Webber records first win for McLaren as Red Bull falter againMark Webber today drove an assured and confident race as he rocketed McLaren to the top of the constructor's championship with a memorable win today at the Nurburgring. The race was one of the all-time best, with plenty of overtakes, drama and heartbreak. Webber led from the start over Maldonado, but due to a lapse in concentration lost the lead just before the first round of stops. However he fought back to retake the lead, and Maldonado's day never got better from there. Button looked strong and set to challenge Webber for the race, but McLaren split the driver strategies and the three-stop didn't pay off for Jenson. Fernando Alonso had a very quiet day, simply going about his business and setting fast laps to somehow end up in 2nd place, putting him back in the lead of the drivers' championship. Raikkonen rounded out the podium places with a solid drive. At one stage the race was looking like it would turn into a Webber/Alonso/Raikkonen/Vettel challenge, but Seb had another horror race, running into the lapped Bianchi on lap 42, then wiping off his own front wing on lap 49. Both incidents resulted in unscheduled stops that dropped the German down to the minor placings. Timo Glock recorded his first retirement of the year when he spun off, and Grosjean had a frightening accident early on caused by a brake failure, that brought out the safety car and also disabled Bottas's car due to running over debris and picking up punctures.
1st: Webber - While he had a couple of lapses in concentration drove consistently and aggressively when needed to take the win.
2nd: Alonso - Just kept picking up positions, stayed out of trouble and used his new-found Sunday pace to pick up his 5th podium of the year.
3rd: Raikkonen - Briefly battled Webber for the lead and had some very quick laptimes but lost too much time behind Massa and didn't defend against Vettel and Alonso.
4th: Vergne - Wow, easily the drive of the day. Made the two-stop work better than anyone else, and somehow managed to beat his teammate despite starting 4 places down on him.
5th: Ricciardo - Brilliant result, but will be disappointed to be beaten by his teammate.
6th: Maldonado - A strong result, but will be disappointed that he didn't have the car to challenge for a podium after starting on the front row.
7th: Button - The best of the three-stoppers, but the strategy just didn't pay off for McLaren.
8th: Massa - Also three-stopped, and briefly threatened the front-runners with his pace after the first round of stops but couldn't keep it up during the latter part of the race.
9th: Sutil - Ran wide early and dropped stacks of positions, but recovered quite well to finish inside the top 10.
10th: Hulkenberg - Started too far down the order to make any impression, but picked up enough points to elevate Sauber ahead of Red Bull again.
11th: Hamilton - Frustrating day for Lewis, did everything right but the car was just too slow.
12th: di Resta - Was on track for a top 10 but the last stop resulted in the car being released without a wheelnut, meaning Force India had to roll it most of the way back down the pitlane and lose about 30 seconds.
13th: Vettel - Has Seb been smashing any mirrors lately? Had a racing incident with the lapped Bianchi, then lost his front-wing. Was supremely fast but must tone down his erratic driving if he's to even finish in the top 10 of the drivers' championship. Hopefully a better second half to the year is looming.
14th: Rosberg - Also struggled with a slow Mercedes, decided to try something different by pitting when the safety car came out at the end of lap 6, but it was too early and Nico couldn't make it work.
15th: Kovalainen - A good, consistent drive sees another point for Caterham and the likelihood of relegation becoming less and less.
16th: Pic - Did his job well, but was pretty lonely as he never kept up with Kovalainen but was much quicker than the Marussias and Scorpions.
17th: Bird - Totally outpaced his teammate until Bianchi crashed out, but the Marussias just weren't in the same league as the Caterhams.
18th: Magnussen - Trailed behind his teammate for much of the race, but put on a late spurt of speed to take the bragging rights.
19th: Frijns - Another solid race, and Robin looked like he would have beaten Bianchi even if Jules hadn't crashed.
Ret: Glock - A rare mistake sees Glock's first non-finish for the year, resulting in dropping to 3rd place with Webber right behind him in the championship.
Ret: Kobayashi - Managed to pick up a puncture from the start by tangling with his teammate, resulting in floor damage that would have only given him minor points even if his gearbox hadn't packed up.
