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 
Thank you very much for checking out my blog. If you want to get updates from me whenever I post (I aim to post once a week if I have the time, but every race weekend without fail) then please subscribe to me! I'm going to university in September to study journalism and I LOVE doing this blog for practice. If you care much for my material and want to aid a teenager in his meteoric rise to a job at the BBC then feel free to share with your friends!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @EpsilonEustice as well for live updates during races and silliness and cameraderie during the week.

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.

THANKS
Thank you very much for checking out my blog. If you want to get updates from me whenever I post (I aim to post once a week if I have the time, but every race weekend without fail) then please subscribe to me! I'm going to university in September to study journalism and I LOVE doing this blog for practice. If you care much for my material and want to aid a teenager in his meteoric rise to a job at the BBC then feel free to share with your friends!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @EpsilonEustice as well for live updates during races and silliness and cameraderie during the week.

Red Bulletin: Webber retiring at end of Season

F1's Elder Statesman and flagship Australian is to bow out of F1 at the end of the 2013 season. Mark's resilient and proud personality are very unique to the paddock, being one of the most truthful, and hardy, yet unlucky men in the sport. Webber, along with Raikkonen, has been my favourite driver in the sport ever since 2007 when he joined Red Bull, and he has come extremely close to the championship in recent years.

Webber's F1 career started in 2002 with a plucky little team called Minardi. They were the darling of many fans, a complete minnows team, underfunded and uncompetitive for the most part. However, in his first ever race, in his and team owner Paul Stoddart's home country, he score an incredible 5th place finish. This was remarkable for several reasons:
- It was Webber's debut race
- His car had a differential problem very early in the race
- Points were only awarded to the top 6 finishers at this point
- He had to fend of former-Ferrari driver Mika Salo at the end of the race

However he held his nerve and finished about 5 second ahead of the Finn. The result was so amazing and well-loved by the F1 community, that people ushered Webber and Stoddart to the podium, where they were donated champagne to celebrate what is surely the team's best ever result (despite three 4th-placed finishes in the early 90s)

Advance Australia Fair!

Webber's time with Minardi was short, and after that cracking start, didn't score a single point for the rest of the season. He moved on to Jaguar in 2003, and though the car was unreliable, he managed to score seven times. he stayed there for 2004, before the team was sold off to Red Bull. He jumped ship to Williams just as they were coming off the boil from their competitiveness in the early 2000s. The 2005 season was his best at the time, scoring highly with team mate Nick Heidfeld, and getting his first podium, at Monaco. Many speculated he'd be successful at Williams, including Technical Director Sam Michael who thought he would win the World Championship. These predictions did not come to fruition, though.

2006 was a dreadful season; the car was uncompetitive and he only managed 7 points all season. This was due, mainly, to BMW's switch to Sauber which left Williams with cheap and feeble Cosworth engines. He left at the end of the season to begin building up and advancing what would become the world-beating team of the moment, Red Bull Racing. He partnered David Coulthard for 2007 and 2008 in a very strong driver line-up. Webber was on course for a cracking second place finish in Japan 2007. The race was a washout and the Safety car led Hamilton, Webber and a very young Vettel around Fuji Speedway, but Seb was unsighted and whacked into Mark's gearbox, taking them both out. The pairing of Webber and Coulthard managed a smattering of points and a podium each before DC retired in 2008.

2009 was Webber's chance to lead the team with a fledgeling superstar to nurture, but it didn't go quite that way and Vettel ended up overshadowing him, taking the team's first two victories in China and Britain. Elation came at the Nurburgring in 2009 though, and Webber took his first ever victory. This Video depicts his sheer joy in a musical manner. He won again in Brazil 2009 and finished 4th in the championship.

Webber's form peaked in 2010, as did his grinning frequency

2010 was probably his best crack at the Championship, where he challenged right 'til the end of the year. He took back-to-back wins in Spain and Monaco, then had that nasty business with Sebastian Vettel in Canada. After that point of no return in their relationship (which only deteriorated afterwards) Webber had to battle his team as well as other competitors, and picked up two more wins, in Britain and Hungary. He had a spin in Korea that ended his race, and was the point where his Championship fell away, and he succumbed to the power of Vettel and Alonso, both of whom finished ahead of him in Abu Dhabi, and therefore the championship.

