It was the British Grand Prix today under a new look track but whatever they did to improve the course did not really make a classic race out of the weekend as the decisive moments came on the opening lap before the procession at the front began. Mark Webber got a flying start and got past his team-mate and quickly becoming bitter-rival, Sebastian Vettel into turn one with a move that forced Vettel wide causing the young German to puncture and in effect destroying his race. Hamilton got close to Webber but never close enough as the super fast Red Bull car rounded out its dominance of the weekend by winning the race. It was a huge win for Webber who has felt the entire team is up against him even going as far as to state sarcastically after the race that his win was, “not bad for a number two driver.”

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A great day for Germany got underway with Sebastian Vettel beating Lewis Hamilton and Jenson button into 2nd and 3rd respectively in the European Grand Prix at Valencia just before his national football team went out and beat England to eliminate them from the World Cup. But that was just one of the side stories from what was a pretty boring race. After the highlights of Canada this race was a bit of a let down. Not only for the fact that I wasn’t actually there – which counts for a lot – but just that the race didn’t have the same drama and excitement. Baring one safety car, a drive through penalty by Hamilton and some fine driving by Kamui Kobayashi in the closing laps the race was a procession. Actually the biggest news to come out of the race, other than the Germany over England edge, wasn’t that Vettel drove from start to finish in first or that Red Bull got back to winning ways but that the rivalry between Hamilton and Alonso came alive once again.

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I didn’t see qualifying this morning so there isn’t too much I can write about it other than to report the outcome but I have no doubt you didn’t come here to find out who went on pole, if you’re reading this and into your F1 you probably already know by now. Still, I should say something so I will say that Vettel ended on pole, Webber second, Hamilton third, Alonso forth, and Schumacher in 15th. Yes you read that right, the 1 was indeed meant to be in front of the 5. His team-mate outqualfied him in 12th but the story of this qualifying for me, isn’t that Red Bull are back on top after a one race absence, but rather the demise of the Mercedes car which instead of getting better, which many thought it might by mid-season, it is getting worse.

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When Webber put his car on pole there was the fear that the mighty Red Bull machine would pull clear at the start and ride off into the sunset because after all the last time anyone other than Webber lead a race was back in China. My fears of a procession proved to be unfounded though as the race threw up plenty of spills and drama that left us with a ton of talking points not least of all the collision between the two Red Bull cars when they seemed set to finish first and second.

For a while there was talk of rain and I was hoping it would come and spice up the race a little but as the time for the rain to start was put back further and further it turned out that the wet stuff would not be required to make it an interesting race … the Red Bull boys delivered the drama for us when Sebastian Vettel went up the inside of race leader and team-mate Mark Webber before preceded to turn into the side of him taking both drivers off the track. Vettel’s race ended at that point, Webber recovered to hang onto third place but while he tried to remain calm and orderly during the post-race press conference you could see in his eyes that he was absolutely furious and it would have been fun to be a fly on the wall of the Red Bull debrief sometime there after when Webber would confront Vettel.

The move infuriated me also … In my predictor pool I had Webber down for the win and Vettel’s moment of madness destroyed that. Still, the McLaren’s took full advantage and moved into the first/second spots which they would control for the rest of the race and as such move themselves to the top of the constructors standings. Once they took the first and second places the only question was who would come out the winner and when Jenson Button stormed round the outside of Hamilton out of nowhere it looked like the reigning World Champion might indeed spring the surprise. As he said himself after the race, he had to go for it, though Hamilton being Hamilton he was not going to bow so easily and so he kept tight to Button, kept on the inside and heading down into turn one was able to come past Button this time as both drivers touched wheels before Hamilton regained his lead. It was dramatic stuff but a display to Red Bull on how two team mates should race wheel-to-wheel. McLaren team principle, Martin Whitmarsh, must have been on the edge of his seat with fear as he watched his two drivers put on a fine display of overtaking racing. I’m not sure what was said in the radio’s but following this move both drivers were ordered to conserve fuel which was running low and so the dog-fight ended and the result was set. It’s certainly nice to see that team orders are not in place with either Red Bull or McLaren and that both teams are happy for their drivers to race, it’s just a shame only one team seemed capable of a clean fight. Still, a few collisions only add to the drama for us fans.

