Monday, July 12, 2010

F1 Great Britain 2010

Redbull once again locked out the front row of the grid but they just can't seem to avoid stirring up controversy. A late decision to move a front wing assembly to Vettel's car, left Webber visibly angry and frustrated. Watch his body language in the official post qualifying interview. Webber actually checks his watch while Vettel is answering a question! Ouch!

Vettel made a poor start which allowed Webber to pull along side. They probably would have raced for the lead on the first lap, but Vettel had a puncture which sent him to the back of the field. Vettel seemed to have given up until a safety car bunched the cars together again. He found new motivation and was very entertaining as he fought his was back through the field to finish seventh. Webber drove a fantastic race and made no errors, which was really the only way he could have lost the race. In typical Webber fashion, he rubbed the noses of the team bosses in his victory. "Not bad for the number two driver!"

Mclaren tested a blown diffuser on Friday but heating caused big problems. They went back to the old diffuser, which meant they were essentially starting over on Saturday. Hamilton basically carried the car to fourth on the grid. Button qualified in fourteenth which reflected the car's true pace. Still, Button drove brilliantly to finish fourth which, together with Hamilton's second place finish, was a great surprise for everyone, including the team itself.

There was a lot of passing in the race which was very surprising. It's not that passing suddenly got easier, but that drivers were willing to use the marginal opportunities that the changes in the track offered them. It required a measured amount of daring to pull of a pass which is what makes for great racing.

I'm glad the F1 powers-that-be finally came to their senses and recognised that the sport needs historic circuits such as Silverstone, which will host the British Grand Prix for at least ten years. I hope similar deals are being considered for other historic tracks, which would enable them to plan upgrades in same way that Silverstone is doing.

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