Ret: Bianchi - Was somewhat unlucky to be involved in what was deemed a racing incident with Vettel, which broke his rear wing and finished his race prematurely.
Ret: Bottas - Innocent bystander in the Grosjean incident, ran over some carbon fibre and punctured two tyres to end his race.
Ret: Grosjean - Had a terrifying brake failure that sent him into the wall at speed, but walked away unhurt. Brought out an early safety car as a result.
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1. Mark Webber (McLaren) 1:40:38.894 (25 pts)
2. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) +2.791 (20 pts)
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) +11.522 (16 pts)
4. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) +17.138 (13 pts)
5. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) +17.229 (11 pts)
6. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) +17.839 (10 pts)
7. Jenson Button (McLaren) +26.335 (9 pts)
8. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +36.521 (8 pts)
9. Adrian Sutil (Force India) +42.023 (7 pts)
10. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) +52.141 (6 pts)
11. Lewis Hamiltion (Mercedes) +1:05.176 (5 pts)
12. Paul di Resta (Force India) +1:06.576 (4 pts)
13. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) +1:06.674 (3 pts)
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14. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) +1:12.694 (2 pts)
15. Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham) +1:21.432 (1 pt)
16. Charles Pic (Caterham) +1:25.210
17. Sam Bird (Marussia) +1 LAP
18. Kevin Magnussen (Scorpion) +1 LAP
19. Robin Frijns (Scorpion) +1 LAP
Ret. Timo Glock (Sauber) Spun off (41 laps)
Ret. Kamui Kobayashi (Red Bull) Gearbox (41 laps)
Ret. Jules Bianchi (Marussia) Collision (40 laps)
Ret. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) Puncture (5 laps)
Ret. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) Accident (5 laps)
Fastest lap: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1:33.028 (Lap 56)
Reject of the Race: Red Bull - The champion team are looking amateur...a first lap tangle between Seb and Kamui, then Kobayashi's gearbox, then Vettel's two accidents!
Leaders:
Webber 1-11
Maldonado 12-13
Webber 14-21
Maldonado 22-23
Vergne 24
Button 25-32
Webber 33-41
Button 42-48
Webber 49-60
Full commentary:
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Well here we are at the Nurburgring, and can Webber replicate his 2009 heroics, winning from pole position, or will he suffer the same fate as 2011, where he was relegated to 3rd place after a poor start? Don't discount Pastor Maldonado - we all know what happened last time he qualified on the front row! Weather is again looking clear, and teams believe the track will be very quick, much unlike yesterday when drivers were struggling for pace. Don't forget teams bring their upgrades to this race for the first time, so lets keep an eye on who is racing out of their usual league.
Start: Lights out and away we go at the Nurburgring, and it's strong starts from all drivers on the first two rows, oh but Kobayashi gets a brilliant start, he's trying to squeeze around the side of Vettel, but Seb forces him onto the grass! Oh and Kamui's lost control and hit the wall with his wheel! Luckily he seems to only have a puncture but he's going to lose a huge amount of time and have floor damage by the time he gets back to pitlane. Horrible start for Red Bull! In the chaos Raikkonen managed to slip by Vettel. Alonso had a good start and used his raw pace of his Ferrari to beat di Resta to turn 1. Hulkenberg seems to be trying to make up for his poor qualifying performance and has overtaken Vergne, and is right on Hamilton's tail! Rosberg also has a decent start and passes Glock for 16th, then Vergne for 15th! Pic gets bogged down horribly, and both Kovalainen and Bird skate past him.
1: Webber leads the first lap by half a second, with Button right on Maldonado's tail as he tries to make it a McLaren 1-2. Alonso is crawling all over Bottas but the young Finn does well to keep the double World Champion at bay. Grosjean seems to have a very quick car, and he's passed di Resta easily to take 9th. Massa passes Ricciardo to take 11th! Hamilton seems to be struggling early in the Mercedes and is passed by Hulkenberg. Glock now passes Vergne who is getting a little swallowed at the moment. Oh and now Glock has also passed Rosberg! He's pegged back the Mercedes to take 15th! Kobayashi circulates slowly on three wheels but makes it back to the pitlane, but he's now 51 seconds down on the leaders and has a lot of work on if he's going to retain the championship lead today.
