As it happened: 2011 Britain - The Race

• 12:00

  Hello and welcome to the Factbyte Factbox for the British Grand Prix.

• 12:00

  There's all kinds of talk about blown diffusers and who is arguing with who, but that is really a topic for another day. What is more important is the weather!

• 12:01

  Clouds over Silverstone, via @WilliamsF1Team.

• 12:01

  Tweet from #@radarguruf1: #F1 #Silverstone radar update 11:55 BST: Showers continuing to build. One is developing directly above the circuit!

• 12:03

  Silverstone is all shiny and new but some things never change and the weather is one of them.

• 12:04

  Anyway, there's still an hour to go for the showers to develop or disappear, so let's move on.

• 12:04

  Sebastian Vettel did not get pole position yesterday, although he lines up second on the grid with Webber first. Red Bull are still faster than everyone else, but Ferrari have the power to catch them today. Maybe.

• 12:06

  Grid Position

  1	Mark Webber	Red Bull
  2	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull
  3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
  4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
  5	Jenson Button	McLaren
  6	Paul di Resta	Force India
  7	Pastor Maldonado	Williams
  8	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber
  9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
  10	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren

• 12:07

  A great qualifying job from Di Resta, Maldonado and Kobayashi, all outqualifying their teammates quite considerably.

• 12:08

  Lewis Hamilton will have a lot of work to do from tenth on the grid, but he's good at making his way through the field, and no doubt the crowds will cheer him on.

• 12:08

  We've got just the one DRS zone here at Silverstone, with activation just after Turn 4. For more information, here's a 60 second update! https://sidepodcast.com/news/fia-confirm-single-drs-zone-for-the-british-grand-prix

• 12:10

  Tweet from @JoeRyland: Raining heavily at Farm Curve and first corner #F1 #Silverstone

• 12:12

  Grid Position

  11	Adrian Sutil	Force India
  12	Sergio Pérez	Sauber
  13	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes
  14	Vitaly Petrov	Renault
  15	Rubens Barrichello	Williams
  16	Nick Heidfeld	Renault
  17	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus
  18	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso
  19	Sébastian Buemi	Toro Rosso
  20	Timo Glock	Virgin
  21	Jarno Trulli	Lotus
  22	Jérôme D'Ambrosio	Virgin
  23	Tonio Liuzzi	HRT
  24	Daniel Ricciardo	HRT

• 12:12

  A poor day yesterday for Renault, with both drivers well outside the top ten. Kovalainen did a great job getting through to the second session of qualifying.

• 12:14

  Daniel Ricciardo makes his F1 debut this weekend, and he's starting at the back of the grid. He was about half a second off his HRT teammate yesterday, but you can't blame him in that car.

• 12:15

  The Red Arrows are swooshing over the track, via @richardholt.

• 12:18

  If you're watching the race today, why not join us in the comments? The super duper dashboard has comments, this here FBFB and Twitter all in one place. https://sidepodcast.com/dashboard

• 12:18

  You can also visit the thread directly: https://sidepodcast.com/post/live-britain-2011-the-race Commenting also super cool from there too.

• 12:19

  For live texts, visit the Autosport site: http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/374 or the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9534435.stm

• 12:19

  More Red Arrow action over Silverstone, via @rlaomax

• 12:23

  Tweet from @MarussiaVirgin: First drops of rain falling in the paddock, hope it holds off until the start of the race. Sorry for those in the uncovered stands but...

• 12:28

  The BBC are showing a video segment of Eddie Jordan serving the crowd ice cream from a van in the rain. Things you never thought you'd see.

• 12:30

  Now we are watching a battle between Hamilton and Button on jet skis. This must be the activity that injured JB's knee so he couldn't go up the Goodwood hill.

• 12:34

  The pit lane is open and cars are beginning to make their way to the grid. A bit of a queue forms at the end of the pit lane as they practice starting.

• 12:34

  There's a marching band on the grid. They look very smart.

• 12:37

  Prince Harry is on the grid: "It's fantastic, going in the right direction. Great to meet all the guys. The weather is playing its part as it always does at Silverstone. Cheering on Button and Hamilton, it'll be tough for them from the back. If somebody offers me a go, I'd love to have a go. Hopefully I'd do better than Hammond on Top Gear, he made it look very hard. Huge respect for these guys. I'm hoping for rain, I think it would be better for McLaren, but we'll have to see."

