second and put in some stunning laps to hunt down the victory. He was 15th by the end of the first lap, and aided by fortune (for once), misfortune (of others) and sheer determination he pounded his Red Bull, setting fastest lap after fastest lap. As the last handful of laps tumbled he was within touching distance of DRS eligability. He could practically touch the rear wing of Nico's car, he finally got into the DRS zone on the last lap!

But it was not to be. One more lap, and he would had wrapped it up I'm sure, but the adopted son of Silverstone (he lives just down the road) could not quite manage the win, which would have meant so much. Second is no mean feat though and the outgoing Australian should be incredibly chuffed with his excellent recovery from 15th. Alonso clung on to 3rd despite Hamilton upping the pace towards the end, and Raikkonen fell to 5th after his tyres degraded. No points for McLaren at their home event marked a very sorry time for the Woking team. Perhaps they've abbandoned 2013 and are looking to next season now. Whatever the case, it is a shame to see the once-great team in such dismay. That much is true for Williams, who have still not scored all season. Bottas was just seconds away, though.

If your Dad's not a World Champion put your arms by your sides!

Lap Leaders
L Hamilton 1-8
S Vettel 9-41

N Rosberg 42-52

Finishing Positions
1. N Rosberg, Mercedes AMG
2. M Webber, Red Bull
3. F Alonso, Ferrari
4. L Hamilton, Mercedes AMG
5. K Raikkonen, Lotus
6. F Massa, Ferrari
7. A Sutil, Force India
8. JE Vergne, Toro Rosso
9. P di Resta, Force India
10. N Hulkenberg, Sauber
11. V Bottas, Williams
12. P Maldonado, Williams
13. J Button, McLaren
14. E Gutierrez, Sauber
15. C Pic, Caterham
16. J Bianchi, Marussia
17. M Chilton, Marussia
18. G van der Garde, Caterham

Out/Unclassified

R Grosjean, Lotus

S Perez, McLaren (Tyre)

S Vettel, Red Bull (Gearbox)

JE Vergne, Toro Rosso (Floor damage)

PENULTIMATE PONDERING(S)

This is a new section I've decided to add in. Basically I'm going to sum up how I felt about the race, results, and my driver of the day.

This race was simply crazy. Four tyres exploded throughout the course of it, and two race leaders were lost. Chuck in a couple of safety cars and a mad 6-lap dash to the finish and you have a scintillating spectacle. 
 

Gary Anderson's ever-insightful post-race investigations. Look at that edge!

However, there is much ambiguity in the tyre explosions. Were they ENTIRELY down to the kerb? Or does the lack of support from teams to change the tyres have a part to play? Ferrari, Force India and Lotus were the teams that slammed any changes to tyre constructions as they have had no management problems this year, but have now admitted that on the grounds of safety, they should be more open minded. It reminded me very much of the 2005 USGP where Michelin had a lot of failures on the high-speed, high-load banking section.

The two situations are remarkably similar in that a piece of track not quite in line with the conditions an F1 car is used to coupled with questionably sub-standard tyres caused a farce and tarnished the image of Formula One. Okay, this race was brilliant whereas the 2005 race was a shambles, but this must be resolved before Germany in a week. No doubt, the kerb should have been filed down or covered but the situation was only noticed in the race, not after P3 or Qualifying.

Consider also that the lacerations in the tyres were not caused in Qualifying, where the cars find the limits of the track are pushed even more than on a race day and cornering speeds are even more immense. The teams would have studied their cars' tyres meticulously before the race, and Charlie Whiting would have allowed special dispensation if there were any problems then. So, was the kerb modified after Qualifying, for one of the support races, or maybe damaged? Whatever the case, it is very tricky to pinpoint. I don't want to disgrace Pirelli, neither to I wish to cast aspersions on the BRDC (British Racing Drivers' Club, who own Silverstone) and track organisers, so I will lay the blame somewhere in between.

Driver of the day: Mark Webber.

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