Jul 10, 2011
Fernando Alonso won the British Grand Prix (Silverstone, UK) in Formula 1 2011 season, after taken advantage of a mistake committed by Red Bull at the second pit stop made by Sebastian Vettel, who completed the podium alongside Mark Webber.
Radical change of the technical regulations for the British Grand Prix coincided with the first victory for Scuderia Ferrari this season, but the success is closely linked with a mistake committed by Red Bull Racing mechanics.
Staring third from the grid, Fernando Alonso remained in this position until the second pit stop half way down the race when Red Bull Racing mechanics had a problem with mounting a rear left tire for the race car piloted by the leader Sebastian Vettel, because of which he lost 7-8 seconds.
The Spaniard has made the most of this opportunity and become leader after the last pit stop, and in the last stint performed a simple formality to get the first victory after the one from South Korean Grand Prix in 2010.
In this context, Sebastian Vettel had to be satisfied with second place, even if he committed no driving error and overtake Lewis Hamilton after the last pit stop.
Last place on the podium was occupied by Mark Webber, who lost first place at start in front of his Red Bull teammate. Later, the Australian has lost two positions at the second entrance to pits in front of Alonso and Hamilton, but overtake the last and attacked Vettel for second place in the last laps. However, Webber’s team transmitted to the radio to keep distance from Vettel to avoid an accident.
Starting only 10th, Hamilton finished 4th at the end a race full of adventures, the British recovering five positions in the first lap. Later, he had several duels with Felipe Massa after which sporadically he came out off the track, and the two faced including in the last lap.
McLaren warned him not to force that will be likely to remain without fuel, Hamilton was reached again by Massa and the two bumped into each other in the last turn, the British succeeded in extremis to finish before the Brazilian, who went wide in the last turn and had to settle for fifth place.
Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP), Sergio Perez (Sauber) and Nick Heidfeld (Renault) completed the following positions, while Michael Schumacher finished ninth despite a 10 seconds penalty occurred after a duel with Kamui Kobayashi on lap 11, when he damaged his front wing. The last point at stake was won by Jaime Alguersuari, despite the fact that the Toro Rosso driver was eliminated in the first part of the qualifications.
Jenson Button abandoned with 13 laps before the end after McLaren mechanics sent him back to track failing to properly mount the right front tire. It came off immediately, and the British had to pull over just outside of the pitlane.
Silverstone – Race Rankings and overall standings (Provisionally Race Results)
The British Grand Prix – Silverstone Circuit, UK
52 laps; 5.891km (3.66 miles); Weather: Cloudy
Fastest lap: Fernando Alonso, 1:34:908
Rankings:
1. Alonso Ferrari 1h28:41.194
2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 16.511
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 16.947
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 28.986
5. Massa Ferrari + 29.010
6. Rosberg Mercedes + 1:00.665
7. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1:05.590
8. Heidfeld Renault + 1:15.542
9. Schumacher Mercedes + 1:17.912
10. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:19.108
11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:19.712
12. Petrov Renault + 1:20.600
13. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
14. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
15. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
16. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
17. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
18. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
19. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
Not classified/retirements: Driver Team Gap
Button McLaren-Mercedes 11
Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 26
Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 28
Trulli Lotus-Renault 41
Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 49
World Championship standings, round 9: Drivers: Constructors:
1. Vettel 204 1. Red Bull-Renault 328
2. Webber 124 2. McLaren-Mercedes 218
3. Alonso 112 3. Ferrari 164
4. Hamilton 109 4. Mercedes 68
5. Button 109 5. Renault 65
6. Massa 52 6. Sauber-Ferrari 33
7. Rosberg 40 7. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 17
8. Heidfeld 34 8. Force India-Mercedes 12
9. Petrov 31 9. Williams-Cosworth 4
10. Schumacher 28
11. Kobayashi 25
12. Sutil 10
13. Alguersuari 9
14. Buemi 8
15. Perez 8
16. Barrichello 4
17. Di Resta 2
Next Race: 2011 Formula 1 Grosser Preis SANTANDER von Deutschland - Nürburgring (22-24 Jul)
