Rubens Barrichello won an incident-packed British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday, a race which included two safety cars, scores of overtaking manoeuvres and a kilt-wearing track invader.
Rubens Barrichello won an incident-packed British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday, a race which included two safety cars, scores of overtaking manoeuvres and a kilt-wearing track invader.
Juan-Pablo Montoya was second, with Kimi Raikkonen third and Michael Schumacher was fourth. The German holds on to his championship lead with 69 points, ahead of Raikkonen on 62 points.
Barrichello spun off in qualifying on Friday, but said this more than made up for it. “For me this is a fantastic feeling – people were talking after Friday’s crash but now they can shut up!
“I love to be in a team like Ferrari that try to make things better. They talk about Michael (Schumacher) this and Michael that, but I never feel down.”
Barrichello started on pole, but lost the lead at the start to Jarno Trulli. Raikkonen also managed to get ahead of the Brazilian. The safety car came out on the fifth lap as debris was cleared off the track. Part of the cockpit padding flew off David Couthard’s McLaren.
The race got going again with Trulli in the lead, but on lap 11 the safety car came out for the second time as a kilt-wearing protester ran down the middle of the track at Hangar Straight, the fastest part of the track. The drivers had to swerve to avoid him, before a marshal tackled him to the ground. A similar incident happened at Hockenheim two years ago, when Barrichello also went on to win the race.
Almost all the drivers took advantage of the safety car to pit, but Schumacher and a few other drivers were delayed in the pit rush. This changed the grid positions, with Toyota’s Cristiano da Matta leading from team-mate Olivier Panis. Michael Schumacher was relegated to 14th place with Ralf Schumacher in 17th spot. Barrichello dropped to seventh place.
Raikkonen almost immediately shot past Panis. He and Da Matta dominated for a short period, then the Toyota driver pitted. Barrichello had a series of fastest laps as he inched his way to the lead, ahead of Raikkonen. The Finn lost control of his car and allowed Montoya to pass him too.
By lap 51 Michael Schumacher was in fourth place, with Coulthard moving up to fifth. Ralf Schumacher finished ninth after Jacques Villeneuve pulled off the track on the last lap.
Trulli finished in sixth place, followed by Da Matta. Jenson Button scored some points, finishing in eighth place after starting at the back of the grid.
