Vettel wins British grand prix

• Sebastian Vettel's second win of the season• Jenson Button finishes in sixth after poor startSebastian Vettel has won the British grand prix for his second race win of the season, with Mark Webber behind him for a Red Bull one-two, and Rubens Barricchello in third. The world championship leader Jenson Button started and finished in sixth, but he still holds a healthy 23-point lead from Barrichello, who has 41 points. Vettel's win keeps him in third place, now two points behind Barrichello.It was the final FIA grand prix to be staged at Silverstone, although the current stand-off between the Formula One controllers and the teams means the track could yet be called into action as part of a rebel series next year. Vettel won from pole and made a strong start, unlike two weeks ago in Turkey when an early error allowed Button into first place, a position he did not relinquish for the rest of the race. In fact it was Button who started poorly this time, boxed in and immediately slipping three places to ninth.Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso overtook each other to renew their old rivalry, but unlike the 2007 championship, the two were well down the field. Hamilton eventually finished in 16th position.2009 British grand prix results1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1hr 22mins 49.328secs2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:23:04.5163 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:23:30.4834 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:23:34.3715 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:23:35.2436 Jenson Button (GB) Brawn GP 1:23:35.6137 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:23:57.6358 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:23:58.9509 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:23:59.15110 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:24:00.85011 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:24:03.35112 Nelson Piquet Jr (Bra) Renault at 1 Lap13 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber at 1 Lap14 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault at 1 Lap15 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber at 1 Lap16 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren at 1 Lap17 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India at 1 Lap18 Sébastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso at 1 LapNot Classified: 19 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 37 Laps completed, 20 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 36 Laps completedWorld championship standingsDrivers: 1 Jenson Button (GB) Brawn GP 64pts, 2 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 41, 3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 39, 4 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 35.5, 5 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 21.5, 6 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 16, 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 15.5, 8 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 13, 9 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 11, 10 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 10, 11 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren 9, 12 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 6, 13 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 4, 14 Sébastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 3, 15 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 2, 16 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 2, 17 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 0, 18 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 0, 19 Nelson Piquet Jr (Bra) Renault 0, 20 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 0Manufacturers: 1 Brawn GP 105, 2 Red Bull 74.5, 3 Toyota 34.5, 4 Ferrari 26, 5 Williams 15.5, 6 McLaren 13, 7 Renault 11, 8 BMW Sauber 8, 9 Scuderia Toro Rosso 5, 10 Force India 0Formula oneRed BullJenson ButtonBrawnFerrariMcLarenRenaultForce IndiaSauberToyotaWilliamsToro RossoLewis HamiltonMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Italian GP Review: BMW

Monza (IT). While Nick Heidfeld came seventh after starting 15th in the Italian Grand Prix, his team mate, Robert Kubica, retired after 15 laps due to a gear box oil leak. After a disappointing qualifying the BMW Sauber F1 Team scored two more championship points.

