Mark Webber overcame a questionable drive through penalty in a thrilling German Grand Prix to record his first victory by some margin from Red Bull Renault team-mate Sebastian Vettel. Significantly, the Milton Keynes-based team secured their second straight one-two result as rivals Brawn Mercedes continue to struggle at this critical mid-season point.
It was not a straightforward victory for Webber however as the start saw fellow front-row starter Rubens Barrichello pull alongside the Red Bull on the run to turn one. Webber moved to his right and light contact was made. It was a racing incident but a few laps later the team were informed that Webber, running second at the time to Barrichello, must take a drive through penalty for his actions.
A little good fortune would come to his aid however as Barrichello made his stop and found himself stuck behind Felipe Massa who was running a long first stint and therefore relatively heavy on fuel. This allowed Webber to lap quickly at the front of the field ahead of his own first stop for fuel and fresh rubber.
Webber’s impressive pace allowed him to exit the pits close behind Barrichello and ahead of Button and when it became apparent that the Brawn Mercedes team were three-stopping both drivers, Webber knew the race was his for the taking.
While Webber celebrates his well deserved first victory, team-mate Sebastian Vettel took second position having recovered from a poor start. The one-two result moves the British Grand Prix winner second in the championship with Webber now up to third. Barrichello drops to fourth position while Button’s advantage at the head of the field is trimmed down to a still considerable 21 points with eight rounds remaining.
Felipe Massa finished third in his Ferrari after another canny tactical drive with a long first stint. The Brazilian finished six seconds behind Vettel and five seconds ahead of Nico Rosberg who made best of a fast start and strategy after a poor qualifying run to secure points for Williams Toyota once again, gaining no less than 11 positions during the race.
Jenson Button vaulted Barrichello in the final round of stops to finish in fifth position with his Brawn team-mate taking the chequered flag less than a second behind. However it is clear that the team's early season performance advantage has been eroded and now surpassed by the Red Bull team.
Nurburgring results
Sunday, 12 July 2009
1. Mark Webber - Red Bull-Renault - 1:32.230
2. Rubens Barrichello - Brawn-Mercedes - 1:32.357
3. Jenson Button - Brawn-Mercedes - 1:32.473
4. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull-Renault - 1:32.480
5. Lewis Hamilton - McLaren-Mercedes - 1:32.616
6. Heikki Kovalainen - McLaren-Mercedes - 1:33.859
7. Adrian Sutil - Force India-Mercedes - 1:34.316
8. Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 1:34.574
9. Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari - 1:34.710
10. Nelson Piquet Jr - Renault - 1:34.803
11. Nick Heidfeld - BMW Sauber - 1:42.310
12. Fernando Alonso - Renault - 1:42.318
13. Kazuki Nakajima - Williams-Toyota - 1:42.500
14. Jarno Trulli - Toyota - 1:42.771
15. Nico Rosberg - Williams-Toyota - 1:42.859
16. Robert Kubica - BMW Sauber - 1:32.190
17. Sebastien Buemi - Toro Rosso-Ferrari - 1:32.251
18. Giancarlo Fisichella - Force India-Mercedes - 1:32.402
19. Sebastien Bourdais - Toro Rosso-Ferrari - 1:33.559
20. Timo Glock - Toyota - 1:32.423
Drivers and constructors standings
