Red Bull’s Webber wins British GP after 1st-lap clash with teammate Vettel

Webber wins British GP after clash with Vettel

SILVERSTONE, England — Mark Webber won his third Formula One race of the season Sunday, cruising to victory in the British Grand Prix after overtaking Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap.

The Australian finished 1.36 seconds ahead of championship leader Lewis Hamilton of McLaren in second.

Webber led throughout after a controversial start in which he pushed pole-sitter Vettel wide on the first lap at Silverstone.

“I was obviously keen to make it my corner and it worked out well for me,” Webber said. “The car was faultless all day.”

Vettel, who won the British GP last year, recovered to finish seventh after also picking up a puncture on the opening lap and being forced to the back of the field.

Hamilton leads the overall standings with 145 points, 12 ahead of McLaren teammate Jenson Button. Webber is third with 128.

“Not bad for a No. 2 driver,” Webber quipped over his radio as he celebrated his victory lap.

Webber’s car was equipped with the old version of Red Bull’s front wing for qualifying Saturday after the new design was stripped and handed to Vettel, who subsequently took the pole.

Webber had still felt aggrieved in the pits in the minutes before the race started, conceding that he “wasn’t too happy” about the decision.

“Hopefully it will be a pretty straightforward race, with the starting positions reversed,” he said.

It turned out more than that — with Webber surging into the lead and Vettel slipping right to the back early on.

Struggling at the back, it took the safety car on lap 31 of 52 to enable Vettel to pick up his pace and start gaining ground.

The main beneficiary of Vettel’s disastrous start was Hamilton, with the 2008 champion moving up two places to second.

Nico Rosberg of Mercedes claimed third — the German’s best showing since China in April — depriving Jenson Button of his first podium finish on home soil as the defending world champion climbed 10 places from 14th on the grid to finish fourth.