Riled Webber makes his point at Silverstone

Mark Webber got one over on his team mate Sebastian Vettel and sent a clear message to his Red Bull bosses after a weekend of high tension within the team, as he recorded an emphatic victory in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Lewis Hamilton who had predicted a McLaren one-two in the race had to settle for second place, while stablemate Jenson Button produced an excellent drive to finish in fourth, having begun the race down in 14th. Nico Rosberg's unassuming drive in his Mercedes earned him third spot.

The defining moment of the Grand Prix came in at the first corner. Webber, who started in second place on the grid behind Vettel stole a march on his team mate to take the lead. Hamilton who began in fourth jumped Fernando Alonso to grab third and then challenged Vettel, but as he did so his front wing touched Vettel's right rear tyre leading to a puncture for the German driver. That sent Vettel off the track and out of contention for the race, although he did manage to limp round to the pits for a new set of tyres.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

But from there on in Webber and Hamilton were in control. There was drama aplenty further down the field, though, as Jenson Button went from 14th up to eighth on lap one.

For Alonso the day only got worse after his poor start. He was given a drive-through penalty by the stewards after overtaking Robert Kubica by cutting a corner, and that effectively ended his hopes of a point.

But Vettel came back into contention after the safety car was deployed due to debris on the track following a minor crash. That allowed him to close the gap on the rest of the field and when the race resumed he roared through the back markers to finish in a respectable seventh place.

But it was Webber to grabbed the glory and after taking the chequered flag remarked pointedly over the team radio: "Not bad for a number two driver."

That was a clear reference to his anger over Red Bull's decision to a new front wing off his car and give it to Vettel ahead of qualifying on Saturday.

The Australian had cast aspersions over the relationship between the two McLaren drivers, Hamilton and Button, ahead of their home Grand Prix but in the end the simmering warfare at Red Bull took centre stage as Webber was left fuming by the decision to give Vettel a part of his car.

But his response was admirable and the win puts him seven ahead of Vettel in the drivers championship. He now lies in third with Button five points ahead with 133. Hamilton is top of the table with 145 points.