By contrast, the 2011 season was not a good one for Webber. Although his speed was not lacking, he had to watch his teammate notch up 11 victories before he could claim his only one of the season in Brazil. This re-affirmed the belief that there is a tendency towards Vettel in the Red Bull sumpremos. And you can't blame them in part - Vettel had already managed two World Championships by the age of 25, the age that Webber started his first race. There is no language barrier either, between the Austrian Drinks company and the young German. Imagine the Salzburg-based team trying to decipher Mark's gravelly Aussie tones. However, the team should take heed that not all alliances between Germany and Austria are successful. Ahem. Don't mention the war, Basil...

2012 was the most unpredictable, perhaps ever. No single clear contender emerged out of the first seven races with the seven different winners. Webber was the sixth of those, winning in Monaco. He won again in Britain and along with Alonso, was the clear favourite for the title, but his second half of the season was disappointing, retiring in Italy due to huge flat spots on tyres, The US because of an alternator failure, and was taken out by Romain Grosjean in Abu Dhabi.

2013 looks to be much the same so far, outright speed and righteousness, but severe bad luck. He finished a decent sixth in Australia (he rarely finishes so highly at his home race) but was cruelly robbed of a victory in Malaysia when Vettel ignored team orders and passed him, and in China, after tangling with Daniel Ricciardo, one of his wheels fell off and he retired. The last two races in Monaco and Canada have been good though, with a podium in the principality and fourth in Montreal. How the rest of the season will go remains unknown. He is unlikely to take the drivers' championship this year, but wouldn't it be lovely is he could get one more win, to make it a nice round ten?

Whatever happens this year, we already know what he's doing in 2014. He'll be racing for Porsche's LMP1 squad in the World Endurance Championships (WEC) and aiming towards participating in next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans.

"I'm very much looking forward to this new challenge after my time in Formula 1. I can hardly wait to pilot one of the fastest sports cars in the world."

A prototype of the Porsche he'll be racing next year

Some people might see Endurance racing as a step down from F1 but the two are parallel in terms of prestige, F1 is just more well-known. He's no stranger to closed-cockpits either, as he took part in Le Mans in 1998 and 1999 although his team's car failed to finish.

I wish him all the best in his future endeavours. This brilliant bloke will be missed by the entire paddock without a doubt, and the fight over his seat will be a very interesting story this season.
Mark, me old Cobber, good luck in the future!

Canadian Conundrums

The Circuit de Gilles Villeneueve is one of the most popular venues on the F1 circuit and as we enter round 7 of the season, there is plenty to talk about.

The subject that dominates many pub-level F1 conversations is Mercedes' allegedly illegal Tyre Testing. Pirelli invited the whole paddock to a tyre test in Barcelona a week after the race there. Mercedes infamously fell down the order in that race, so it would have seemed that a tyre test would benefit them. So did it? The rules stipulate that a team cannot take part in a tyre test with a current car, and rivals such as Red Bull and Ferrari are claiming that that is what the team did. Also, they used their current drivers (Hamilton and Rosberg)  rather than test and reserve drivers such as Brendon Hartley and Ant Davidson.

Pirelli advised Motorsport Director Paul Hembery to sit out Friday's team conference for legal reasons, as a tribunal will soon take place to clarify the matter. Whatever the result, it looks like the company will be in hot water, and the dispute looks set to rumble on along the rest of the season.

I remember a time when tyres didn't play such a pivotal and brain-aching role...ah Bridgestone...
Ahem. Anyway yes, back to the racing. Friday morning in Canada saw low pressure and soggy conditions. The cars started with wet tyres in FP1, soon upgrading to Intermediates, and by the end of the sessions, dry tyres were viable. Paul di Resta impressively took the honour of fastest time in FP1, the first time he's managed that distinction. FP2 was dry, and the track continued to improve with rubber being applied and water evaporating. It was Alonso who topped the sheets in Practice Two, as Ferrari tested a clutch of new upgrades; they certainly seemed to be paying off.

