Renowned for its drama and unpredictability, the British Grand Prix has never disappointed fans. With rains pouring down on the track during qualifying on Saturday and a completely dry track on race day, all that the teams had learnt on Friday and Saturday was washed away with the rains, well, quite literally. Teams got a free hand to choose which of the dry compounds they would want to start on, which in its own way made the race interesting.

Mark another 1 for Webber

Heavy downpour in qualifying on Saturday and a dry race on Sunday, and the teams’ strategies had gone for a toss, but despite this change in the wind Mark Webber drove a composed race to secure first place ahead of Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard was the only driver in the top five to start on Hard compound tyres and the strategy seemed to be working well till he pitted for the Softer compound tyres. Unfortunately for the Ferrari driver, he had to push hard to keep the Australian behind due to which he wore out his tyres quickly and ironically eventually lost the lead. That being said, no points can be taken away from the Red Bull racer for driving the RB8 to perfection throughout the unpredictable race weekend.

Grosjean Goes Places

It wasn’t a great start for Romain Grosjean at the British Grand Prix. An off the grid collision with Paul di Resta forced him to pit in the second lap of the race for new tyres and a front wing dropping him down to the tail end of the order. But the Frenchman did well, maintained his tyres to perfection and constantly managed to gain positions to take the chequered flag in sixth place. The clash with di Resta allowed Grosjean to replace his soft compounds with the harder Pirellis, which effectively gave him an advantage over the other drivers. Kimi Raikkonen’s fifth place finish and Grosjean’s brilliant run for sixth, promotes Lotus to the third spot on the Constructors’ Championship table ahead of McLaren.

Sauber Suffers

Prone to accidents, it wasn’t a great weekend for the Sauber F1 team. Although Kamui Kobayashi looked impressive running in fifth place but a pit-lane mishap on Lap 37 cost him dearly. During a routine stop for tyres, his C31’s front wheels locked up leading him to overshoot and plough into three mechanics. Fortunately, the Sauber mechanics escaped with minor injuries but the Jap was fined €25,000 for what the stewards called ‘a very dangerous manoeuvre, which had potentially serious implications’. Meanwhile, lady luck wasn’t with Sergio Perez either. Pastor Maldonado season of crashes continues as this time around he gets involved in yet another controversial crash with Perez which ended the Mexican driver’s race.

Massa’s best of the season

While Alonso was fighting for the top spot with Webber, Felipe Massa too proved his mettle by securing his best finish since the 2010 Korean Grand Prix. The Ferrari #2 driver was running on a Soft-Hard-Hard strategy and managed to hold off Raikkonen and retain a fourth place to the chequered flag. This was only the third time that the Brazilian finished in points this season and his best finish of 2012. Good results from both the Ferrari drivers promote the Maranello based team to second in the Constructors’ championship table. 

The Fight Goes On

While Red Bull continues to gradually increase its lead in the Constructors’ Championship the fight for the Drivers’ title persists. Consecutive finish on the podium for Alonso gives him the lead in the championship table but with the consistency with which Webber has been driving through the season so far, the Spaniard can’t breathe a sigh of relief just as yet. And lets not completely disregard Lewis Hamilton, Raikkonen and Grosjean who has secured points in every race he has taken a chequered flag in. That being said, the top five are still pretty close as far as the points table is concerned and no single name has been written on the 2012 title as yet.