Red Bull was not far behind with both cars on the podium, but it is Fernando Alonso who won on Sunday his first Grand Prix of 2011, a first for Ferrari as well, amid the exhaust clampdown saga in Silverstone.
The top-10 on the grid started the race on intermediate tires with some portions of the track still wet from early showers. Sebastian Vettel took the lead on lap one and quickly increased his gap from teammate Mark Webber.
The track was drying up fast in Great Britain and drivers quickly started going to slicks with Schumacher on lap 10, than Button on lap 12, the two Red Bulls on lap 13 and so on.
A second stop on lap 28 probably cost Sebastian Vettel another win with Alonso taking first after a rear wheel gun problem at Red Bull slowed down the defending champion who came back on track in third, behind Hamilton.
The battle between the two World Champions was then intensified until Vettel stopped once again on lap 36 and took Hamilton's place when he stopped two laps later.
The British champion would have probably gotten a podium at his home Grand Prix had he not received the "save fuel" call from his pit on lap 42. With Mark Webber closing in rapidly, he had no choice but to let him go.
Felipe Massa almost had the best of Hamilton himself on the final lap, crossing the finish line just slightly behind the British driver. There was a contact between them in the last corner, Hamilton refusing to give any space at all.
Vettel owes his second place only to the "maintain position" from the pit in the last lap as his tires were so worn down the world champion was purposely running on the wet surface of the track to cool them down.
Nico Rosberg finished in 6th position ahead of Sergio Perez, Nick Heidfeld and Michael Schumacher, who completes the race in 10th after a stop-and-go penalty for a contact with Kamui Kobayashi on lap 15 handicapped him.
As for the other McLaren of Jenson Button, it is a day to forget once again, in Silverstone, as he was forced to retire on lap 40 of 52 when his right-front wheel was not fastened properly when leaving the pits.
British Grand Prix 2011:
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 52 Winner 3 25
2 1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 52 +16.5 secs 2 18
3 2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 52 +16.9 secs 1 15
4 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 52 +28.9 secs 10 12
5 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 52 +29.0 secs 4 10
6 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 52 +60.6 secs 9 8
7 17 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 52 +65.5 secs 12 6
8 9 Nick Heidfeld Renault 52 +75.5 secs 16 4
9 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 52 +77.9 secs 13 2
10 19 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 52 +79.1 secs 18 1
11 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 52 +79.7 secs 11
12 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 52 +80.6 secs 14
13 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 51 +1 Lap 15
14 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 51 +1 Lap 7
15 15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 51 +1 Lap 6
16 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 50 +2 Laps 20
17 25 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 50 +2 Laps 22
18 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 50 +2 Laps 23
19 22 Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 49 +3 Laps 24
DNF:
4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 39 +13 Laps 5
18 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 25 +27 Laps 19
16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari +29 Laps 8
21 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault +42 Laps 21
20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault +50 Laps 17
**Provisional Results**
The top-10 on the grid started the race on intermediate tires with some portions of the track still wet from early showers. Sebastian Vettel took the lead on lap one and quickly increased his gap from teammate Mark Webber.
The track was drying up fast in Great Britain and drivers quickly started going to slicks with Schumacher on lap 10, than Button on lap 12, the two Red Bulls on lap 13 and so on.
A second stop on lap 28 probably cost Sebastian Vettel another win with Alonso taking first after a rear wheel gun problem at Red Bull slowed down the defending champion who came back on track in third, behind Hamilton.
The battle between the two World Champions was then intensified until Vettel stopped once again on lap 36 and took Hamilton's place when he stopped two laps later.
The British champion would have probably gotten a podium at his home Grand Prix had he not received the "save fuel" call from his pit on lap 42. With Mark Webber closing in rapidly, he had no choice but to let him go.
Felipe Massa almost had the best of Hamilton himself on the final lap, crossing the finish line just slightly behind the British driver. There was a contact between them in the last corner, Hamilton refusing to give any space at all.
Vettel owes his second place only to the "maintain position" from the pit in the last lap as his tires were so worn down the world champion was purposely running on the wet surface of the track to cool them down.
Nico Rosberg finished in 6th position ahead of Sergio Perez, Nick Heidfeld and Michael Schumacher, who completes the race in 10th after a stop-and-go penalty for a contact with Kamui Kobayashi on lap 15 handicapped him.
As for the other McLaren of Jenson Button, it is a day to forget once again, in Silverstone, as he was forced to retire on lap 40 of 52 when his right-front wheel was not fastened properly when leaving the pits.
British Grand Prix 2011:
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 52 Winner 3 25
2 1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 52 +16.5 secs 2 18
3 2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 52 +16.9 secs 1 15
4 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 52 +28.9 secs 10 12
5 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 52 +29.0 secs 4 10
6 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 52 +60.6 secs 9 8
7 17 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 52 +65.5 secs 12 6
8 9 Nick Heidfeld Renault 52 +75.5 secs 16 4
9 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 52 +77.9 secs 13 2
10 19 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 52 +79.1 secs 18 1
11 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 52 +79.7 secs 11
12 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 52 +80.6 secs 14
13 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 51 +1 Lap 15
14 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 51 +1 Lap 7
15 15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 51 +1 Lap 6
16 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 50 +2 Laps 20
17 25 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 50 +2 Laps 22
18 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 50 +2 Laps 23
19 22 Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 49 +3 Laps 24
DNF:
4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 39 +13 Laps 5
18 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 25 +27 Laps 19
16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari +29 Laps 8
21 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault +42 Laps 21
20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault +50 Laps 17
**Provisional Results**