British Grand Prix 2012 - Race Schedule and Countdown

Mark Webber claimed a brilliant victory at the British Grand Prix, passing pole-sitter Fernando Alonso in a thrilling battle to secure his second win of the season at Silverstone. The Australian delivered a masterful performance on a circuit where he had never previously won, holding off the Ferrari driver and teammate Sebastian Vettel to claim maximum points in front of passionate British fans who watched their own Lewis Hamilton suffer yet another heartbreaking retirement from the lead.

Alonso had secured a stunning pole position, extracting maximum performance from his Ferrari F2012 to edge out Webber by just 0.134 seconds. The Spaniard led the opening phase of the race, but Webber stalked him relentlessly, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. That moment came during the pit stop phase when Red Bull's superior strategy and Webber's aggressive approach allowed the Australian to seize the lead. Once ahead, Webber controlled the race with characteristic determination, managing his tires expertly on Silverstone's high-speed layout and never giving Alonso a chance to counterattack despite intense pressure.

Alonso drove brilliantly to finish second, extracting every ounce of performance from his inferior Ferrari and continuing to maximize championship points with remarkable consistency. Vettel completed the podium in third place, giving Red Bull a strong result as the team's development push began to pay dividends. Hamilton's race ended in devastating fashion when he led comfortably before suffering a gearbox failure - another crushing blow to his championship hopes and McLaren's increasingly frustrating campaign. The result extended Alonso's championship lead, while Webber's victory kept him in contention as Red Bull's pace advantage became increasingly apparent heading into the summer break.