Vettel and Red Bull take Last Silverstone British Grand Prix
Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull convincingly swiped away the last Silverstone British Grand Prix from Brawn GP with a 1-2 finish for the ages.
The British Grand Prix was a historic weekend in Formula One history. The race itself was fairly boring, but the off track shenanigans were legendary. The first development was the fact this is the last race at historic Silverstone for the foreseeable future. The second development was the announcement that the big eight teams were leaving Formula One to start their own series…maybe.
The race, itself, was much ado about nothing. The red lights went out, Sebastian Vettel beat Barrichello to the first corner and the race was over. The cooler temperatures fit the Red Bull better than the Brawn GP cars. For at least this race, the Red Bull was superior. Mark Webber passed Rubens Barrichello during a pit stop exchange and the race was done. The surprise, if there was one, was Ferrari moving up in the field. Felipe Massa finished fourth and appeared rather surprised to be there! All and all, however, it was not much of a last race for the Silverstone crowd.
Driver of the Race – Vettel
Vettel is unfairly compared to Schumacher. That being said, there is one area he is clearly comparable. When he has a lead, he doesn’t give it up. When he beat Barrichello to that first corner, the deed was done. It was pedal to the metal and a 15 second lead before the first pit. Well done, Sebastian.
Poor Driver of the Race – Kimi Raikkonen
The end is near and Kimi is clearly just mailing it in. He started in front of his teammate and managed to end up 10th, 6 positions behind Massa. There were plenty of excuses to be used, but has a driver ever looked so ready to move on? He’s the highest paid driver by a long stretch and apparently is planning on living on that money for the rest of his life. It is hard to see any team in F1 or the new series giving him a seat, so it is a good thing he is making that $45 million a year!
Jumping to Conclusions – Media
The sky is falling for Brawn GP! The end is near! Red Bull will win everything! Uh, no. First, Silverstone is one of the few races run in cooler weather. That means it is a one off situation that really won’t be repeated. The Brawn cars had problems getting heat into the tires and that meant a lack of grip. That won’t be a problem on most of the remaining circuits. Red Bull has closed the gap, but Button and Brawn has such a massive lead in the standing that it really doesn’t matter unless at least two other teams step up and start finishing between Brawn and the front of the field.
New Championship – Maybe
The threat by the big teams to start “New Formula” to rival F1 is the latest move in the political war. Mad Max Mosley has finally had his bluff called. He now wants to “talk instead of litigate” with the teams, so don’t believe that we’ve reached the end yet of this fiasco. The most likely result is Bernie is going to step in and put an agreement together. What it will be is anyone’s guess, but neither the teams nor FIA can really afford a split given the current economic environment. Mosley is so hated at this point that it might occur, but it seems dubious financially.
We now roll into the first summer break. Three weeks will pass until the next race in Germany on July 21st. The issues being contested between FOTA and FIA should be resolved by then…I hope!
Lemmy