Mark Webber wins 2012 British Grand Prix

Monday, July 9, 2012

Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber won the 2012 British Grand Prix yesterday at Silverstone, having started second on the grid behind Alonso's Ferrari.

The second qualifying session of three was red-flagged due to heavy rain; but, despite this, Webber secured second on the grid behind Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, only bettered by under five hundredths of a second. Michael Schumacher, driving for Mercedes, started third with Webber's team mate Sebastian Vettel filling out the second row of the grid in fourth.

The race itself started in dry weather, Alonso—running on hard tyres—took an early lead, with Webber—having opted for soft tyres—in pursuit. At the first pit stop, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton stayed out and took the lead, briefly duelling with Alonso before being passed. Shortly after the pitstop, Williams' Pastor Maldonaldo and Sauber's Sergio Perez had a collision, resulting in the Perez being knocked out of the race and Maldonaldo being fined €10,000 (£7,931, $US12,273).

Also receiving a fine was Perez' team mate, Kamui Kobayashi. for a dangerous entry into his pit box that injured three of his team's mechanics. According to Kobayashi, "The front wheels locked, I couldn't control the car, and this is how I overshot the pit box."

Alonso managed to hold off Webber until the final set of pit stops, but his rules-mandated switch to soft tyres left him unable to compete with the better grip of Webber's Red Bull car. Webber caught him, overtaking Alonso with comparative ease on the 48th lap and going on to cross the line some three seconds ahead of the Spaniard.

With this victory, Webber is the second driver to win two races this season. After the race, he described himself as "...absolutely over the moon, absolutely rapt...".

Final points scoring positions

Position	Driver	Team	Time	Points
1	Mark Webber	Red Bull	1:25:11.288	25
2	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+3.060	18
3	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	+4.836	15
4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+9.519	12
5	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus	+10.314	10
6	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	+17.101	8
7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+29.153	6
8	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+36.463	4
9	Bruno Senna	Williams	+43.347	2
10	Jenson Button	McLaren	+44.444	1

Drivers world championship standings

Position	Driver	Team	Points
1	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	129
2	Mark Webber	Red Bull	116
3	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	100
4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	92
5	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus F1	83
6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	75
7	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	61
8	Jenson Button	McLaren	50
9	Sergio Perez	Sauber	39
10	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	29

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Sources

Nigel Roebuck. "2012 British Grand Prix report" — Motor Sport (magazine), July 8, 2012
Tom Cary. "British Grand Prix 2012: Red Bull's Mark Webber claims victory ahead of Fernando Alonso at Silverstone" — Daily Telegraph, July 8, 2012
Andrew Benson. "British GP: Mark Webber wins after late pass on Fernando Alonso" — BBC News Online, July 8, 2012
"Kobayashi and Maldonado fined" — Sky Sports, July 8, 2012
"Alonso takes pole at soaking wet Silverstone" — BBC News Online, July 7, 2012

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