In the final, damp practice session it was Webber who topped the sheets, beating Adrian Sutil by three tenths. Saturday afternoon saw showers and in Qualifying, timing was going to be key. The track improved, and fell away in Q1, so those who set their times in the middle part of the session were best-placed. Paul di Resta was not one of them. He just so happened to be in the pits at the crucial moment, and was gutted to be knocked out in Q1 again, just like in Monaco.

Car eliminated after Q1 (With penalties applied)
17) di Resta
18) Pic
19) Bianchi
20) Chilton
21) van der Garde
22) Grosjean (10-place penalty for incident in Monaco)

Q2 was met with heavier rainfall and the times reflected this. Several drivers went off the track, including Felipe Massa who slithered off the track and into the barriers at an impact of 6G. The Brazilian had two hefty shunts in Monaco, and this heavy slide won't do anything to impress his Ferrari superiors. Whether or not he'll be in a red car next season, it brought out the flag of that colour and paused Q2 for ten minutes. There is a saying in motor racing that rain levels the playing field, and it certainly rang true here; with Massa and both McLarens falling from the session.

Cars eliminated after Q2
11) Ricciardo*
12) Perez
13) Maldonado
14) Button
15) Gutierrez
16) Massa

The final top 10 shootout looked to be extremely interesting and there were some unusual names in the mix. After languishing out of the points for the first six races, Williams hoped to have a change in fortune, courtesy of their fantastic rookie Valtteri Bottas. The Finn took advantage of the watery track, and put his car on the second row of the grid. Vettel headed the field, but 3-times Canadian GP winner Hamilton was not far behind.

The Final Top Ten
1) Vettel
2) Hamilton
3) Bottas
4) Rosberg
5) Webber
6) Alonso
7) Vergne
8) Sutil
9) Hulkenberg
10) Raikkonen*

* NOTE - After qualifying both Raikkonen and Ricciardo were given 2-place grid penalties as they started Qualifying's session 2 from the left of the pitlane, rather than the fast lane. That gave them a head start and enabled Raikkonen to get track position ahead of Webber's Red Bull.

No more rain, Sunday in Canada was delightfully dry.
At the start, Webber and Rosberg overwhelmed Bottas. The rookie drove calmly and professionally, inexperience was not showing. Unfortunately, the car's lack of performance, and he succumbed to Fernando Alonso by the end of the lap as well. A couple of laps later their team mates locked horns, with the recovering Felipe Massa barging past Pastor Maldonado.

Bottas continued to tuble. The plucky Finn had timed his lap to perfection in Q3 and was a well-deserved 3rd, but his uncompetitive Williams was not up to the task of staying with the front runners. He was in 7th, when on Lap 6 Adrian Sutil attempted to pass him at turn 3. It's not a usual overtaking spot, and when the German realised there wasn't enough room, he took to desperate avoiding action by crossing his arms and executing a perfect spin.

Quick reactions saved a potentially messy incident

He recovered to a full 360 degree rotation, and lost half a dozen places. Amazingly, everyone behind reacted in time, and avoided the Force India, so there was no damage. That was, until, Pastor Maldonado forgot where his brake pedal was, and clipped the back of Adrian's car. The rear wing of his, and the front wing of Pastor's cars both took minor damage, but both continued.

Crashtor strikes again

I don't often say this about Formula One races, but I found this one a bit dull in the middle. As the strategies took their time to fall into place, I just wasn't excited enough.

 On Lap 37, perennial backmarker Geido van der Garde managed to spin himself on Mark Webber's car. As the quite clearly faster Red Bull sauntered through the hairpin, the Dutchman didn't leave enough space, and was fortuitous not to collide with the barrier. They are the two tallest drivers in the sport, but driving ability does not seem to be inherent to all lofty peddlers.

Caught off-Garde... Geido caused a headache for Webber

 It ripped off the whole of Webber's left endplate on his front wing, but the hinderage didn't seem so great, as he was able to keep up with the pace of the other leaders. None the less, the team opted to change the wing later on.

I don't wish to cast aspersions on Geido, he's a speedy driver for sure, he's been pretty damn successful in junior formulae. However, it seems to me that he gets a bit... excited. When he qualified an impressive 14th in Monaco, he seemed to get flustered, and he whacked into the back of Maldonado on Lap 1. He was running ahead of the rest of the 'young teams' in Canada (a distinction usually held by Jules Bianchi) so hopefully that's the end of the pattern. Although it's admirable for him to take every small gain with such enthusiasm, we can't have drivers spinning out because they're so excited that they grabbed 12th place. Moving on...

