Politics took a backseat this weekend as Vettel scored his second win for this season at Silverstone. Teammate Mark Webber finished second, making it a 1-2 for the team from nearby Milton Keynes.

Vettel dominated the British Grand Prix as he started from pole position and led all the way to the checkered flag. It was a flawless drive for the young German, who is now third in the WDC standings with 39 points.

Brawn’s Rubens Barrichello completed the podium, as he dropped from second to third place when Webber overtook him after the first pitstop.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa finished fourth, followed by Nico Rosberg of Williams at P5.

Current WDC leader Jenson Button started and finished P6, as a poor start made it difficult to make his way across the cars in front of him. He failed to get way past sixth place, as he was behind Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari.

Raikkonen had made full use of KERS at the start, where he instantly gained four places. He was, however, for the most part of the race held up by Toyota’s Jarno Trulli. The Italian and Finn complete the top 8 scorers for this race.

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The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) announced Thursday night at Silverstone that they will be forming their own rival series at the end of the 2009 season.

Following a four hour meeting at Renault’s Enstone factory, the eight members of FOTA said it had grown frustrated with the FIA’s stance against it and that it had no option but to create its own championship.

“The teams cannot continue to compromise on the fundamental values of the sport and have declined to alter their original conditional entries to the 2010 World Championship,” said a statement.

“These teams therefore have no alternative other than to commence the preparation for a new Championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners. This series will have transparent governance, one set of regulations, encourage more entrants and listen to the wishes of the fans, including offering lower prices for spectators worldwide, partners and other important stakeholders.

“The major drivers, stars, brands, sponsors, promoters and companies historically associated with the highest level of motorsport will all feature in this new series.”

The announcement comes on the eve of the June 19 deadline set by the FIA for the five FOTA members - McLaren, Renault, Brawn, Toyota, and BMW - to make their 2010 entries unconditional. Meanwhile, Ferrari, Red Bull, and Toro Rosso maintain that their entries were conditional, and that they are with the FOTA in all its courses of action. Ferrari has explicitly stated they would not race in the 2010 F1 season should their conditions not be satisfied.

Button snatched his sixth season win in Istanbul, pushing him further up the WDC leaderboard.

Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull failed to capitalize on his pole position, as he made a costly error on the first lap, which gave Button the lead. Button’s teammate Rubens Barrichello had to retire that race afternoon after a rather nasty engine stall at the start of the race.

Vettel finished third behind teammate Mark Webber, after he was instructed by his race engineers to cruise to the finish in the final laps.

Button has won six out of the seven races so far, and has put him in a massive 26-point lead ahead of teammate Barrichello, his closest rival in the WDC.

The Briton soon had a four-second lead, which he maintained through the first pitstops. But Vettel then came back at him, moving to a three-stop strategy and benefiting from his much lighter fuel lead to charge back up behind the Brawn.

There was no way past, though, and after 13 fruitless laps in Button’s wake, Vettel had to make his second stop, dropping him to third behind Webber and ought of contention.

Button duly cruised away to seal yet another win, while Vettel closed up on Webber in the final laps before the team radioed to inform him that Webber had pace in hand and he should back off and conserve his car. Vettel’s speed barely decreased, but he dutifully came home in formation behind Webber.
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Fernando Alonso says seventh position was the maximum he could have hoped for at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.The Renault driver, starting from ninth position, admitted that without the exit of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen he would have been unlikely to score.

“It was the maximum we could do today,” Alonso told Spanish network La Sexta. “Starting from ninth it was very complicated, and there were moments during the race when we were unable to push, with Fisichella in front and then some traffic by the end.

“We knew the ones in front were unreachable, and we have finished seventh because Kovalainen and Vettel crashed.”

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The one consolation for Lewis Hamilton on an otherwise miserable Sunday in Monaco was that he put up a Rocky-esque fight to reach chequered flag.On a hiding to nothing after crashing out of the first segment in qualifying twenty-four hours previously, Hamilton finished just 12th after inevitably struggling to transform his race pace into overtaking manoeuvres past slower cars on the narrow confines of the Monte Carlo circuit.

But, speaking rather more eloquently than Sylvester Stallone ever did, Hamilton did at least reveal afterwards that the race wasn’t entirely without consolation.

“I’m quite satisfied actually,” he told the BBC. “I remembered a line in one of the Rocky films that he wanted just to see the end of the fight and so I’m happy I reached the end of the race.”

Asked if his affection for the circuit was undimmed, a smiling Hamilton responded: “Of course. And I’ll be back next year to win.”