• 12:38

  Bernie on the grid confirms that everyone has signed an agreement over the blown diffuser, it'll revert back to Valencia spec.

• 12:40

  Jenson Button on tyre choice: "It's very different at the back than here. From Turn 3, I was on inters, I was pootling round because it was so wet. Half the circuit was extreme wets, half the circuit was dry. It's tough to call. We haven't done any high fuel running at all, I don't know what's going to happen. It felt pretty bad then but I think it's just the change in condition. It's a difficult call for all of us, especially at the front."

• 12:41

  Sir Patrick Stewart is a guest of Force India and McLaren today. On the grid, Martin Brundle moves him out of the way of an incoming Vettel. Stewart says, in his deep booming voice: "If you're going to get run over by anybody, the World Champion would be a good place to start."

• 12:43

  Paul di Resta sounding ever so slightly panicked: "It's virtually dry here but completely wet when you get to Brooklands. Tyre choice is going to be hard, the sun is coming out at the moment. Just going to have to sit down with the engineers and see if anyone can advise us on it. Not much you can do, it depends how quickly it will clear but there's only 18 minutes to go. It's a critical decision, it's the first time I've been in this position on the inter tyre as well."

• 12:44

  Fernando Alonso is peeking at the tyres under the blankets, and then waves off Brundle for a chat with his engineer.

• 12:45

  Christian Horner on the diffuser agreement: "Hopefully we're pretty much there. Just waiting for one signature, hopefully it's all done and behind us."

• 12:46

  Mark Webber: "Sensational to be on pole, on the front row. Now we have a mixed track, conditions, we need to get away well and make some decisions on tyres early on in the Grand Prix. I think that shower that went past increased in intensity as it got down to the old first sector. It will be interesting."

• 12:47

  Tweet from @petergholmes: @gcreighton Perez crashed into a pirelli sign right in front of me. Looks like a Damaged front wing.

• 12:47

  That's not a good start! Pérez returned to the pitlane for a new nose.

• 12:49

  Perez finds himself in amongst the advertising hoardings.

• 12:50

  Ten minutes until the race begins.

• 12:51

  You might want some live timing: http://www.formula1.com/live_timing/

• 12:51

  Circuit Data

  Silverstone Circuit
  Local timezone	+0100 GMT
  First race	1950
  Number of laps	52
  Circuit length	5.891km
  Race distance	306.747km
  Start offset	0.105km

• 12:52

  Norbert Haug gives Michael Schumacher a quick, encouraging hug, as the German puts his earpieces in and prepares to put on his helmet.

• 12:53

  Lap Data

  (data from Williams F1)
  Fuel consumption	2.9kg/lap
  Fuel laptime penalty	0.4s/10kg
  Top speed	315kph
  Average speed	233kph
  Pit lane loss	21s
  Pit lane length	422m

• 12:53

  Comment from Alex Andronov: My prediction is that this race will be the one we'll have a first lap crash on!

• 12:56

  

  20°C

  Track	22°C
  Humidity	61%
  Wind speed	1.3mps

• 12:58

  Tweet from @OfficialMGP: #F1 No sign of rain at the moment

• 13:00

  Tyre warmers are coming off. Button is on inters, it looks like most others are.

• 13:00

  The cars pull away for the formation lap, one of them in the midfield is smoking a little as it moves off, but no major problems.

• 13:00

  Tweet from @sarahholtf1: Last year Webber muscled past pole-sitter Vettel off the line. Will Vettel return the favour this year? #bbcf1

• 13:02

  They are kicking up spray round the back of the circuit, and on board cameras show it is tricky. But as Webber leads them back towards the start line, it's all dry once more.

• 13:03 Lap 1

  Race started.

• 13:03 Lap 1

  Every single car gets off the grid cleanly.

• 13:04 Lap 1

  Button moves up to fourth place, Vettel has overtaken to get into the lead!

• 13:04 Lap 1

  Vettel pulls out a lead as they get to the wet section of the track. Hamilton has jumped up to seventh place, and Schumacher had a great start up to tenth.

• 13:04 Lap 1

  No incidents on the first lap so far.

• 13:05 Lap 1

  Hamilton lines up Paul di Resta and goes down the inside into Stowe corner to move up to sixth place.