As Nico Hulkenberg went to put another lap on the Caterham, van der Garde moved over, damaging the suspension of Nico's car, and the front wing of his own. The move put Hulkenberg out and he pulled over in the first sector.

 van der Garde judged the situation to be salvageable, though, and he tried to drag his pummeled Caterham back for repairs. Unsurprisingly, he had to call it a day on the side of the track.

In the closing stages the Ferraris were the ones to watch. Massa was chasing the tail end of the points, furiously hounding Grosjean for 10th, surpassing the McLarens, and later on pouncing on Kimi Raikkonen's 8th place. However the more intense battle was that for second. Alonso had chase Hamilton for 5 laps or so, and breathed down the Brit's neck. On lap 63 he finally squeezed past to secure second place, and confirmed that Hamilton's 1-stop was not quite there. Hamilton chased Fernando to the flag, surprisingly, but it was in vain. Almost forgotten about, Vettel won the Canadian GP for the first time in his career.

"That makes up for two years ago!" - Christan Horner

It was hard to imagine that Vettel had never won in Montreal and the win was definitely satisfying. His adversary in 2011's race was Jenson Button, and what a dreadful weekend it was for his team. It was the first non-points scoring race for McLaren since Abu Dhabi 2009, and the alarm bells should be ringing in the Woking base.

He's still in this race? Vettel's victory was enormous - 20 seconds!

Lap Leaders
S Vettel 1-17
L Hamilton 18-20
S Vettel 21-70

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

Out/Unclassified
E Gutierrez, Sauber (Spun Off)
N Hulkenberg, Sauber (Collision Damage)
G van der Garde, Caterham (Collision Damage)

Let us spare a thought for Mark Robinson. He was a marshall at the Canadian GP who sadly died. He was part of the crew recovering Esteban Gutierrez' stricken Sauber which crashed at turn 1. A recovery vehicle hit Robinson, and ran over him. He later died on his was to hospital.

These men enable all the drivers to race safely and without problems, and their bravery and commitment is sometimes taken for granted. Robinson's sad death is the first at a Grand Prix event since Australia 2001, when Graham Beveridge was hit with pieces from debris in a crash between Jacques Villeneueve and Ralf Schumacher. The entire Formula One community sends its sincerest condolences to the family of Mark Robinson.

Manic-o Monaco

What needs to be said? It's Monaco! The jewel of the calendar. Winning here will set you into the history books without fail, and as one of the most challenging and nerve-racking events on the calendar, concentration is key. It's one of the quickest laps on the calendar, with pole position usually the third fastest time of the year, behind Canada and Brazil. The lap negotiates some incredibly tight turns, with the armcoe barriers ready to punish the hasty.

It comes as no surprise then, that there were several crashes throughout practice. Romain Grosjean suffered not one, but two crashes at the infamous Saint Devote corner, and then a third at the Nouvelle Chicane.

You'd almost think he had a loyalty card to hitting the barriers - 10
crashes or more in a season to get a FREE cup of coffee!

Adrian Sutil got out of shape on his way up the hill and grinded against the barrier at Massenet. The biggest crash though, was that of Felipe Massa; he locked up going into turn one and had a huge impact with the armco, and then the tec-pro barriers. The Ferrari was trashed.

Felipe's 'Massa-ive' shunt was blamed on driver error.

After clear running on Thursday's practice sessions (Remember, no Friday practice in Monaco!) Saturday saw intermittent drizzle and looming grey clouds. Clearly, tyre choice at the right time was going to sort everyone out. Almost everyone was out on track at the start of the session to try and get a 'banker' lap in.

Note - Massa's crash in P3 was so great that his car was not repaired in time. Therefore, he started 21st. Bianchi suffered an engine failure at the very start of Q1, and Chilton got a 5-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.

Sacre Bleu(wn Engine) - Jules' pseudo-home race didn't start well.