2: It's very tight at the front now, with the top 5 practically nose to tail. Kimi Raikkonen is currently the fastest man on track with a 1:36.757, he's made a huge statement of intent already up to 4th. Oh and what a lap from di Resta! He's passed Grosjean and Alonso, and then Grosjean passed Alonso too! Seems both Lotutes are quick today. Ricciardo isn't giving up this battle with Massa without a fight, and he has in fact passed the Brazilian to retake 11th! Glock passes Hamilton! Mercedes looking in trouble again today...and that's underlined by Vergne passing Rosberg for 16th.
3: Webber now sets the fastest lap with a 1:36.414, with Maldonado now dropping a little as he defends from Button. Alonso continues his battle with Grosjean by overtaking the Frenchman! So the order is Webber, Maldonado, Button, Raikkonen, Vettel, Sutil, Bottas, di Resta, Alonso, Grosjean in 10th, Ricciardo, Massa, Hulkenberg, Glock, Hamilton in 15th, Vergne, Rosberg, Kovalainen, Bird, Pic in 20th, Bianchi, Magnussen, Frijns and Kobayashi.
4: Webber improves with another fastest lap of 1:36.385 as his gap now extends to over 2.5 seconds. Oh wow, Hamilton was just passed by Vergne almost as if he was standing still! Mercedes really having a tough time. Pic passes Bird to retake 19th place, so both Caterhams ahead of the Marussias now.
5: Maldonado now puts his foot down and puts in a good lap, giving himself some breathing space from Button. Alonso is fighting hard to get higher in the top 10, and he now passes di Resta for 8th.
6: Alonso is still driving well, and has just passed Bottas to take 7th. Next up for him is Sutil. Grosjean is still flying, passing di Resta and also Bottas. Oh problem now for Grosjean! He's had a brake failure and smashed heavily into the wall! That was a frightening accident, but he's managed to walk away. Oh and Bottas has run over the broken carbon fibre and seems to have a puncture as a result! In fact it's such a bad one that he's had to pull over and won't make it to the pitlane, he's out also! Safety car is called! Will anyone take the plunge and pit? That would be very early...only Rosberg pits! Everyone else has decided to stay out but Nico Rosberg has decided to pit and try something different.
7-SC: So Rosberg rejoins second to last but should clear the Scorpions, Marussias and Caterhams quickly. I wonder if this early stop will pay off or whether he will struggle in the latter stage of the race? It emerges that Bottas had not one but two punctured tyres, so that's why he was unable to get around the track to the pitlane.
8-SC: So the order is Webber, Maldonado, Button, Raikkonen, Vettel, Sutil, Alonso, di Resta, Ricciardo, Masso in 10th, Hulkenberg, Glock, Vergne, Hamilton, Kovalainen in 15th, Pic, Bird, Bianchi, Magnussen, Frijns in 20th, Rosberg and Kobayashi.
9-SC: Webber of course now must put in a solid few laps following the safety car to get another gap, it was up to nearly 3 seconds before the caution period was called.
10-SC: The cars and debris have now been cleared, we should be seeing a green flag shortly.
11-SC: The lights are out on the safety car!
12: And it's back to green flag conditions! Maldonado takes the lead! He gets alongside Webber and makes it stick in the corner! Well, that's an unexpected turn for this race! Hamilton overtakes Vergne to take 13th place, and he's now behind the two Saubers. Rosberg and Kobayashi should be carving up the lower order but they're instead battling each other, meaning the Scorpions didn't even get within striking distance for Nico this lap.
13: Maldonado manages to hold onto the lead but is being absolutely hounded by Webber. The Australian can't believe he was caught napping! That battle is going to bring plenty of cars into contention for the lead, with plenty of cars in close proximity up front. Oh and Raikkonen passes Button! What a race Kimi is having, he's up to 3rd place! Alonso overtakes Sutil, he's up to 6th! Rosberg finally starts making some progress through the field, passing Frijns, but Kobayashi still remains behind the Scorpion.
