Mark Webber Wins German Grand Prix

Another successful race for Red Bull Racing was ensured at this year's German Grand Prix as Australian driver Mark Webber crossed the finish line in first place, ahead of his teammate Sebastian Vettel of Germany. They performed the same feat at the British Grand Prix three weeks prior where Vettel took first place. The race took place at the Nurburgring - or 'The Ring', in Nurburg/Eifel.

It was an all around great weekend of racing for Webber. While a mainstay in Formula 1 racing the past several years, this Grand Prix was different for him. He secured his first pole position and he finally won his first ever F1 event. With his father looking on, Webber screamed with joy, saluting fans in exultation as he drove his victory lap.

It all came together during the Saturday qualifying. In fact, the third qualifying session had its own share of drama. First, there was the weather to contend with through the day. There was rain, then no rain, then the threat of more rain. Through these volatile weather conditions Sebastian Vettel, Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button, and Lewis Hamilton fought for pole position. In the end, Webber emerged as the leader on the grid for the Sunday race.

The German Grand Prix has a long history on the F1 calendar. This race became part of the Formula One World Championship in 1951. Recently the race has alternated between the Nurburgring and the country's Hockenheim venue. This race is 60 laps over a circuit length of 5.148-km's. A driver who completes the race pushes their racecar a distance of 308.863-km's.

To start the race, Britain's Lewis Hamilton made an aggressive charge towards the first turn. However, Mark Webber scraped Hamilton's right rear tire causing it to puncture. This hurt Hamilton's chances of staying at the top of the pack. At day's end, he finished the race in 18th place. It was very frustrating for Hamilton who had qualified fifth for this GP race.

Although Webber started in pole position, he lost it early because of the focused driving of Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello. Not wanting to give up an inch, Webber nudged Barrichello as he pulled alongside the Red Bull car. However, the Brazilian driver managed to slip past Webber, into an early lead. The start was not especially a classic for Sebastian Vettel, who slipped from his fourth position down to sixth.

What made Mark Webber's German Grand Prix event more significant was the fact he received a penalty early on. Because of his run-in with Barrichello at the start, Webber received a penalty for "causing a collision." While a minor bump up, he received a "drive-through" penalty. He had to come around and pull into the pit straight and drive through at 100 km per hour then re-enter the circuit. This cost him precious seconds and his victory was recognised as impressive in social media like Yahoo's Buzz

Tyres were a major factor at the German GP. Super-soft and medium tires were the two sets issued for the teams. Jenson Button was the first to pit in the race and throughout the day fought valiantly. He experienced tire warm up troubles in the race and never really felt comfortable on the track. Race teams strategized as the race unfolded before them. Eventually, all of them made the decision to switch to the harder tires for the last stint of the race.

Through it all, the day belonged to Mark Webber. After securing pole position, he began his mission to victory. He put in excellent lap times once Barrichello got past him. He finally reeled him in and catapulted himself back to the top spot. A hard-charging Sebastian Vettel ran a clean and precise race. Although slower than his teammate Webber, Vettel did nestle into second place and finished the race there.

Brazilian Felipe Massa of Ferrari drove a smart race and ended up on the podium for the first time this season. He gave a controlled chase to the two Red Bull cars ahead of him. Although to no avail, it was a satisfying third-place result for Massa. Nico Rosberg had a fourth place finish. This was a major accomplishment as the Williams team driver began the race in 15th spot. Jenson Button, despite his tire issues ended his afternoon garnering Championship points through finishing fifth.

There were incidents as is often typical of a GP race. Kimi Raikkonen and Adrian Sutil clipped, as Sutil ran into Raikkonen on the first corner. Raikkonen's Ferrari lost coolant, causing him to abandon the race on lap 35. Sutil had to pit and get a new front wing installed on his racecar.

Barrichello's second pit stop was not a pretty one. His pit crew had refueling problems. Problems with the refueling rig meant he lost valuable time, hampering his chances for a higher placing. He ended the race in sixth position. Sebastien Bourdais of team Toro Rosso left the German Grand Prix on lap 18 with a loss of hydraulic pressure.

Fernando Alonso of Renault and Heikki Kovalainen of McLaren rounded out the top positions. They finished seventh and eighth respectively. Alonso had a terrible start, which hurt his chances. In contrast, Kovalainen had a strong start and actually held third for a bit. However, he could not keep the pace and dropped back by afternoon's end.

With Webber and Vettel finishing one-two, Red Bull Racing has Brawn GP in their sights. The rest of the Grand Prix season should be intriguing and exciting. We'll all find out soon enough. The next race is in Budapest, Hungary on July 26. Summer, sun, and Formula 1 just seem to go down so good, especially as the intensity of the competition warms up.

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