Cars Eliminated after Q1
17) di Resta
18) Pic
19) Gutierrez`
20) Massa (No Time)
21) Chilton 
      Bianchi (No Time, originally 20th, but started from pitlane)

It wouldn't be Monaco if there weren't unpredictabilities. In Q2 the rain began to stop, and the call for dry tyres was not far off. Those who put the tyres on in time, got right up amongst the top. Romain Grosjean was caught napping after being one of the fastest drivers in Q1, and languished in 13th

Cars Eliminated after Q2
11) Hulkenberg
12) Ricciardo
13) Grosjean
14) Bottas
15) van der Garde
16) Maldonado 

The rain returned briefly in between Q2 and Q3, but it didn't dampen the spirits of the remaining top 10, not least those of Jean-Eric Vergne, who got into Q3 for (I think I'm right in saying) the first time in his career. The Mercedes of of Rosberg and Hamilton locked out the front row, with the Red Bulls snapping at their exhausts in 3rd and 4th.

The final top ten
1) Rosberg
2) Hamilton
3) Vettel
4) Webber
5) Raikkonen
6) Alonso
7) Perez
8) Sutil
9) Button
10) Vergne

As race day dawned, the soggy conditions that persisted on Saturday were all but forgotten; instead in its place was glorious riviera sunshine.

Rosberg led off the start, keeping Hamilton at bay, and only keeping the lead from Vettel due to Monaco's tight nature. A first-corner calamity is usually on the cards in the principality, but everyone scrambled round turn one safely. The harmony was broken shortly after though, Adrian Sutil came unstuck and hit the back of Jenson Button at the Loews Hairpin. Perhaps distracted by his flukey qualifying position of 15th, Geido van der Garde collided with Pastor Maldonado -- both drivers pitted for fresh carbon fiber at the end of the lap.

Rosberg and Hamilton backed up the pack in the early laps, following the monstrous tyre usage of the W04. The feats of Spain were not wanted to be repeated, where the Silver Arrows locked out the front row and went backwards.  Nothing terribly eventful happened until Lap 9, when Charles Pic's Caterham got a bit fiery. The Frenchman crawled round to just next to the pit entry though, and the Marshalls were able to clear his car in next to no time.

He was so close to the pits that he didn't need to be 'Pic'ked up. Okay, I'll stop with the puns.

Lap 26 saw the first meaningful overtake of the race from one of the drivers of the weekend, Paul di Resta. He, and indeed Adrian Sutil are showing what a competitive fighter the VJM06 is with some excellent performances. If I may digress for a moment, I can see Force India challenging McLaren all the way to the end of the season, as the front four teams begin to take their stranglehold on the championships. Anywho, di Resta passed Felipe Massa at Saint Devote. It followed use of the KERS and DRS by the Scot, and although it was at the time only for 15th place, he had just pitted.

Worryingly, Massa had not yet pitted, and was in 16th place in position. The Brazilian had not made up the ground he needed to after his no-show in Qualifying, but things were not about to improve. Towards the end of Lap 30 - one lap after pitting - Felipe hurtled towards turn 1, and in a Carbon copy of his crash (the two are scarily similar) he careered into same bit of Armco barrier jutting out of the track, before slamming sideways into the Saint Devote wall of shame.

Poorly little Ferrari :(

Better safe than sorry, Felipe has his neck checked over.

Felipe was a little hurt by the incident and a precautionary head restraint was applied by the famously brilliant Monaco Stewards. They're well known for their speed in clearing up incidents and bits of broken Carbon Fibre, but due to the magnitude of the crash, the Safety Car had to help them out.

The timing of the Safety Car was crucial - it picked up third placed Vettel rather than the leading Mercedes cars, and Bernd Maylander (SC Driver for those not in the know) had to wave the entire field through before picking Nico back up. At the time of deployment, Hamilton was sat 3 seconds behind his team mate. By the time he got to the pits, he was nearly FIVE times that, after cruising back to the pits. Maybe he was yacht-spotting in the Harbour. The calamity meant that both Red Bulls (who had already made their designated stops) zipped past the Brit in the pitlane, and threw away the chances of a Silver Arrow 1-2.

After seven long laps the Safety Car came back in, and Rosberg managed to restart well, etching out a second or so margin over Vettel. Their team mates had a near miss at Rascasse, Hamilton dived down the inside of an unaware Webber, but the Aussie didn't yeild, and they passed through Anthony Noghues corner in the order before.