14: Webber retakes the lead! He makes no mistake and uses his car's traction to get by the Venezuelan. Sutil runs wide! He was trying to overtake Alonso around the outside but simply ran out of road and he's lost several positions as a result! Oh and Ricciardo is now up to 7th as a result of also passing di Resta this lap, who lost a bit of time avoiding his teammate. What a race the young Australian is having! Massa also profits from di Resta, horrible lap for Force India!
15: Has Maldonado peaked? He's now dropped back behind Raikkonen, who could very well win this race at this rate! Rosberg is now up to 19th as he passes Magnussen, next in his sights is Bianchi's Marussia...and he's breezed passed Bianchi! 18th place now for Rosberg! Kobayashi has just found some pace and is finally passed Frijns, Magnussen and Bianchi.
16: Raikkonen and Webber are now battling hard for the lead as we approach the first round of pit stops, and what a cracking race this is turning out to be! Vergne passes Hamilton to take 12th place! Oh and Frijns has just passed Magnussen! Robin Frijns is currenty ahead of teammate Kevin Magnussen in 21st place! Oh and Massa is the first to pit! He's jumped the queue and decides now is the right time to try and undercut those ahead of him, i.e. Ricciardo, Alonso and Vettel.
17: Oh and Massa on his fresher tyres immediately sets the new fastest lap of 1:36.151. Will the other drivers react? Massa's problem is he now has to clear the Scorpions and that may take several laps. Button is being held up by Maldonado now...oh and Vettel passes Button and Maldonado on the same straight! He's taken 3rd place in his Red Bull, great lap for him! Meanwhile Hulkenberg is looking quite slow in his Sauber and he's been overtaken by Glock and Vergne in the same lap for 9th and 10th respectively. Both Rosberg and Kobayashi are able to clear Sam Bird's Marussia this lap, so they are up to 16th and 17th. Just the one driver reacts to Massa's pit stop, with Paul di Resta deciding to pit...and he rejoins in last but not far behind Massa.
18: Massa is still one of the quickest men on track as he carves up the lower order, passing Bianchi, Frijns and Magnussen all in the same lap! Oh and two more drivers are pitting, Button pits from 5th and Sutil from 12th. Button rejoins in 17th...that's behind Massa! Brilliant work from Ferrari and they are really threatening the front-runners with that early stop! Will anyone else react?
19: Vergne passes Timo Glock to take 7th place, and he's now only 3 seconds behind teammate Ricciardo, great work from the Frenchman! Massive warning signs from Felipe Massa, he's now overtaken Bird and has smashed his own fastest lap with a 1:35.547. Button also passes Bird...and di Resta is starting to make his way through the slower cars, passing Magnussen, Frijns and Bianchi. Oh and Vettel pits! Red Bull are reacting and trying to undercut Webber and Raikkonen! Hamilton also follows him in from 10th place, but where does Vettel emerge? It's in 15th place, behind Button and Massa! This may have been a master-stroke by Ferrari with Felipe here.
20: And the front-runners all stay out once again, and they must be attempting two-stoppers, and are in fact in the window for it now. Webber's lead over Raikkonen is just over a second. Sutil now passes Magnussen, but is unable to get past Frijns and lost a lot of time behind him. Kobayashi and Bird are the drivers to pit this lap, rejoining at the rear of the field.
21: Massa, BUtton and Vettel are now running into trouble in the form of the Caterhams, they have been unable to clear them this lap and as a result lapped two seconds per lap slower than Webber and Raikkonen up front. Sutil passes Frijns for 17th, but lost a lot of time stuck behind Bianchi. Similarly Hamilton passed Magnussen for 19th but then got stuck behind Frijns. Raikkonen pits! Surely Webber will need to react now, but Kimi is in the pitlane along with Kovalainen, Bianchi and Frijns! Raikkonen emerges in 12th place, that's behind Button but ahead of Vettel! Oh and great job Scorpion, they've managed to overtake Bianchi in that pit stop and Frijns is ahead!
