Mark Webber won Red Bull’s 100th Grand Prix in style after a great tactical decision from team principal, Christian Horner. Horner decided not to pit Webber under the safety car and it turned out to be the right choice. Webber was leading as the safety car came back in and team mate, Vettel was, illegally, more than 10 car lengths away from Webber. It ended up with Vettel getting a drive-thru penalty and Webber winning the race. Vettel has now won only one of his 6  races where he started from pole – a terrible record.

Webber was happy to win in a difficult Grand Prix, on his 150th Grand Prix start. “Not an easy Grand Prix today. We knew the start was crucial, especially at a venue like this where it’s difficult to overtake. I knew I would be on the back foot fighting with Sebastian and Fernando at the start. I settled into the first stint, but then it was a chess game as to how we would jump Ferrari. The safety car opened up the race and we went off strategy and did something completely different to Fernando. When the safety car came out and I was told to stay out I hoped Fernando would go in to pit. When I saw him go in I knew we had a chance to do something good. I then settled down on the soft tyre and worked on getting a twenty-second lead to Fernando. After I came in for my pit-stop I was able to control the race,” the Australian reflected.

“It’s a nice way to celebrate my 150th race and a great day for us as a team on our 100th race weekend. This result is a credit to the team, they made a good call on the strategy and the car was bomb proof. The next race is Spa, which is a beautiful circuit. I’m looking forward to that race, but it will be nice to have a few days off in the break beforehand,” Webber added.

There were awkward scenes before the podium celebration as Vettel clearly did not know why he was given a penalty. However, he now says he understands. “During the race, I didn’t understand why I got the drive-through penalty, but I understood after the race what happened,” the young German said.

It has now become clear that it was due to a lost radio connection Vettel was given a penalty – he did not know that the safety car was coming in. He admitted he was ‘sleeping’ at the re-start: “The start was fine; we knew it was a long run to the first corner and Fernando got the tow, but we were able to defend and had a good first stint. When the safety car came out, it was a late call for my pit-stop, so I only just managed to come in. After that it should have been straightforward, as we knew we had the pace advantage. I was sleeping at the re-start, I had lost the radio and was waiting for an instruction of when the safety car would come in. I didn’t see the lights in my car. Mark was close to the safety car, so I thought we had another lap. But then I saw the safety car come in and I was caught out. I lost a lot of momentum and then I got the drive-through. I am disappointed, as I hoped to win today. I was third, so it was a good result for the team, but I am disappointed.”

Team principal Christian Horner said it was a ‘fantastic’ 100th Grand Prix for the Austrian team. “A fantastic 100th Grand Prix weekend for Red Bull Racing. It was a really dominant performance from us to win the race today. The safety car came out at probably one of the worst times in the race. We split the strategies, as the only way to get Mark back ahead of the Ferraris was to outrun them at the safety car restart. Unfortunately, at the re-start, Sebastian dropped too far behind Mark and got a penalty as a result. Mark then got his head down, as he had to pull out a twenty second lead to Fernando in order to do the pit-stop and stay ahead. He drove an awesome 20 laps to achieve the required gap and win the race. For Sebastian, it was a great shame to receive the penalty. He pushed Fernando as hard as he could for the remaining thirty laps, but it’s very difficult to overtake here,” Horner explained.

“A one/ three finish puts us in the lead of the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships going into the summer break, which will give the team a chance to recharge their batteries in preparation for what will be a very intense final third of the Championship,” he finished.