• 13:06 Lap 2

  All the top ten were on inters off the grid. That's not the same top ten as now, of course.

• 13:06 Lap 2

  Hamilton has easily passed Massa and Button as well. He's up to fourth now, chasing down Alonso.

• 13:08 Lap 3

  Vettel is pulling out a lead. It looks like live timing was lying to me, Hamilton passed Button, who must have fallen behind Massa. So Hamilton is chasing down two Ferraris.

• 13:08 Lap 3

  Kovalainen has pitted, and his car is back in the garage. It looks like he's retiring from the race. After such a good qualifying too.

• 13:09 Lap 4

  Reports suggest gearbox problems for Kovalainen.

• 13:10 Lap 4

  Hamilton has gone massively wide on the entrance to Brooklands corner, it doesn't look like he's lost any places, but he's got work to do to catch Massa again.

• 13:11 Lap 5

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver
  1	1	Vettel
  2	-1	Webber
  3	0	Alonso
  4	0	Massa
  5	5	Hamilton

• 13:11 Lap 5

  Team radio from Schumacher on when to change to dry tyres: "Two or three more laps I guess."

• 13:12 Lap 5

  Tweet from @MyTeamLotus: Heikki forced to retire: "These kind of conditions are our conditions but there's nothing we can do. We try again in Nurburgring"

• 13:12 Lap 5

  Race Control: DRS enabled.

• 13:14 Lap 6

  Interview with Kovalainen: "I shifted down to fourth gear for the first time, it jumped into neutral. I got it going again with the other gears, every time I shifted to fourth... there was a whole gearbox. Conditions are good. It's a shame, I really would have liked to have had a better go at it. Next time."

• 13:15 Lap 6

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	VET	1:51.692
  2nd	WEB	+5.4
  3rd	ALO	+8.0
  4th	MAS	+10.5

• 13:16 Lap 7

  Nico Rosberg has passed Maldonado down the Wellington straight, with Pérez also getting past. 11th place for the Mercedes driver now, with Schumacher up in 9th.

• 13:16 Lap 8

  One to Watch

  Rosberg	vs.	Pérez
  11th	+0.4s	12th

• 13:18 Lap 9

  The Sauber driver is chasing Rosberg hard, but doesn't seem to have the extra pace to get close enough. Alonso is also closing up on Webber for second place.

• 13:19 Lap 9

  TedNews: "Jenson Button's not happy on these tyres. Times would suggest he's burnt these out already. They're getting a set of slicks out for him already. He could be the first, and we know how good he is in changeable conditions on slick tyres."

• 13:20 Lap 9

  Kobayashi has a spin at Luffield, carrying too much speed into the corner. He was in 8th place, but lost two places to Schumacher and Sutil.

• 13:21 Lap 10

  Another battle is between Hamilton and Massa, he's close enough to use the DRS but isn't close enough to take the position. Yet.

• 13:22 Lap 10

  Drivers are taking a completely different line coming out of Luffield, some wide, some hugging the corner tightly. It doesn't seem either line has the advantage though.

• 13:22 Lap 11

  Replays show that Kobayashi's spin came after Schumacher ran into the back of him. Michael came into the pits for a new nose, and bolted on the slick tyres at the same time.

• 13:23 Lap 11

  Team radio to Hamilton: "We are in the window."

• 13:23 Lap 11

  Heidfeld has also pitted.

• 13:24 Lap 12

  Race Control: Turn 6 incident involving Schumacher and Kobayashi under investigation by the stewards.

• 13:24 Lap 12

  Button pits.

• 13:24 Lap 12

  Sutil and Kobayashi also dive into the pitlane.

• 13:24 Lap 12

  Button put on slicks and got a hefty dose of front wing adjustment as well.

• 13:25 Lap 12

  Petrov, Barrichello and Glock also pit from the back of the field.

• 13:25 Lap 12

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	J Button
  Team	McLaren
  Pit lane	25.070s
  Stopped	3.9s

• 13:25 Lap 12

  Replays show Hamilton passing Massa but repeating his early mistake by running wide. The Ferrari takes the position back.

• 13:26 Lap 13

  Webber, Alonso and Hamilton all pit.

• 13:26 Lap 13

  Jarno Trulli has stopped out on track, at Turn 15. That's both Lotus cars out of the race.

