Vettel grabs Silverstone pole

• Button sixth while team-mate Barrichello starts second • Hamilton starts from the back of the grid in 19th placeSebastian Vettel will start on pole position for tomorrow's British grand prix after a blistering performance in qualifying, leaving championship leader Jenson Button down in sixth.Button's closest rival, Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello, finished second fastest nearly four tenths of a second behind Vettel. Mark Webber narrowly missed out on making it an all-Red Bull Racing front row by 0.012secs.German driver Vettel was thrilled after clinching the fourth pole of his career, and the second in a row. "It's been a fantastic weekend so far from beginning to end," he said. "All the parts we have brought here seem to be working well, so we have made a good step forward."But when it comes to qualifying there is tension there, you try to do your best and you try to get a good feeling. In Q3 I had the lap of the weekend. From beginning to end it was very close to being perfect."I brought the lap to the chequered flag, and I was surprised by how quick I was at that stage, yet it was enough to get pole."Barrichello, who out-qualified Button for only the second time in eight races this season, was delighted to finish ahead of his Brawn GP team-mate. "I'm very pleased with this. We've found a good balance on a circuit that has always been quite good for me," he said. "I'm in the middle of them [the Red Bulls], it's going to be hard to beat them, but that's what I'm here for."Red Bull's Webber was left spitting feathers at being held up by Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen on his final run. "I would have liked a slightly cleaner run on my last Q3 lap, but Kimi ... I don't know, he'd been drinking some vodka or dreaming or something," he said. "I don't know what the hell he was doing. He should have been on the right, but he was on the racing line."He basically didn't care, so that wrecked my run. Anyway, you do not want to listen to a shopping list of excuses. I'd have liked to have got more out of the car on the last lap, but it wasn't the case, we're still third, and congratulations to Seb. He did a good job."World champion Lewis Hamilton, who thrilled his fans a year ago with a storming win in wet conditions, qualified in a career low 19th as his wretched season continued.Starting positions1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1min 19.509secs, 2 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:19.856, 3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:19.868, 4 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:20.091, 5 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:20.216, 6 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:20.289, 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:20.361, 8 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:20.490, 9 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:20.715, 10 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:20.741, 11 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:18.927, 12 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:19.308, 13 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:19.353, 14 Nelson Piquet Jr (Bra) Renault 1:19.392, 15 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:19.448, 16 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:19.802, 17 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:19.898, 18 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:19.909, 19 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:19.917, 20 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:20.236Formula oneJenson ButtonLewis HamiltonMcLarenRed BullMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Raikkonen: "Sad to lose F1 as it is"

Silverstone, 18th June – Wearing a thick white team fleece and a cap pulled down over his head, Kimi Raikkonen strode into the Silverstone paddock looking as though he had dressed for winter, on what’s been a cold English summer day. It was straight to business facing the media to give them his expectations for the weekend.