When both Red Bulls had collided it was Michael Schumacher driving in 5th that looked set to benefit almost as much as Hamilton … Webber looked like he might lose serious time with a damaged wing but managed to get in and get a repair and back out in 3rd before Schumacher could get in front of him. It was the closest the German legend has come to standing on the podium so far this season with his 4th place finish but he looked excellent in a car which is clearly slower than the two in front of him. McLaren and Red Bull look to be in a different class than the rest right now but lately Schumacher has been proving himself to be the best of the race as he kept his team-mate behind as well as the Ferrari’s and Renault’s. If only Mercedes could find a second or so per lap he would be right there mixing it with the other two and if he gets close to them on pace I feel race victories won’t be far behind. I said a few months ago that it would take Schumacher five or six races to get up to speed again after his three year absence … that has proven to be right, but now its just a matter of finding a car that allows him to compete rather than be the best of the rest.

The F1 circus moves to Canada next and I’ll have the pleasure of being there. Keep your eyes to the right of the site for plenty of Twitter updates from Montreal as I head up on the Thursday night for a weekends worth of car racing action as well as fun in and around that fine city. The F1 championship is nicely poised for me heading to Montreal … Webber leads the title with 93 points, Button is second on 88, Hamilton third on 84, Alonso forth on 79 with Vettel fifth on 78. Michael Schumacher is back in 9th with 34 but might be further up was it not for his demotion at Monaco two weeks ago. Look for him to climb the standings rapidly. Also Montreal will make for intriguing viewing as the two Red Bull boys take to the track side by side one again and Button looks to get the jump back on Hamilton in the fight for the Championship.

The F1 season moves to China now and with it an end to the Asian season which will be followed by a three week break before the teams arrive in Europe for the European Season. Tomorrows race is expected to take place in the rain which can only be a good thing and will start with a Red Bull on the front of the grid yet again. Red Bull have started from pole in every race so far this season but race reliability has hurt them to the point that they still don’t lead the constructors championship. Still, Vettel is the hot favorite for the race and baring some serious rain it’s hard to see who is going to stop him. I am hoping it’ll be Alonso thanks to the bet I have decided to put on him at 5/1 odds, but it’ll be a tough ask for Fernando against a very fast Red Bull car.

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I haven’t really had the time to sit down and write about Sunday’s race until now but for the second race out of three it was entertaining stuff and hopefully proving that the fears after the first race are going to be unfounded. As the third race of the season it also gave us the third different winner (Sebastian Vettel), yet the title race is being lead by a guy who hasn’t won any races yet, Felippe Massa.

Sebastian Vettel got a fantastic start, took the lead and never gave it up, but the action took place between the McLaren and Ferrari teams who had to come from the back of the field to salvage any points they could. The happiest team of the day will surely have been Red Bull with the one/two finish, but Hamilton in his McLaren will be very satisfied wit a 6th place finish after starting so far back.

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To get up in the wee hours of the morning or not to get up in the wee hours of the morning? That is the question. Indeed, the Australian Grand Prix goes this weekend and in years past I would certainly have got up at whatever time of the night to watch the race, but good nights sleep are few and far between these days and with the added advantage of a PVR box in order to record TV easily, the temptation is there to record the race and get up after a nice sleep in to watch it at my leisure. Hmm. I tried that for the race in Malaysia only to walk into the living room, turn on the TV and see the live feed of Fernando Alonso climbing out of his car as race victor. That won’t happen this time, for as long as I don’t get up to watch it live from the start, I won’t be up at all during the actual live race.

Anyway, thats a decision for later when I figure out how tired I really am. Right now, qualifying has taken place and while I choose Alonso for pole in my prediction league it ended up Vettel took his second pole in two races with Webber second proving the Red Bull might well be the team to beat this year. So far so good for them, they really have built on last years fantastic season.

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