• 13:27 Lap 13

  More replays, and Kobayashi was released from his stop right into the path of Pastor Maldonado. There was contact, some bodywork flying either off the front of the Sauber or the back of the Williams.

• 13:27 Lap 14

  There are yellow flags for Trulli's car, presumably.

• 13:28 Lap 14

  Vettel and Massa have both pitted now as well. Vettel retains his lead.

• 13:28 Lap 14

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	M Webber
  Team	Red Bull
  Pit lane	23.973s
  Stopped	3.5s

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	F Alonso
  Team	Ferrari
  Pit lane	26.566s
  Stopped	5.8s

• 13:28 Lap 14

  Alonso was a good two seconds slower in his stop, held up by a passing McLaren.

• 13:29 Lap 14

  Race Control: Incident involving Kobayashi under investigation - unsafe pit stop release.

• 13:29 Lap 14

  Track is clear.

• 13:29 Lap 14

  Button is close up behind Massa for fifth place, as Hamilton chases Alonso for third.

• 13:29 Lap 15

  Button runs side by side with Massa, and gets the position.

• 13:30 Lap 15

  Race Control: 10 second stop/go penalty for Schumacher - causing a collision.

• 13:31 Lap 15

  Going into Copse, Hamilton went off the racing line, onto the wet with slick tyres on, and still made the position stick.

• 13:31 Lap 16

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver
  1	1	Vettel
  2	-1	Webber
  3	7	Hamilton
  4	-2	Alonso
  5	0	Button

• 13:32 Lap 16

  Button locks up passing Massa, but makes the position. Up to fifth place.

• 13:33 Lap 17

  Tweet from @tonyfernandes: "Disaster. Engine problem. Not a good day. one gear box one engine problem. Oh well my first experience of 2 cars out so early."

• 13:33 Lap 17

  Hamilton passes Alonso, kicking up plumes of spray on his slick tyres as he does.

• 13:33 Lap 17

  Schumacher pits for his stop/go penalty. Patience required for 10 seconds.

• 13:35 Lap 18

  In the bungled release for Kobayashi, he also made contact with Force India's equipment, and they had to reset their wheel guns. Thankfully, their drivers were not affected.

• 13:35 Lap 18

  Although Vettel is still leading, Webber is 2.4 seconds behind, and the pair are starting to lap other cars.

• 13:36 Lap 18

  Blue flags are waving wildly.

• 13:36 Lap 18

  One to Watch

  Heidfeld	vs.	Alguersuari
  12th	+0.4s	13th

• 13:39 Lap 20

  Kobayashi lost two places to the Heidfeld and Alguersuari battle. Now Barrichello is attempting a move on the Sauber as well.

• 13:39 Lap 20

  Tweet from @clubforce: Lap 18 and both cars running strongly in top ten. Paul in P7 and Adrian just behind in P8. Great stuff!

• 13:40 Lap 21

  Race Control: 10 second stop/go penalty for Kobayashi - unsafe release from pit stop.

• 13:40 Lap 21

  The stop/go penalty is in favour this weekend as the pit lane is short enough for a regular drive through to not be much of a hindrance.

• 13:42 Lap 22

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  11th	HEI	1:40.676
  12th	ALG	+1.1
  13th	BUE	+5.5
  14th	MAL	+6.7

• 13:43 Lap 22

  Schumacher passes Petrov after making good use of his KERS.

• 13:44 Lap 23

  Tweet from @MarussiaVirgin: Hutch tells jerome he's quicker than tonio so get past!

• 13:44 Lap 24

  Team radio to and from Webber: "What would you do with the front wing if we pitted?

  A little bit more, a little bit more."

• 13:45 Lap 24

  Alonso is closing up to Hamilton, the pressure is great from the Ferrari.

• 13:46 Lap 24

  Alonso gets the 3rd place, nice and easy with DRS. Hamilton seemed unsure of which line to take, and fell back.

• 13:46 Lap 25

  McLaren mechanics take to the pitlane, and it's Hamilton that pits.

• 13:46 Lap 25

  Yellow flag, not sure why yet.

• 13:46 Lap 25

  Track is clear. Still not sure why.

• 13:47 Lap 25

  Paul di Resta also pits from 7th place.