Hamilton storms to pole for Italy GP

• Adrian Sutil second and Kimi Raikkonen third• Jenson Button to start in sixth placeLewis Hamilton stormed to the 15th pole position of his career ahead of tomorrow's Italian grand prix. The reigning world champion saved it until the final moment as he was the last to cross the line in a hotly contested final ten-minute showdown, deposing Force India's Adrian Sutil from top spot.There was a possibility Hamilton could be penalised, though, as he appeared to impede Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi late on in the initial 20-minute Q1. However, given Buemi was never going to make it into the next session, it was hard to imagine the stewards penalising Hamilton.After claiming his second pole position of the year, and pipping close friend Sutil, Hamilton said: "It was a very close qualifying session, and I'm very happy to see Adrian up here. Since Formula Three it's been a long time since we've been in a press conference together, and on the front row. But it was such a great feeling to put a great lap together."People need to understand, you have one shot at it at the end, so to pull it off is amazing. I don't think we anticipated being just as quick as we are this weekend, so it's a bonus to everyone in the team."Behind another unusual front row, given Sutil's performance, Kimi Raikkonen again gave Ferrari something to cheer. He will start third, with the 2007 world champion joined on the second row by his fellow Finn, McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen.The Brawns, clearly back in form after their recent struggles, are on the third row, with Rubens Barrichello starting fifth and Jenson Button sixth, the Brazilian out-qualifying the Briton for the third successive race.On his debut for Force India, Tonio Liuzzi gave the team another historic moment as he will start seventh, the first time they have managed to get both cars into the top 10. Renault's Fernando Alonso starts eighth, followed by the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, their title hopes fading further.BMW Sauber suffered a wretched Q2 as both Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld retired, with engine trouble. Kubica will start 13th and Heidfeld 15th, with the man to split them being Giancarlo Fisichella on his debut for Ferrari. The 36-year-old has clearly struggled to adapt to the car in the wake of his move from Force India nine days ago, notably crashing it this morning in final practice.Toyota's Jarno Trulli will start from 11th, with Romain Grosjean a semi-respectable 12th for Renault bearing in mind his car has KERS on board this weekend.Williams' fears regarding this circuit were certainly realised as both Kazuki Nakajima and Nico Rosberg failed to make it out of Q1. For Rosberg, who had qualified in the top 10 in 11 of the previous 12 races this season, the 24-year-old will start from his lowest position of the year in 18th, one place behind Nakajima.Toyota's Timo Glock was another unable to find the downforce and power required for Monza as he starts 16th, with the Toro Rossos bringing up the rear. Buemi will line up 19th, with Jaime Alguersuari 20th, the young Spaniard's five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change after final practice not counting for anything on this occasion.Positions after qualifying1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1min 24.066secs, 2 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:24.261, 3 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:24.523, 4 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:24.845, 5 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:25.015, 6 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:25.030, 7 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Force India 1:25.043, 8 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:25.072, 9 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:25.180, 10 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:25.314, 11 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:23.611, 12 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault 1:23.728, 13 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:23.866, 14 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Ferrari 1:23.901, 15 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:24.275, 16 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:24.036, 17 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:24.074, 18 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:24.121, 19 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:24.220, 20 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:24.951Formula OneMotor sportLewis Hamiltonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Jenson Button suffers qualifying blow

• Button to start from a season-low 14th, Lewis Hamilton 12th• Fisichella gives Force India their first Formula One poleJenson Button's Formula One world title hopes suffered a crushing blow in a bizarre qualifying session for tomorrow's Belgian grand prix. For the first time this year the championship leader failed to make it into the top-10 shootout, with the 29-year-old down in a season-low 14th.In a remarkable hour at the Spa circuit, Giancarlo Fisichella - the man being touted to replace the hapless Luca Badoer at Ferrari - gave Force India their first F1 pole, although it remains to be seen how much fuel is in the car. It is the veteran Italian's fourth pole of his career, and his first since Malaysia in 2006, with Toyota's Jarno Trulli second, BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld third and Button's Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello fourth.Fisichella, whose previous best grid slot this year was 13th, was unable to explain his performance. "Pole position is amazing, fantastic," remarked the 36-year-old. "I'm so happy and thanks to the team who have done a great job. It's a remarkable result. I've shown what I can do. This is one of my favourite circuits, but I didn't expect to be on pole, in particular considering the budget of our team."Button offered a simple explanation for his poor display, conceding he "wasn't fast enough." He added: "It is pretty disastrous for tomorrow really. It's going to make it very difficult. I didn't have any pace on the soft tyres and every time I hit the brakes, the rear would move. I did not have any confidence in the rear end. It's strange to be four or five tenths [of a second] off Rubens. Our cars are different, but they are not that different."The 15-minute middle session was not just a disaster for Button, but also for Lewis Hamilton. The reigning world champion was unable to build on his victory in Hungary and pole at the European grand prix last weekend, qualifying down in 12th. His McLaren struggled in the twisty middle section of the track, whilst his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen fared worse and will start 15th, his second worst qualifying display this season. Renault's Fernando Alonso was another casualty in Q2 and was only 13th fastest.Luca Badoer, meanwhile, could be out of a job following tomorrow's race in the wake of another poor performance. The 38-year-old replacement for the recuperating Felipe Massa will again start at the back of the grid, as he did last weekend on his Ferrari debut in Valencia. Badoer ended the opening 20-minute Q1 by breaking the rear suspension of his car in careering backwards into a tyre wall after passing Sebastian Vettel on the approach to Les Combes. Renault's Romain Grosjean also struggled on his second outing, coming only one place better than Badoer in 19th.Leading grid positions after qualifying1 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1min 46.308secs, 2 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:46.395, 3 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:46.500, 4 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:46.513, 5 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:46.586, 6 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:46.633, 7 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:46.677, 8 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:46.761, 9 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:46.788, 10 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:47.362, 11 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:45.119, 12 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:45.122, 13 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:45.136, 14 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:45.251, 15 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:45.259, 16 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:45.951, 17 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:46.032, 18 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:46.307, 19 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault 1:46.359, 20 Luca Badoer (Ita) Ferrari 1:46.957Formula OneMotor sportJenson ButtonBrawnForce Indiaguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

British grand prix – live!