22: Rosberg passes Pic, that puts him up to 8th place, and Massa and Button then follow through and also get by Pic. Oh Button passes Massa! Great move and that could be critical! Kovalainen passes Magnussen to take 17th place. Webber pits from the lead! This is a crucial stop for McLaren to get right if he's to maintain track position. Other drivers pitting are Hulkenberg, Rosberg, Pic and Magnussen. Webber's stop is good and he rejoins in 6th place, ahead of everyone else that's pitted already with Button right behind him. That's worked a treat for McLaren! Maldonado inherits the lead but is due to stop shortly.
23: Hulkenberg is through on Hamilton to take 13th! Just the two drivers stopping this lap, Ricciardo and Glock from 3rd and 5th respectively. So with just the top 3 yet to pit, the order is Maldonado, Alonso, Vergne, Webber, Button, Massa, Raikkonen, Vettel, Ricciardo, di Resta in 10th, Glock, Sutil, Hulkenberg, Hamilton, Kovalainen in 15th, Kobayashi, Rosberg, Pic, Bird, Frijns in 20th, Bianchi and Magnussen.
24: Oh and Button is giving Webber a really hard time on those new tyres, he's absolutely hounding him for that position but the Aussie fights back and retains the place. Maldonado and Alonso both pit! So Vergne now inherits the lead and has gone 24 laps on those tyres - surely he can't be thinking of trying a one-stop? It's a poor stop from Maldonado and Alonso actually overtakes him as a result! They emerge with Alonso in 7th and Maldonado in 9th place - his chances of a top finish just evaporated.
25: Button is past Webber! What an incredible race this is! Vergne pits, so Button is our 4th race leader of the day! Wow! Button's also set a new fastest lap of 1:35.539. Things are really slipping away for Maldonado - he's now been passed by di Resta and is 9th. Sutil passes Glock! Vergne rejoins the race in 10th place. What great drives Button and Massa have had - they really gained in that round of pit stops now in 1st and 3rd. However with Massa pitting much earlier than those around him he'll be the first to suffer tyre degredation.
26: It's another fastest lap for Button of 1:35.379, and his lead over Webber is just over a second. The cars are settling into position on track and the drivers seem to be having a breather from all the action that has already unfolded.
27: Both Button and Webber are flying, with both of them getting into the 34s, Button slightly quicker with a fastest lap of 1:34.886. They're leaving Massa in their dust at the moment. But wait! Raikkonen is flying too and has just beaten Button's lap with a 1:34.651! Rosberg passes Kobayashi! He's been held up by Kovalainen but found no way through for a few laps, but Nico has lost patience and taken the 16th from him.
28: Rosberg passes Kovalainen to get his Mercedes into 15th and into the points, but teammate Hamilton is next up and he's over 10 seconds up the road. Oh and Kobayashi is also able to clear Kovalainen to take 16th.
29: Button's keeping right onto it and his lead is now 1.6 seconds over Webber. Maldonado isn't giving up, he's just overtaken di Resta for 8th place.
30: Massa is now really starting to hurt Raikkonen, he's losing lots of time stuck behind the Ferrari. Oh and Vettel passes Raikkonen! Will he have better luck passing Felipe? Kobayashi passes Rosberg! He's taken 15th place with that move.
31: Webber is really starting to reel in Button now, as Jenson struggles on tyres several laps older than Mark's. The gap is down to under half a second! Massa is still keeping Vettel and Raikkonen at bay, oh and he now pits! Massa pits early again for the second round of stops, now he was 6 seconds behind the McLarens, so he's probably too far behind to challenge them. Vergne now passes di Resta to take 9th place, and Paul is dropping places. Glock is also through on Sutil to take 11th! Massa rejoins way down in 14th...will he be able to clear the drivers quickly again?
32: Massa pitting is vital for Vettel and Raikkonen. If they can not hold each other up they may be able to chase down the McLarens if they're battling for the lead. Webber is now fighting Button for the lead! Oh and Raikkonen and Vettel are looking pretty clumsy in 3rd and 4th, that's not going to help them catch the McLarens, which has actually helped Alonso who is lurking behind them at the moment and is in striking range. However 3rd-5th are 7 seconds behind the top 2 so they'll need to get their skates on. Hulkenberg has now passed Sutil also, so the Force Indias are fading whereas the Saubers are looking strong.
