Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber recorded a dominant one-two result at Silverstone on Sunday and in doing so, proved that Brawn are not in for an easy ride to both championship titles.
Vettel put it all together, securing pole and going on to record the fastest lap of the race, as the racing overshadowed the political warfare for a couple of hours, while championship leader Jenson Button could only manage sixth place.
It was a massively eventful weekend for F1 – the first following FOTA’s threat to create a breakaway championship - and in truth, the row dominated proceedings. Bernie Ecclestone was able to briefly deflect attention away from the FIA-FOTA wrangling when he announced that Silverstone will host the 2010 British GP, should Donington be incapable of doing so, alleviating fears that the calendar could be without a British event next year.
In terms of the racing, it was a touch uninspiring, though Vettel cannot be blamed for that. The German secured his first ever F1 win in dry conditions and confirmed his standing as the man most likely to trouble Button in the fight for championship glory.
It must be remembered, of course, that the track was always going to play into the Red Bull design’s hands, so the level of dominance enjoyed by the Austrian-registered outfit is unlikely to be repeated on many occasions again this season. With the circuit type in mind, Brawn were not too upset with Rubens Barrichello’s third place and Button’s three points for sixth.
However, it was a disappointing event for the home fans. Lewis Hamilton recorded his worst qualifying result yet in F1, before going on to come home 16th. The world champion at least enjoyed a couple of ding-dong battles, most interestingly with former team-mate and championship rival Fernando Alonso.
Ferrari, meanwhile, continued to secure their footing on the road to improvement, with Felipe Massa finishing fourth and Kimi Raikkonen eighth, though the Finn was left disappointed having made a fine start from ninth.
Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima produced poor race pace after recording a career best fifth place in qualifying. The team, however, were boosted by the showing of Nico Rosberg, who finished fifth having started seventh, thanks in part to a pass on Toyota’s Jarno Trulli on the opening lap.
BMW Sauber’s woes returned, and Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld were never in with a real shout of scoring, while Giancarlo Fisichella’s tenth place in the Force India machine deserves a mention.
Driver of the Weekend: Vettel
The race winner was untouchable. Webber would not have beaten his team-mate to pole position even if he had not been apparently hampered by Raikkonen in qualifying, before Vettel went on to set fastest lap after fastest lap on Sunday. After ruining his chances with a first-lap error last time out, in Turkey, the German was magnificent at Silverstone to secure his first dry-weather GP victory.
Team of the Weekend: Red Bull
There were no other genuine contenders for this, given that Red Bull showed the championship leaders and everyone else a clean set of heels. The one-two result will hopefully be a sign of things to come for those desperate for the title fight to go down to the wire.
Best overtaking manoeuvre: Hamilton
Hamilton produced a brave move on Nick Heidfeld with the German having emerged from the pits on Lap 22, but his battle with Alonso was what got the crowd genuinely excited. The Briton forced Alonso wide at Copse and nipped in down the inside, as he showed real spirit in the fight for 16th place. A lack of grip in the McLaren saw Alonso get back by at Becketts, but it was still brave stuff from Hamilton.
Disappointment of the Weekend: Button
Whilst Brawn were always expected to struggle in comparison with the Red Bulls at Silverstone, Button must have retained hope of continuing his incredible run. He would have at least expected to be higher than sixth in front of his home faithful, but having produced his worst qualifying display of the season so far, could not find anything to chew on in the race either. Button, of course, remains the championship favourite.