Rate the race: British Grand Prix

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What did you think of the British Grand Prix? Rate it out of ten and leave a comment below.

Rate the 2009 British Grand Prix out of 10

  • 10 - Perfect (2%)
  • 9 - Fantastic (5%)
  • 8 - Great (10%)
  • 7 - Good (22%)
  • 6 - Not bad (18%)
  • 5 - A bit dull (18%)
  • 4 - Often tedious (7%)
  • 3 - Boring (13%)
  • 2 - Rubbish (2%)
  • 1 - Terrible (3%)

Total Voters: 1,843

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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48 comments on “Rate the race: British Grand Prix”

  1. The race was a bit dull, but Silverstone is certainly a great F1 track. I will miss it.

    BTW. Many of the guys got perfect scores in the prediction game:
    maksF1, Stiffmeister, hal_9000, haas, and Pete Walker.
    Congrats!

  2. wasnt a bad race, good to see the 3 nicest guys in F1 on the podium. Think Alonso raced his heart out today. Hope the Brawns can compete and race the Red Bulls next race so we can all give it 9 or 10 :D

  3. It’s always frustrating to see faster cars stuck behind slower ones. Vettel however was masterful. Webber was unfortunate to be held off by Rubens. Kudos to Rubens for putting up the good fight though because Red Bull was superior. Also the Brawn strategists did well for Jense who really hurt himself with a poor start.

  4. Prisoner Monkeys
    21st June 2009, 15:10

    We’re twenty-seven laps in on the Australian broadcast, and it’s the most boring race of the season. So boring that I actually looked up the results well before halfway.

  5. A bit dull, but it was really something otherworldly to watch Vettel’s first stint. Those 21 laps were basically a giant qualifying run with no error commited during the run.

  6. A bit dull but good to see someone other than Button win. Some nice battles especially with Alonso and Hamilton.

    There seemed to be a lot of overtaking in the first race but now everyone is getting double diffusers it seems like they can’t overtake anymore?

    Enjoyed the Hamilton donut at the end :)

  7. I found qualifying more exciting than the race -which is pretty sad, I must say. Anyone else find qualifying more exciting?

    1. Almost every race this season actually

  8. Nice to see Fisichella finishing well in 10th.

    He wasn’t lapped or anything!!! :D

    Quite a boring race though……

  9. Great race for those white and blue tractors called BMW!

    They managed to completely destroy the attempts from Hamilton and Alonso to do some overtaking and make the best races they could with their underclass car…

    But, I think, for the english Formula One fans, this was not the race they would like to be the last, at beautiful Silverstone. Let’s hope it’s not!!!

    And with a couple more laps, Button would overtake Rosberg and that Massa guy that must have win some kind of lottery or something…

    I only compare Massa’s luck, even if he’s not winning, but then that wouldn’t be luck, we had to came up with some other more outrageous name – to the BAD luck of Kovalainen – How many race are now, that he did not finish the race because he was slammed by other driver or had mechanical problems… It’s the more unlucky driver I’ve seen in the last years…. I was not thinking we would the race, of course, just finish it! In one race they took him out in the first turn… Here, he did the best he could, had a one stop strategy, did it with perfection… and one lap after, he was crashed into by that crossed eye french from Toro Rosso… “Oppss.. sorry there mate, forgot the glasses at home…”

    People (and sponsors) want to see the best teams win, not Browns and Red Bulls… That’s a fact. One win for them in five or ten races it’s great. Now 2 cars winning all the races so far, and very possibly winning the rest… Not good.

    I like Formula One racing and even endure watch all races when everybody knew from the start that Schumacher arrogant guy was going to win… But I’m getting tired of more of the same, first Button (that I like, don’t get it wrong) and now Vettel is preparing to take the place of the previous german (because we all saw his looks when the team told him not to attack Webber in the last race… he was furious) – that brat than only arrived in Formula One last year and had the luck (I recognize the talent, but never a Torro Rosso would win a ‘normal’ race last year) to win Monza 2008… My problem is the lack of fighting. It’s all for Brown, now all for Red Bull and the big teams are fighting in the last middle of the field.