• 13:47 Lap 25

  The yellow flags were for Kobayashi, who pulled to a halt out on track, his engine smoking.

• 13:47 Lap 25

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	L Hamilton
  Team	McLaren
  Pit lane	24.065s
  Stopped	4.3s

• 13:48 Lap 26

  Replays show Di Resta's stop was ruined completely, as the mechanics had the wrong tyres. They had to run and get some more.

• 13:49 Lap 26

  It looks like they were Sutil's tyres. So Di Resta was left waiting for his correct tyres, and Sutil pits next, has cold tyres waiting for him.

• 13:49 Lap 27

  Kobayashi retires from the race.

• 13:50 Lap 27

  Webber, Button and Massa all pit at the same time.

• 13:50 Lap 27

  Yellow flags again.

• 13:51 Lap 27

  Buemi's Toro Rosso has a left rear tyre failure. It must have started as a puncture but is now flailing rubber. He's making his way slowly back to the pits, but will he make it?

• 13:51 Lap 28

  Replays show Paul di Resta and Buemi made contact. Debris on track.

• 13:51 Lap 28

  Vettel and Alonso both pit.

• 13:51 Lap 28

  Vettel has an extra long pitstop, Alonso gets out in the lead.

• 13:53 Lap 28

  Buemi never did get back to the pits, his car is being hauled away by the tractor.

• 13:53 Lap 29

  Hamilton is chasing down Alonso, and this is for the lead of the race.

• 13:54 Lap 29

  Replays of the Red Bull pit stop look like they put the car down too early and had to lift it back up to finish tweaking the tyres. That lost him the lead. He won't be happy.

• 13:55 Lap 30

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	S Vettel
  Team	Red Bull
  Pit lane	31.558s
  Stopped	11.4s

• 13:55 Lap 30

  Hamilton is dropping back off Alonso now. The Spaniard has a two second lead.

• 13:55 Lap 30

  Team radio to Vettel: "Alonso stopped early, he's very hard on his tyres. We can still do it. Be patient, mate, be patient. Two stops to go."

• 13:57 Lap 31

  Nico Rosberg has stopped from seventh place.

• 13:57 Lap 31

  Vettel is catching up Hamilton now, the gap down to 0.7 seconds.

• 13:58 Lap 31

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	ALO	1:36.803
  2nd	HAM	+3.2
  3rd	VET	+4.0
  4th	WEB	+5.2

• 13:58 Lap 31

  Track is clear. Finally!

• 13:59 Lap 32

  Alguersuari, Schumacher, Barrichello and Glock all pit. Busy old pitlane today.

• 14:01 Lap 33

  There's still a battle going between Heidfeld and Alguersuari. The Toro Rosso 0.7 seconds behind. They've been going at it for ages!

• 14:02 Lap 34

  Webber has a bit of a wobble, losing plenty of time from his teammate. Webber is currently sitting in 4th, and Button has closed up behind him now.

• 14:03 Lap 35

  Schumacher has passed Alguersuari, to step into the middle of the battle. He'll chase down Heidfeld next.

• 14:05 Lap 36

  The defensive driving of Hamilton has allowed Alonso to pull out almost 10 seconds into the lead.

• 14:06 Lap 37

  Vettel was ridiculously close to the back of Hamilton on the old main straight, but appeared to back off.

• 14:06 Lap 37

  Vettel pits, for a new set of tyres. They're resorting to strategy because Vettel clearly can't overtake on track.

• 14:08 Lap 38

  Hamilton has responded to the Red Bull strategy by pitting now. They have a good fast stop, but it's not enough.

• 14:10 Lap 39

  McLaren put out a radio message saying they'd bring Button in early, and Red Bull bring in Webber... with no sign of JB in the pitlane.

• 14:10 Lap 39

  Tweet from @MarussiaVirgin: It's still a long way in f1 terms but timo currently only 2.5s slower than alonso and co

• 14:11 Lap 40

  Alonso pits from the lead.

• 14:11 Lap 40

  Button finally takes the stop.

• 14:12 Lap 40

  Button pulls to a stop at the pit exit, he's out of the race. A wheel nut problem perhaps?

• 14:12 Lap 40

  Replays show the front right tyre wobbling off as he makes the exit. The lollipop went up before the wheel gun man was done.

