There were not much to shout about when the race started and it was only when the Safety Car was summoned that events began to unfurl. Most drivers made most of the opportunity for pit stops but Webber missed out which saw him taking over the lead. But Webber did quite an unthinkable when despite running on lesser fuel, made it to his advantage. He recorded numerous fastest laps (on a lighter car) and eventually pit stopped with 23.7 seconds from the second driver. When he re-emerged from the pit, he continued his run as the leader.
His team mate Sebastien Vettel was trying to shrug off Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso which he did succeed but was given a drive-through penalty for exceeding the 10-car length behind the Safety Car. Alonso eventually took the second spot and that was how the race ended for him. Vettle finished the race on third place.
Felipe Massa finished fourth with Renault’s Vitaly Petrov on fifth. Reigning world champion Jenson Button only managed a miserable eighth to finish below Nico Hulkenberg of Williams and Pedro De La Rosa of Sauber. De La Rosa’s teammate Kamui Kobayashi ended the race on ninth place with Rubens Barichello completing the top ten. Michael Schumacher has had to settle for eleventh.
Lewis Hamilton had to retire due to a brake problem which will seriously dent his championship hopes, while it was a better finish for the Lotus boys who finished fourteenth (Heiki Kovalainen) and fifteenth (Jarno Trulli).
This means that Webber now lead the drivers’ standings with 161 points while McLaren’s Hamilton is only 4 points behind. If Hamilton had not failed to finish, he could have still led the standings. Vettel is breathing down Hamilton’s neck with 151 points while Jenson Button is also 4 points away. Alonso still has a chance for a shot at the title with 141 while it might be hard for Massa who only has 97 points.