Kimi Raikkonen had made quite the train of cars behind him. His Lotus was noticeably nervous on its tyres. Coming into the hairpin, Alonso bunched up behind the Finn. That cause Button to sneak down Alonso's inside. The McLaren could not quite disappear fast enough, and slight contact was made. The move didn't damage anyone, but lost momentum for Jenson, and coming into the Nouvelle chicane, he was pipped by his young Mexican counterpart.

Inter-team squabbles can cost you dearly... Careful boys.

Sergio was not content with overtaking one World Champion, and just a lap later challenged Alonso in exactly the same fashion. The move did not stick. Perez made the move, but Alonso cut across the chicane to avoid a collision. The move caught up with him later in the race, though, and he was ordered to let him back past.

On lap 46 the red flag was seen for the first time of the season. Coming towards the Tabac corner, Max Chilton moved across in front of Pastor Maldonado and launched the Venezuelan into the barrier at a sickening speed. He was fine, but his car, Bianchi's, and indeed the track were not. The TecPro barrier was ripped from its holding ties, and surrounded the Williams car in a plastic cocoon, blocking the track and warranting the suspension of the race.

The Marussia's front wing actually deformed under itself rather than snapping.

The flying... Venezuelan? Doesn't quite have the same ring to it as Flying Finn.

The track was once again quickly cleared and the race resumed to start from Lap 46. The restart saw agonisingly close following of cars ahead, but everyone remained well-behaved. Adrian Sutil barged past Jenson Button at the hairpin to snatch 8th place. The German's bold driving was extremely impressive, and his opportunism soon increased, as he made the same move on Alonso moments later.

Life in F1 is always tough for the little teams, but Monaco was a dreadful weekend for Marussia. After Bianchi's engine failure in Qualifying and Chilton's gearbox change, they already started from the very back of the field. After The Chilton-Maldonado incident, which damaged both Marussia cars, you would think that their luck would improve, but Jules suffered a brake problem, and locked his steering up, coming to a rest in the barriers at turn one.

Further up the field another Frenchman was having difficulties. He had three crashes in Practice, and now a fourth with Daniel Ricciardo called time on proceedings. He shunted the rear of the Toro Rosso, putting the Australian out on the spot, and Romain retiring a lap later. After a superb performance in Bahrain, it appeared that the old, rash, clumsy Grosjean was back, quite a pity.

Heh, more like RAMain Grosjean. Am I right?

Romain's team mate then had a collision at the same place, but in this circumstance the Lotus was not to blame. Sergio Perez' ruthless tactic of jamming his car down the inside at Nouvelle finally stopped paying off - Kimi turned into the normal racing line, and Checo made contact with the Iceman and the wall. It left Kimi with a slow puncture, and after an excruciating crawl back to the pits, he was dropped well outside of the points.

The Mexican did not come out of the collision unharmed either. His car refused to turn at Rascasse on Lap 74, and when he tried to make it into the pits for repairs, his team mate inadvertently blocked his path. Sergio pulled over and retired.

With all the collisions, overtakes and incidents behind the leaders, everyone had rather forgotten the Mercedes and Red Bulls streaking ahead. Their nearest competitor was Adrian Sutil, my personal choice for driver of the day. Kimi Raikkonen overcame his adversity, and flung himself back into 10th place after being down in 13th with just a few laps to go. This continues his run of points-scoring finishes, and he is just two races away from taking the consistency title from Michael Schumacher.

The latter few laps provided calm and order, and Nico Rosberg led the field round to take his second career victory, and his first in the Principality. He also makes history, as his father Keke won here in 1983 exactly thirty years ago. At long last, the qualifying speed of the Mercedes translated into a victory, and it just happened to be the most glamorous and prestigious race of all.

Euphoric Rosberg celebrates second ever victory.

Lap Leaders
Rosberg (1-78)

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

Out/Unclassified
S Perez, McLaren (Collision Damage)
R Grosjean, Lotus (Collision Damage)
D Ricciardo, Toro Rosso (Collision)
J Bianchi, Marussia (Spun Off)
P Maldonado, Williams (Collision)
F Massa, Ferrari (Suspension)
C Pic, Marussia (Gearbox)