• 14:14 Lap 42

  A wheel nut bounced off before Button even stopped. It may not be the same nut that caused a problem in the stop, but McLaren were harrassed before they began.

• 14:14 Lap 42

  Button walks back to the McLaren garage, bitterly disappointed.

• 14:15 Lap 42

  Massa pits from fourth place, and returns to the track fifth.

• 14:16 Lap 42

  Hamilton gets a radio message suggesting the level of fuel saving is not enough. He may have to slow it up.

• 14:16 Lap 42

  All three British drivers compromised for their home race.

• 14:17 Lap 43

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver
  1	2	Alonso
  2	0	Vettel
  3	7	Hamilton
  4	-4	Webber
  5	-1	Massa

• 14:17 Lap 44

  Incident involving Button under investigation - unsafe release from pit stop.

• 14:18 Lap 44

  Championship Prediction

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Sebastian Vettel	204
  2	Mark Webber	121
  3	Lewis Hamilton	112
  4	Fernando Alonso	112
  5	Jenson Button	101

• 14:20 Lap 46

  Webber has closed up behind Hamilton now, less than a second between them.

• 14:21 Lap 46

  Webber takes the position easily. Hamilton had nothing to fight back with.

• 14:23 Lap 47

  Five laps to go.

• 14:24 Lap 48

  Inter-Team Battle

  Renault
  Nick Heidfeld	8th
  Vitaly Petrov	12th

• 14:25 Lap 48

  Tweet from @InsideFerrari: Felipe who was struggling a bit with the previous set of tyres, now is doing his best laps

• 14:25 Lap 49

  One to Watch

  Rosberg	vs.	Pérez
  6th	+0.5s	7th

• 14:27 Lap 50

  Hamilton on the radio complaining that he's not getting enough information from his team. He doesn't want to lose another position to Massa, who is gaining on him.

• 14:28 Lap 50

  There are only a couple of laps left, though. Probably not enough for Massa to get the position.

• 14:29 Lap 51

  Webber is catching up to Vettel, two laps to go, one second between them.

• 14:30 Lap 51

  Webber closes up and makes an attempt but can't make the position. One lap to go.

• 14:31 Lap 52

  Behind them, Massa is right on Hamilton's tail. Two massive battles into the final lap.

• 14:31 Lap 52

  Comment from Lukeh: Also, Alguersuari is in the points AGAIN!

• 14:32 Lap 52

  Fernando Alonso wins the British Grand Prix!!

• 14:32

  Webber was told over the radio to maintain the gap to Vettel. Those team orders in full display.

• 14:34

  Just a few corners from the end, Massa made the attempt around the outside, but Hamilton was having none of it. Massa ran wide, and Hamilton retained the position.

• 14:34

  Team radio from Alonso: "Fantastic day, fantastic day."

• 14:35

  Massa nudges ahead.

• 14:37

  But, the Ferrari runs wide and Hamilton crosses the line in front.

• 14:37

  Tweet from @MyTeamLotus: We could hear the cheer from the crowd when Hamilton did Massa back at the last corner from inside our truck!

• 14:38

  Going up to the podium, Vettel has a good little chat with Stefano Domenicali. Alonso looks super happy, as you can imagine.

• 14:38

  Race Winner

  Driver	Fernando Alonso
  Team	Ferrari
  Race time	1:28:41.196
  Race distance	306.198km
  Average speed	207.155km/h

• 14:39

  I think Domenicali just said "mosquitos?" and then he looked at Alonso's visor.

• 14:40

  Alonso wins, and points to the prancing horse in the middle of his steering wheel.

• 14:40

  The National Anthem plays out.

• 14:41

  Webber does not look at all impressed. He started on the podium, and lost out at the start. Then was told not to chase his teammate for position at the end. Tough day for the Australian.

• 14:41

  Prince Harry is waiting up on the podium to hand out one of the trophies.

• 14:43

  Champaaaaagne!

• 14:43

  Webber makes sure to spray champagne right in Alonso's ear. Nice. Clearly avoiding his teammate though. Alonso takes a celebratory swig of the bubbly stuff.

• 14:45

  Fans are allowed to pour out onto track, an excellent track invasion going on. Who's going home with marbles and carbon fibre this evening?

• 14:46

  Christian Horner explains away the team orders: "From a team point of view, we decided that it was best to hold the positions in those final two laps. Obviously Mark disagreed with that. I can understand he's frustrated, but from a team point of view we can't afford to give away a whole load of points.

  "You manage situations earlier in the race to get Mark ahead, give him the undercut, and in the final two laps... the last thing you want to see is your two cars in the fence. The message was quite clear to him what the team expected, not what I expected, but what the team collectively expected. He should be fine with that. It was crystal clear this morning going into the race."

• 14:49

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	2	Alonso	3
  2	0	Vettel	3
  3	-2	Webber	3
  4	6	Hamilton	3
  5	-1	Massa	3
  6	3	Rosberg	2
  7	5	Pérez	2
  8	8	Heidfeld	2
  9	4	Schumacher	3
  10	8	Alguersuari	2

• 14:52

  Press Conference Quotes - Fernando Alonso: "I saw the problem in the pit stop with Sebastian. I didn't know because I was fighting with Hamilton and Mark, so I left the pits so I felt for myself leading the race, and then pulling a gap, you never know. The race was different conditions, we started with a very wet part of the circuit. Then it was very dry but still we think intermediate tyres. Then the intermediate struggles and we were quick in that part of the race. Then with the dry tyres it was the same thing, very slow at the beginning when the track was damp and very quick when the track was dry.

  "To put the car on the track, always... with no mistakes I knew the car had the pace for the victory. At the end, it came."

• 14:53

  Press Conference Quotes - Fernando Alonso: "We were fourth, we stay calm, we knew our opportunity would be later in the race. Thanks to the KERS and the DRS and all the possibilities we have these days, and then we attacked the Red Bull. Every race will be like a final, championship hopes are very difficult. Sebastian keeps finishing the race first or second.

  "Every race, every start, every strategy will be at the maximum."

• 14:56

  Press Conference Quotes - Sebastian Vettel: "I think it's hard to say how much we lost, but surely we lost the lead. I think we had quite a bit of a cushion at that stage. Obviously I came out behind Fernando and Lewis, struggled to get past really. I had some places where it was quite close with him but it didn't work so we went in for the stop, and had a longer stint at the end.

  "It was very difficult in these conditions. I had a very good start, was able to pull away very good at the beginning on intermediate tyres. We waited a bit and weren't that aggressive which cost us a bit of our lead, plus the pit stop so all in all, little mistakes here and there. You can't get it right all the time. We have to accept fair and square that Ferrari beat us this time. Not only this race, there has been a trend over the last couple of races they have been very strong on Sunday. We have to keep working hard, keep pushing hard until soon it is the other way round again."

• 14:57

  Press Conference Quotes - Sebastian Vettel: "I thought this was the only place where I could try something. On that lap I had too good an exit, so got off the corner very well, I was too close. I was sitting behind in that right kink where the old pit building is. You can't really do anything there, I was too close to do anything there, so I had to lift. It was very close but good fun."

• 15:00

  Press Conference Quotes - Mark Webber: "It was a mixed race, it was very slippery and tricky at the start with the inters. Half the track dry, half the track wet, made it very frustrating, obviously all of us had to stay out longer on the inters than we would have liked probably, because we had to wait for the slicks to come into play on that part of the track. Obviously Michael pitted first and we were waiting to hear on his pace. When he started to go okay, we elected to stop. Just before, on the inlap, I had a massive moment in Becketts, so Fernando closed on me. I went across the grass and came in. Bit scrappy there.

  "We had an interesting race after that. Felt very strong at the start of the stints, not too strong at the end of the stints. Both Seb and I were in big trouble with the tyres at the end. I tried to pass him but not quite. So yea, that was the race."

• 15:02

  Interview with Stefano Domenicali: "I think today was really incredible for everyone. For the show that was on the track, different conditions. If there has to be a director to have half the track wet, half the track dry, it was incredible. I'm very pleased of course for our team who did a great job. For Fernando who had an incredible race but also for Felipe who at the last minute tried to overtake Lewis. Very happy.

  It's good to see the atmosphere on the podium with Mark and Sebastian, that's what I like in Formula One. Tough fight on track but respecting each other and congratulating each other. Now we need to relax a bit tonight, then the next race."