Join Gemma for all the action. Any insights, questions or comments can be e-mailed hereLap 17: Raikkonen (P10) has leap-frogged Nakajima (P11) in those stops. Hamilton - being held up by the slower Kubica - tells his engineer he cannot pass as he has no grip.Lap 16: Kazuki 'I'm running on a wisp of fuel' Nakajima is the first to pit. He stays on the harder tyre. Vettel does another fastest lap. Button is now 27.4 seconds adrift of the leader. Raikkonen also pits.Lap 12: Not much drama to report I'm afraid folks. Here's the order: Vettel, Barrichello, Webber, Nakajima (I know!), Raikkonen, Rosberg, Trulli, Button, Massa, Glock, Fisichella (go on my son), Heidfeld, Alonso, Kubica, Hamilton, Piquet, Bourdais, Buemi, Kovalainen and Sutil.Lap 11: My carefully-positioned boyfriend... erm, sorry, I mean track-side mole... is embedded at Club. But all he has to report is that there are plenty of chips being consumed (gernerous servings too, apparently). And it's a bit chilly.Lap 10: Vettel's lead now 10 seconds and he's just posted another fastest lap. Webber maintains his close pursuit of Barrichello but has not thrown any moves.Lap nine: Hamilton's engineers have told him he must get past Kubica (P14). But the Brit said yesterday that his car is so poor the only way to drive it is slowly.Lap eight: Heidfeld is running well in 12th, having started 15th, despite his poorly nose (on the car, you understand).Lap seven: Vettel's lead is over 7 seconds now, but there's only eight tenths between Barrichello and Webber. Button still in eighth - he's over 15 seconds shy of the race leader now.Lap five: Webber is six seconds behind his team-mate in third. He'll need to get past Barrichello if he wants to hunt him down. Kubica has taken 14th from Hamilton - looks like happened when Alonso (in P13) ran wide and held up Hamilton, allowing the BMW through.Lap four: Over the radio we can hear Heidfeld's engineer telling him 'box! box!' (which means pit, not slam another driver in the face) for a new nose. But the militant German says 'nein'. He'll wait until the first stop. Vettel's lead now 4.4sec.Lap three: Vettel is storming - he made almost a second on Barrichello in that lap. Kovalainen wins the prize for worst start: he lined up in 13th and he's back in 19th.Lap two: Vettel's lead is already 2.5seconds, he's the fastest car on track. Hamilton is up to 14th already - he can see a points finish in his sights. Button has re-passed Massa for eighth.Lap one: Trulli also dropped down the order at the start. The Ferraris both got flyers - Massa looked fantastic surging past Button. The order in the top ten after the first tour: Vettel, Barrichello, Webber, Nakajima, Raikkonen, Rosberg, Trulli, Massa, Button and Glock.The start: Vettel good start, keeps ahead of Barrichello and Webber. Button has dropped down to eighth.Most of the frontrunners - apart from the Williams cars - are starting on the softer option tyres. We're about to get underway...Enough politics. We're counting down to the start of the GP now. It looks a little breezy at the former airfield. Flavio Briatore has told the BBC's Martin Brundle that he "loves" Bernie Ecclestone. Victoria Pendleton "cannot believe" that she's been standing on the Formula One grid. And Lewis Hamilton is casting round for a pair of binoculars so he can get a glimpse of the front of the pack...More breaking news: The Big Row has given Donington Park a 'get out of jail free' card. Apparently, if the planned breakaway goes ahead, the circuit bosses can pull out of their contract to host the GP. Which would help them out of any hole, were they not to achieve the funding necessary to bring the circuit up to scratch, wouldn't it?I think the news editor will pull out my computer's power cable if I don't mention The Big Row. The latest news: in a quote that will leave the City's finest barristers weeping into their copies of the Sunday Times this morning, Max Mosley has said that a resolution is imminent. "I think we would rather talk than litigate," he said. "We are very, very close as far as the facts are concerned. It's just if the teams want to sit down and iron out the last few difficulties." So are we close to a resolution then? Let's hope so: my fingernails are already bitten to the quick and I can handle any more last-minute re-writes. But what do you care about my bleeding hands - email me with your thoughts.Elsewhere on the grid, the Williams pair were light-fuelled and running highly. But the big story had to be Lewis Hamilton's dire 19th position. He wasn't helped by the red flags coming out owing to Adrian Sutil's heafty shunt, but the reigning champion later claimed he had little more to come from his curtailed flying lap. At least it'll be fun to watch him try and work his way up the field. Funny, though, how we've been uttering that line for the past few races. But we absolutely won't say 'what a difference a year makes'. That would be too cliched. Ooops.So Vettel, the only man other than Jenson to have won a grand prix this season, sits on pole. And what a lap it was. Information on the fuel loads released last night showed that the young German's car was carrying two more laps of fuel compared to team-mate Webber - with the Brawn GP drivers' cars carrying less than both the Red Bulls. So you'd have to fancy that the energy drink-powered cars have the edge, right? Both drivers praised recent technical developments made by the Milton Keynes-based squad, while Button could only whinge about his skitterish Brawn.1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault2. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn-Mercedes3. Mark Webber, Red Bull-Renault4. Jarno Trulli, Toyota5. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams-Toyota6. Jenson Button, Brawn-Mercedes7. Nico Rosberg, Williams-Toyota8. Timo Glock, Toyota9. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari10. Fernando Alonso, Renault11. Felipe Massa, Ferrari12. Robert Kubica, BMW-Sauber13. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren-Mercedes14. Nelson Piquet, Renault15. Nick Heidfeld, BMW-Sauber16. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India-Mercedes17. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso-Ferrari18. Adrian Sutil, Force India-Mercedes19. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes20. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso-FerrariBut let's say 'pah!' to those anoraks at the circuit anyway - they were smugly expecting to watch hero-de-jour Jenson Button triumph, weren't they? Not so confident now though. Sixth on the grid? What's all that about we demanded after yesterday's qualifying session. No grip, according to Sir Jenson of Frome. Skating around like a duckling on an icy pond, apparently. Ole Button has written off his chances of victory already, so what can we expect from today's race? Let's remind ourselves of the grid...Well hello. So you're not one of the 90,000 people who've made the pilgrimage to Silverstone for it's last-ever Formula One grand prix* (*possibly) then? Never mind. I was going to say that it'll probably rain and you're better off tucked up on your sofa watching the action with a mug of tea and a packet of Hob Nobs. But I have to report that when I left home this morning - the Briggs abode being close enough to the track that the fat cats' helicopters were interfering with my television signal as I tried to watch Roary the Racing Car early this morning - the skies were a beautiful blue and not a drop of moisture threatened my 'do.Formula oneMotor sportBrawnToyotaFerrariToro RossoRed BullForce IndiaRenaultSauberWilliamsMcLarenLewis HamiltonJenson Buttonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Sauber withdraw from Formula One