33: Oh and Button now pits from the lead! Well that is a surprise, he had the rubber to do quite a few more laps, but perhaps McLaren were trying to avoid having teammates going wheel to wheel. Glock now overtakes Paul di Resta to take 8th. Button rejoins in 12th place, ahead of Hamilton and behind the Sauber/Force India battle.
34: So Webber's lead over Vettel is 6.4 seconds, and he's currently lapping slightly quicker than the world champion. Massa and Button are having a couple of problems in the form of Sutil and Hamilton respectively - they've been unable to clear them this lap and are losing time. Di Resta now pits from 8th place, rejoining in 16th.
35: Massa and Button are still stuck behind Hamilton and Sutil - that's ruining their afternoons...Vettel pits from 2nd! That may give McLaren something to think about, but Webber seems pretty settled in his two-stop strategy. Vettel rejoins in 11th place, a few seconds behind Button.
36: Alonso overtakes Raikkonen! So the Ferrari is into 2nd place on the track, and he's been pretty quiet today but is in with a good chance of a podium. Button is finally past Sutil for 9th, and his next target is the two Saubers. Massa on the other hand is still behind Hamilton, his chances of a top 5 are slipping away!
37: So Webber's lead is now 7.1 seconds, but Alonso is lapping very quickly at the moment and took a full second out of it last lap. Button wastes no time getting past Hulkenberg for 8th, and has a bit of clear track ahead of him now. Massa finally passes Hamilton for 12th, and then Lewis promptly pits, rejoining behind the Caterhams in 18th.
38: Vettel passes Sutil for 10th, and he's doing everything he can to stay within range of 8th-placed Button. Plenty of drivers pitting this lap, with Hulkenberg, Kobayashi, Frijns and Bianchi all ducking in. Frijns and Bianchi become the first drivers of the race to go a lap down.
39: Massa passes Sutil to take 10th, he and Vettel are both flying and Seb just set the fastest lap of 1:34.581 from 9th place. Di Resta passes Rosberg to take 12th, and we now have three more drivers pitting: Sutil, Rosberg and Bird. So the order now, Webber, Alonso, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Maldonado, Vergne, Glock, Button, Vettel, Massa in 10th, di Resta, Kovalainen, Hulkenberg, Pic, Sutil in 15th, Hamilton, Kobayashi, Rosberg, Magnussen, Bird in 20th, Frijns and Bianchi. We expect the top 7 plus Kovalainen, Pic and Magnussen to all pit shortly.
40: It's a new fastest lap this time for Massa, with a 1:34.569! Hulkenberg passes Kovalainen for 12th. No pitlane activity this lap as the drivers and teams continue to put off the inevitable final stop as long as possible. Webber's lead over Alosno is holding steady at 6.1 seconds.
41: Button overtakes Glock to take 7th place, and he's currently 21.5 seconds behind Webber, which is about the time of a pit stop so Webber needs to get his skates on. Oh and Vettel makes a mistake while trying to overtake Glock and runs wide, but luckily doesn't lose his position to Massa. Sutil and Hamilton pass Pic, using their fresher tyres for 14th and 15th. Oh and some of the front-runners are pitting! Alonso, Raikkonen, Vergne and Glock all head down pitlane!
42: Vettel is flying now, as he laps Bianchi...and he's run up the rear of Bianchi! Oh wow, that was just like what happened to Webber in Valencia, but he's been lucky and not backflipped. He has a puncture and Bianchi's car is crashed, but everything Vettel does this year seems to backfire on him! Oh and Kobayashi has now stopped! He's got a broken gearbox! Nightmare lap for Red Bull! Oh and Glock has spun! He's beached it into the gravel and can't get out! That's his first retirement of the year, and what is happening here at the Nurburgring?? Webber, Ricciardo, Maldonado, Kovalainen and Magnussen all dive for the pits, but it doesn't seem like the safety car will be called. Plus Vettel who has to pit due to his puncture. Button has the lead! Webber has rejoined and his teammate has shot by at race pace, and there was nothing Webber could do about it! Not that anyone noticed but Button set the fastest lap with a 1:34.380.