• 15:06

  Interview with Lewis Hamilton: "That was as close as it's going to get. First of all the team did a fantastic job with all the pit stops... I could feel the crowd spurring me on. I had a great start, made up a lot of places. Unfortunately at the end I had to slow to save fuel. On the last lap they said I could push, and I was like "thanks! Now I've let him catch me up!" It was fun.

  "The guys in front didn't look like they had to save fuel. That's not a positive on our side, but they told me to go to his delta but I want to make sure I'm always there. I did the best job I could. I'm so grateful for the support I got when I crossed the line."

• 15:08

  Hamilton seemed in a very good mood, he's loving the support of the crowd this weekend.

• 15:09

  Tweet from @ManipeF1: Webber says he ignored the team orders, says he's not 'fine' with them as Horner had suggested. #F1

• 15:11

  Interview with Button: "When I headed out, as I turned up the hill the wheel came off. I stopped immediately. Very disappointing. We all make mistakes, you just hope they never happen. Disappointing also because it's in front of the home crowd. I was enjoying the race. Had a couple of battles out there and the pace was very good... it was all looking pretty sweet, I think I would have come out in front of Mark.

  So much could have happened, there's always the possibility of a podium when you're that high up and the pace is good. Disappointing and hopefully we won't have this issue again."

• 15:13

  Retirements

  Driver	Reason	Lap
  J Button	Wheel nut fail	40
  S Buemi	Puncture	28
  K Kobayashi	Engine failure	25
  J Trulli	Oil leak	15
  H Kovalainen	Gearbox	4

• 15:14

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Sebastian Vettel	204
  2	Mark Webber	124
  3	Fernando Alonso	112
  4	Lewis Hamilton	109
  5	Jenson Button	109
  6	Felipe Massa	52
  7	Nico Rosberg	40
  8	Nick Heidfeld	34
  9	Vitaly Petrov	31
  10	Michael Schumacher	28

• 15:16

  Team Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Red Bull	328
  2	McLaren	218
  3	Ferrari	164
  4	Mercedes	68
  5	Renault	65
  6	Sauber	33
  7	Toro Rosso	17
  8	Force India	12
  9	Williams	4

• 15:22

  Interview with Daniel Ricciardo, starting with seeing the chequered flag on his first race: "I guess that was the main aim for this weekend to see that. So that was good. it started off quite difficult with the other, started quite close to the others but they pulled away from me.

  "It was a little bit boring at times, but the blue flags kept me occupied. I'm reasonably happy that I got to the finish and have some information to take away. I just told myself it's another race. I think starting from the back there wasn't so much pressure of having to muscle someone out of the way in the first few corners."

• 15:22

  I must admit I don't remember seeing Ricciardo at all during the race, but to stay out of trouble in this race is an achievement in itself.

• 15:25

  Interview with Michael Schumacher: "It was a battling Sunday, indeed. A bit of a shame as tonight we have our home barbecue with all our staff. I was hoping to bring home some decent points. A couple of points I'm bringing home, but it's not satisfying, so I'm sorry for that.

  "I misjudged the braking point, slid into Kobayashi, lost the front wing. Did a whole lap without the front wing, then a stop and go penalty, which I'm not entirely sure is correct... a bit of a shame. Obviously the strategy was slightly compromised by traffic you have to battle through. A fourth or fifth wouldn't have been out of the question for us."

• 15:28

  Interview with Sergio Pérez: "It was a difficult race, I'm very happy for the team, for everyone. It's been a difficult comeback for me after my accident in Monaco. It hasn't been easy for me to get my rhythm again, now in my second race I'm in the points again. I think our car is quite good at saving tyres, and adapted quite well to the changing conditions."

• 15:30

  That about wraps up the Factbyte Factbox for today. What a race! Starting off with a damp track but keeping the rain off was perfect.

• 15:31

  The lead changed hands several times, and although there was no joy for the drivers in front of their home crowds, we had a new winner to break Vettel's dominance.

• 15:31

  Alguersuari did a great job to improve from 18th on the grid and finish in the points once more.

• 15:32

  Pérez also had a great performance, particularly compared to Kobayashi who was involved in all kinds of incidents - not all of them his own fault.

• 15:33

  From Silverstone, the cars will move on to Germany in two weeks time, with the race on the 24th July.

• 15:33

  I hope you'll join me then, but stay tuned to Sidepodcast.com for all the results and discussion post-race.

• 15:33

  Stay safe, fact fans!