Alonso Breaks Vettel's Streak, Wins in Britain

SILVERSTONE, England-R.I.S.- Just when many people thought that Sebastian Vettel would conformably win the Grand Prix of Great Britain Sunday afternoon at Silverstone, a rear jack failure on lap 28 ruined his chances and gave Fernando Alonso his 27th career win and his first with Ferrari since signing for the Scuderia two years ago.

Despite the mishap, Vettel finished second, with his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber taking third. Vettel now leads the world championship by 88 points over his Australian partner with the F1 grid heading to the famed Nurburgring in two weeks’ time.

"What a wonderful surprise!” beamed an ecstatic Alonso. “The team did an amazing job and I dedicate this win to everyone at Maranello and at the track, whose work has allowed me and Felipe to drive such a good car. It is a very special win because it comes at a legendary track like Silverstone, in front of a crowd that is so enthusiastic about cars.”

The race had to be started with the track very moist, with all the drivers beginning on wet tires. Vettel, starting out from the second grid slot, took advantage of a slow start from Webber and shot out into the lead, leading as much as eight seconds even after the track began to dry by lap 12. But halfway through the race, Vettel needed to come in for his next to last stop, and while the rest of the team managed to complete their tasks, the mechanics had his rear jack fail to change the tire, and precious seconds were lost. Alonso by this time, was close enough to overtake the German, and extended his gap for the rest of the race. Lewis Hamilton took advantage of this error as well, and passed Vettel for second, while Webber was also gaining in pursuit.

 With 12 laps left in the race, the final pit stops took place, and while Hamilton suddenly found himself with not enough fuel to increase his position, his Mclaren teammate Jenson Button, had even a worse situation, when a Mclaren mechanic failed to tighten one of his wheel nuts, and Button only could go as far as the end of the pit lane, before pulling over and retiring from the race. Webber, after fighting Hamilton lap after lap, finally took advantage of the Mclaren driver’s misfortune and passed the home hero eight laps from the end. But Webber was in reach of Vettel and one lap from the end, he had the opportunity to overtake the current world champion. But orders in the pits from his Red Bull crew, informed the Australian to hold back and stay in third. Alonso crossed the line, winning easily, but for Webber, it was a bitter pill to swallow, and with his contract still in negotiations for next year, might start think about what his future could hold for the Austrian sponsored squad. But Webber did not see it that way.

“I felt strong at the start of each stint, but less so towards the end of the stints” claimed Webber. “Both Seb and I were having trouble with the tires at the end of the race. I tried to pass him, but not quite, and that was the race."

Hamilton just finished fourth, just nipping Felipe Massa of Ferrari at the finish, while Nico Rosberg was sixth. Sergio Perez took seventh in his Sauber, while Nick Heidfeld, Michael Schumacher and Jaime Algusuari rounded out the top point finishing positions.

Alonso still was smiling afterwards, but already was putting his mind on the next race.

“We head for Germany with our morale up and with more self-confidence.” Said the Spaniard. “The Red Bull is still the strongest car, but the improvements we are introducing are working. When we were struggling at the start of the season, we did not get downhearted, but instead we reacted: now we have reaped the rewards.”