Webber leads Red Bull one-two

• Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel take honours at Nürburgring• Felipe Massa finishes third with Jenson Button back in fifthMark Webber has won the German grand prix from pole, beating his Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel into second place after strong challenges from Rubens Barrichello and third-placed Felipe Massa. The world championship leader Jenson Button finished in fifth place.It was Webber's maiden Formula One victory, on his 130th attempt, and Vettel's second-place finish cuts Button's championship lead to 21 points with eight races remaining. Button now has 68 points, Vettel moves up to second on 47 and Webber is third on 45.5.Lewis Hamilton had a bad day after being forced into the pits shortly after the start with a puncture. He made a strong start from fifth but ran wide after turn one. He returned to the track but was bumped from behind almost immediately.As the first Australian to win a grand prix since Alan Jones in 1981 in Las Vegas, Webber said: "It's an incredible day for me. I wanted to win so badly. The only thing I thought would beat me, or test me, would be the rain – but that held off. But it's a great day for me. The team have been incredibly patient with me, and I want to thank them and [owner] Dietrich [Mateschitz] and all the Australian people."Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Webber added: "There's no doubt about it, [the drivers' and constructors' championships] are both up for grabs. We're taking the fight to the big guys, who will be back. But it is a special time for our team, that's for sure."Vettel had no complaints with his second spot, saying: "He was unbeatable. But it's another one-two for the team, so I'm very happy. I wanted to win, but Mark did a better job in qualifying."Webber was deposed from pole on the first turn by Barrichello. The two clashed wheels, with the Brazilian coming out on top, and they led the pack for the next 10 laps until the stewards announced a drivethrough penalty for Webber for causing a collision, which he duly served at the end of lap 14. Barrichello made his first routine stop at the same time.Over the next few laps, with Massa and his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen heavy on fuel, they sandwiched Barrichello in first, second and third. The Finn eventually pitted at the end of lap 24, followed a lap later by Massa, allowing Barrichello to resume the lead, followed closely by the Force India of Adrian Sutil.The German had started from a career-high seventh on the grid, and was certainly in with a shout of giving his team their first points in their 27-race history. But after making his first stop at the end of lap 28, Sutil then emerged narrowly ahead of seventh-placed Raikkonen running down into turn one. As they swept round the sharp right-hand hairpin side by side, the Ferrari clipped the left side of the Force India's front wing, with the stewards again obliged to review the matter. It forced Sutil back into the pits at the end of that lap for a new nose cone, relegating him to 17th and out of the running for points.With the first round of stops finally completed at half-race distance, Barrichello held just a 2.8sec cushion over Webber. Button, running third at the time, pitted again on lap 31, as part of a clear three-stop strategy, unlike Barrichello who came in a lap later and was fuelled to the end.On lap 43, Webber made his third trip into the pits and second for fuel and tyres at a time when he held a 20-second lead over his team-mate Vettel – dropping in just behind the German. However, he soon regained the lead when Vettel pitted on lap 44 – soon followed by Massa on the 45th. On three-stop strategies and with the Brawn duo running in close attendance to one another, Barrichello surprisingly pitted first on lap 50 – followed by Button a lap later. Button then finished strongly to emerge just ahead of his team-mate in fifth place.Final positions1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1hr 36min 43.310sec2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:36:52.5623 Felipe Massa (Br) Ferrari 1:36:59.2164 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:37:04.4095 Jenson Button (GB) Brawn GP 1:37:06.9196 Rubens Barrichello (Br) Brawn GP 1:37:07.7987 Fernando Alonso (Sp) Renault 1:37:08.1668 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:37:41.4029 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:37:44.71010 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:37:45.21011 Giancarlo Fisichella (It) Force India 1:37:45.63712 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:37:46.18713 Nelson Piquet Jr (Br) Renault 1:37:51.63814 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:37:52.86515 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:37:55.21016 Sébastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:38:13.51017 Jarno Trulli (It) Toyota 1:38:14.21018 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren at 1 LapNot Classified: 19 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 34 Laps completed, 20 Sébastien Bourdais (Fr) Scuderia Toro Rosso 18 Laps completedWorld championship standings after German grand prix:Drivers: 1 Jenson Button (GB) Brawn GP 68pts, 2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 47, 3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 45.5, 4 Rubens Barrichello (Br) Brawn GP 44, 5 Felipe Massa (Br) Ferrari 22, 6 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 21.5, 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 20.5, 8 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 13, 9 Fernando Alonso (Sp) Renault 13, 10 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 10, 11 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren 9, 12 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 6, 13 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 5, 14 Sébastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 3, 15 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 2, 16 Sébastien Bourdais (Fr) Scuderia Toro Rosso 2, 17 Giancarlo Fisichella (It) Force India 0, 18 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 0, 19 Nelson Piquet Jr (Br) Renault 0, 20 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 0Manufacturers: 1 Brawn GP 112pts, 2 Red Bull 92.5, 3 Toyota 34.5, 4 Ferrari 32, 5 Williams 20.5, 6 McLaren 14, 7 Renault 13, 8 BMW Sauber 8, 9 Scuderia Toro Rosso 5, 10 Force India 0Formula OneRed BullBrawnMcLarenFerrariJenson ButtonSebastian VettelLewis HamiltonForce IndiaMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Raikkonen rally rumours continue

Finnish media claim WRC is the target for next year Kimi Raikkonen is to to quit Formula one to launch a full time rallying campaign next season the Finnish sports magazine Veikkaaja claims...  

Q&A with Adrian Sutil

Adrian Sutil had a sensational weekend in Germany, qualifying seventh and climbing to second before his first pit stop. Sadly his race was compromised in a collision with 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen as he left the pits, which led to a stop for a new nose and a guaranteed top eight finish was lost.

Raikkonen to quit F1 for rallying - report

Jul.14 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen looks likely to quit formula one to launch a full time rallying foray in 2010, the Finnish sports magazine Veikkaaja claims.