• Team confirm withdrawal at press conference in Munich• Honda also pulled out of the sport in DecemberBMW Sauber today confirmed they are to withdraw from Formula One at the end of the 2009 season.The announcement, made at the team's headquarters in Munich, means BMW are the second major manufacturer to pull out of the sport in the space of eight months following Honda's withdrawal in December.The news comes ahead of the imminent signing this week of a new Concorde Agreement, the commercial document that governs F1 and binds the teams to the sport for the length of the contract.Dr Norbert Reithofer, chairman of the Board of Management of BMW, said the decision was "difficult" but "a resolute step in view of our company's strategic realignment.""Premium will be increasingly defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility," said Reithofer. "This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead. We are continually reviewing all projects and initiatives to check them for future viability and sustainability. Our Formula One campaign is thus less a key promoter for us."However Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone said he believes BMW's failure to challenge for the world title is behind their withdrawal."Recently when I spoke to Mario Theissen, the team manager, he said they had three years to win the world championship," Ecclestone told the BBC. "That's what he wanted to do and he was quite confident they would. But it appears it's not quite been like that, so perhaps that's why they've [chosen] to stop."BMW drivers Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica have amassed only eight points between them this season to leave their team eighth in the constructors' championship."If I was looking after their politics, if you want to say that, I'd hardly say that we decided to leave because of our performance over the last three years," he added. "When you consider how much money they've spent and the results they've got, it's probably not such a good investment."They were quite sure that they were going to win the championship within three years, and I was hoping they would."BMW had made rapid strides in F1 since taking over Sauber ahead of the 2006 season, scoring two podium finishes and claiming fifth in the constructors' championship that year. But this season the team have been a major disappointment after failing to get to grips with the introduction of new regulations, taking just eight points from 10 races so far.BMW's issues have been compounded by the fact that despite Ferrari and McLaren making similarly slow starts, those two teams are back up to speed, leaving the German marque at the back of the grid."Mario Theissen has been in charge of our motorsport's program since 1999," added Reithofer. "We have scored a large number of successes in this period, including some in Formula One racing. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mario and his team for this."SauberFormula OneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds