Who could not be happy that Mark Webber at last defeated his rotten luck to win a GP? To have done it after a drive-through penalty that seemed to have ended his chances underlines how difficult things always seem to be for the gritty Australian; not for him the straightforward drive from pole to flag. Of course, it helped that the Red Bull RB5 was superior in the conditions and on this track, that the team were canny enough to minimize the effect of the penalty and that Massa and Kovalainen held back the competition, but Mark still had to be quick and consistent. He earned this one.
Sebastian Vettel congratulates Mark Webber on his win
Sebastian Vettel provided Red Bull with another one-two and was gracious in his comments on his team mate afterwards. Mark was the quicker of the pair at this GP and der Seb was not afraid to admit it - one can see why he is so popular. And Red Bull emerge as serious contenders for both championships, although it will be difficult for the team to decide which of their drivers, if either, to back.
Which must be good news for Brawn GP, who do not have quite such a problem with choosing a lead driver. Barrichello may protest about poor team strategy but he needs to beat his team mate in Webber-like style before anyone will take him seriously. Yes, Button has had the luck this season but Rubens has been slow when he needed to be quick and yes, the Brawn strategy was flawed in Germany but it was the same for both drivers. Jenson has taken his chances when presented, been one of the few to overtake road blocks when necessary and accepted those occasions when the car has not had the measure of the Red Bull.
The Nurburgring was unkind indeed to Brawn, in fact, the cool temperatures working against the team and the resort to three-stop strategies an uncharacteristic mistake made probably in the knowledge that the car would struggle to compete in the race. In the event, it served only to hamper them, allowing Massa's Ferrari and Rosberg's Williams through by virtue of longer stints between fuel stops.
A lot of commentators are presuming that the RB5 is now the better car, so superior has it been in the last two races, but I think this is a blip caused by unusually low race day temperatures. The Brawn BGP 001 has been consistently good on warmer days and I am sure the team's competitiveness will return as temperatures rise.
But I also think that the Brawn team, in common with most others, missed a trick in the German GP. The track was a little warmer on race day than during practice and qualifying and, for cars that had trouble getting heat into the tires, this was just the opportunity to take the primes for two stints, rather than the option tire. So bad was the graining of the option for most drivers that it appeared obvious to me that the prime was the better choice.
This was ably demonstrated in Button's last stint, when his softer tires gave him an initial burst of speed to take him clear of Barrichello - but the tires went off so quickly that, in very few laps, Rubens was right with him again. It seems to me that the best strategy would have been to start the race on option tires and then switch to the prime for all later stints - an opportunity missed maybe.
Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg earned their excellent finishes through perseverance on heavy fuel loads; if you can last long enough before the first stop, you rise gradually to the top. Being difficult to pass is all that is necessary thereafter.
The enigma of the race was Fernando Alonso - how the Renault can be quick enough to set the fastest lap of the race and yet abysmally slow at other times is beyond me. Perhaps it is just another indication of the genius of Alonso in getting the best possible from the car he is given.
And finally a word about Adrian Sutil, forever the bridesmaid and never the bride. This really should have been the occasion of his and the team's first points; he had done the work and deservedly held his position until the collision with Raikkonen. Unlike most commentators, I do not see the incident as "a racing accident" - Sutil clearly had the inside line and it was up to the Finn to find the room outside if he wanted to contest the corner therefore. Instead, Kimi drove into the Force India as though it were not there.
But what happens, happens and apparently the drivers have settled the thing amicably enough. Let us hope that this will not be the last opportunity for Adrian to shine and that the team can score before the end of the season.
For once, the major interest in the race was at the front and Webber's strong drive to victory. Clearly, the season is not over yet and the Brawn team is going to have to fight for the championships that looked so guaranteed only a couple of races ago. I still think Jenson will do it, however.