43: Button's lead will only be temporary, there's no way he'll make it to the end on those tyres. Vettel is way down in 15th now but he's not going to stop trying, he's just done a fastest lap of 1:34.269. So the order now is Button, Webber, Massa, Alonso, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Vergne, Maldonado, di Resta, Hulkenberg in 10th, Sutil, Hamilton, Pic, Rosberg, Vettel in 15th, Kovalainen, Bird, Frijns and Magnussen. Those that will need to pit again: Button, Massa, di Resta, Hulkenberg, Sutil, Hamilton, Pic and Rosberg, so we project a podium of Webber, Alonso and Raikkonen at this point in time.
44: Oh and what a lap from Alonso! He's lapped Frijns, overtaken his teammate and set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:33.895. He's still 6.3 seconds behind Webber but if he keeps lapping like this he may give McLaren some headaches.
45: Vettel sets another fastest lap with a 1:33.651. Webber is currently 1.3 seconds behind Button but more imporantly only 5.5 ahead of Alonso. Rosberg passes Pic for 13th, and Charles immediately pits for the last time.
46: Vettel is still the fastest man on track...what could have been if he hadn't had that coming together with Bianchi? The stewards have announced that it was simply an unfortunate racing incident and no further action will be taken.
47: Vettel sets yet another fastest lap with a 1:33.483. Raikkonen is losing heaps of time behind Massa, oh but Felipe now pits so that releases Kimi, but he's 7 seconds behind 3rd-placed Alonso. Massa rejoins in 11th place, but should finish in the top 10 once di Resta and Hulkenberg pit.
48: Marussia have reported to Bird that sensors indicate his DRS will stick open if he uses it, but with Pic over 30 seconds up the road from him that won't affect him. If Vettel is to continue with his quick laps he's now going to have to battle through traffic, as he has Rosberg ahead of him. Meanwhile the gap between Webber and Alonso is now just 3.8 seconds.
49: The gap between Webber and Alonso has been cut to 2.5 seconds as he's held up by Button, oh and Jenson now pits from the lead, so Webber back into the lead but has Alonso gaining on him! Vergne passes Ricciardo to take what will now be 4th place! What a great race for Toro Rosso! Oh no! Vettel's race has become an absolute nightmare, he's just wiped off his front wing on a kerb and will need to pit yet again! So Button rejoins in 8th place, but should gain a couple of places by the race end, and Vettel rejoins in a lowly 15th. What a disaster...
50: Poor lap from Felipe Massa, he's run wide and into the gravel but managed to keep going, and also didn't lose any places. Webber and Alonso have kept the gap at 2.5 seconds, both lapping in the high 1:33s. So just 10 laps to go and it's Webber, Alonso, Raikkonen, Vergne, Ricciardo, Maldonado, di Resta, Button, Hulkenberg, Sutil in 10th, Massa, Hamilton, Rosberg, Kovalainen, Vettel in 15th, Pic, Bird, Frijns and Magnussen. Don't forget di Resta, Hulkenberg and the two Mercedes may be unable to get to the end on their current tyres, so may be due to stop again.
51: And the gap is now 2.3 seconds as neither driver really lights up the timesheets. Raikkonen is too far behind in 3rd to challenge, but has just set a new fastest lap of 1:33.232.
52: Webber pulls away a little and extends the gap to 2.5 seconds! Is that going to be too much for Alonso to chase down?
53: The last of the pit stops are happening, with the four drivers pitting that we expected, i.e. di Resta, Hulkenberg, Hamilton and Rosberg. Alonso's put in a slightly better lap than Webber and brought the gap down to 2.1 seconds, but it's clearly Webber's race to lose. Oh and problems for di Resta! He's been released without a wheelnut, but hasn't completely left the pitlane so Force India are having to wheel him all the way back! what a disaster for di Resta there. So di Resta drops all the way back to 12th place, he was running 7th and what a shame for him, he should be in about 10th.
54: Alonso is still pushing, the gap is just 1.6 seconds now! Ooh and a new fastest lap for Button with a 1:33.165, but he's 14 seconds behind Maldonado so won't be able to do much with it. Hats of to Kovalainen, he's currently keeping Sebastian Vettel on very quick tyres behind him. So the order is now Webber, Alonso, Raikkonen, Vergne, Ricciardo, Maldonado, Button, Sutil, Massa, Hulkenberg in 10th, Hamilton, di Resta, Kovalainen, Vettel, Rosberg in 15th, Pic, Bird, Frijns and Magnussen.
55: Webber now puts his foot down to record a PB lap of 1:33.544, and Alonso just can't keep up and drops back to over 2 seconds again. Massa is trying everything to get past Sutil for 8th but the German is holding his own despite his deterioating tyres. Vettel on the other hand has cleared Kovalainen and is chasing down Paul di Resta, who is currently 12th.
56: Vettel is flying again and sets a new fastest lap of 1:33.028. Rosberg now overtakes Kovalainen for 14th, so it looks like Caterham will only be able to manage one point this race.
57: Massa passes Sutil to take 8th place! Oh and Frijns has been passed by his teammate Magnussen very late in the race, so it's Magnussen P18, Frijns in last.
58: Alonso is now 2.9 seconds behind, and it looks like it's going to be Webber's first win of the season! The drivers have settled down into position now and it doesn't look like we'll have many more overtakes before the end of the race.
59: And it's the penultimate lap, Ricciardo is running in close proximity to Vergne but surely the team will have told him to not try anything silly.
60: And it's Mark Webber who wins the 2013 German Grand Prix, his first victory for McLaren and the Woking team's first win of the year! Alonso will take the championship lead with 2nd place, followed by Raikkonen who puts in another strong finish for 3rd. Vergne and Ricciardo drove their hearts out to finish 4th and 5th, Maldonado will be disappointed to have not made the podium after starting from 2nd but can be happy with his 6th place, Button will be disappointed with 7th, but is the first driver of those that stopped three times. Massa 8th, Sutil 9th, Hulkenberg 10th, Hamilton didn't have the car he needed all weekend and only managed 11th, di Resta had that pitlane issue late in the race and only made 12th, Vettel had a very poor race, and despite having the fastest car is down in 13th, Rosberg 14th, Kovalainen did well to pick up another point for Caterham in 15th, Pic 16th, Bird 17th, and Magnussen cleared his teammate late in the race to take 18th leaving Frijns down in 19th.
Those retiring, Glock records his first DNF for the season after spinning on lap 42, Kobayashi had a gearbox failure but struggled all race and wouldn't have scored many points, Bianchi tangled with Vettel and came off 2nd best, and of course Grosjean hit the wall on lap 6, with Bottas picking up punctures as a result and ending his day.
has been offered drives for both Red Bull and McLaren. He has respectfully turned down the Red Bull opportunity, and has chosen to test with McLaren.
Marco Sørensen was offered the opportunity to test for McLaren but has decided not to take it. (Don't ask me why...RNG is being difficult!)
All other drivers have accepted the testing opportunities in order of preference.
The following drivers have been finalised:
Marussia: Alex Lynn & António Félix da Costa
Scorpion: Robin Frijns & Kevin Magnussen
Red Bull: Daniil Kvyat & Fabio Leimer
Force India: Marcus Ericsson & Jack Harvey
Sauber: Esteban Gutiérrez & Max Chilton
McLaren: Stoffel Vandoorne & Robert Wickens
Ferrari: TBA
Lotus: TBA
Mercedes: TBA
Williams: TBA
Caterham: TBA
Toro Rosso: TBA
If anyone has not yet submitted their plans (i.e., those with TBA next to their team) please do so ASAP. I'll make the cutoff 72 hours from now - any teams that haven't submitted plans won't take part in the YDT.
EDIT: Standings updated on the new wiki:
http://formularejects.com/wiki/2013_NewF1_Series_season