    Formula One exists because of Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, BMW, Toyota, Williams. Nobody or very little people go to a GP or see it at home supporting Red Bull of Brown (I guess this year that’s not true because of what already happened, but we have a team with months and 3 win tunnels the make a car, teams with different interpretation of the rules (FIA’s to blame) and the big teams or are all mental retarded…. Or you have to agree FIA KILLED the Formula One World Championship!

    Formula One is dead, let’s bring on the next top motorcar series without FIA messing it all up!

    1. A very twisted view of things there mate. I agree about the BMW’s. Disagree about Kovalainen, he’s just not that good and is prone to failure by overcompensating.

      Up to this race I was beginning to doubt Vettel’s race craft but not his speed or ambitions for the throne. But after that flawless display he’s clearly one of the fastest drivers in F1 today.

      People (and sponsors) want to see the best teams win, not Browns and Red Bulls… That’s a fact.

      That’s utter rubbish, certainly not fact. As an F1 fan it is absolutely brilliant to see the likes of Brawn and Red Bull leading the field with the Ferrari’s and McLaren’s falling over themselves trying to catch up. It’s what any sport should be about – not total domination by a predictable ‘elite’ – you even allude to this yourself citing the Schumacher era. The only that would make this current state sweeter would be if the Ferraris and McLarens were in fact competitive and scrapping with the Brawns and the Red Bulls.

      1. Disagree about Kovalainen, he’s just not that good and is prone to failure by overcompensating.

        Completely agree Kovalainen is not that great.

        I also can’t believe that you think Vettel is a bad driver. What he’s done in 2 and a half years in F1 is amazing. To get that win for Toro Rosso is something no one could have predicted.

        I do agree in some way though with you.

        A new pecking order is not exciting. Just because Ferrari, McLaren, BMW and Renault are struggling at the back people say its exciting but seeing those guys all up at the front battling would be much better.

    2. (because we all saw his looks when the team told him not to attack Webber in the last race… he was furious)

      You go on about the lack of racing but can’t understand Vettel’s frustration when he’s told he isn’t allowed to race.

      He is a racing driver and has every right to be annoying that they won’t let him race Webber when we could have clearly caught him up!

  10. It was an anticlimax if you are British. Pretty ironic even that the British GP would be the one to find a chink in the Brawn armour.
    Thoroughly enjoyed watching Lewis wring the neck of his rather erratic, unpredictable and hopeless McLaren. Great dice with Alonso but I feel that if they’d fitted a slightly longer 7th gear there would have been more opportunity for Lewis.
    And Vettel, well, wow – what an outstanding drive really silenced his critics, including me.
    As a race I enjoyed it, as a British GP it was average.

    1. He definitely silenced his critics. Complete domination from him.

      Button really was poor today it’s almost like he knew he wasn’t going to do anything after qualifying so didn’t really do much in the race.

      1. Hey mate, there was £20 you would have walked away with :) (see earlier predictions thread) I seriously thought Jenson was going to rise to the challenge and Vettel was going to fade.

        1. 2 of my mates have just one £40!

    2. I wouldn’t say silenced the critics really. All 3 of his wins have been from pole when under less pressure. The main criticism of him is that he fails to make more out of his race when he starts lower down.

      So even though he had a perfect race yesterday, he needs to win from further back to really silence the critics.

      1. Hmm he still has done well from further back. China 2007, Monaco 2008. You could say the same about Massa really.

        There’s no doubt pole is a huge part of the race and if you have the fastest car to win the race it’s likely you are going to get pole position.

  11. Enjoyed watching Alonso and Hamilton

  12. The race wasn’t exciting, an accident or rain would have helped things. What puzzles me is why people turn on Drivers for winning more than 2 races in a row? I thought that is what they’re paid to do. ‘Hate shummi’, ‘hate Hamilton’. Now it’s Button’s turn.

    No such nonsense with MotoGP. Rossi is praised for being good, (GOAT) and the races aren’t dull.

  13. I voted good – we saw some great battles down the field and that Fisichella move at the start of the race was pure brilliance. I hope we will see more overtaking next season when things would have to get sorted on track instead in pits.

  14. Too much boooooooooooring…

  15. Vettel’s first stint reminded me of the bad old days of Williams-Renault dominance – walking away at a second a lap.
    Great drive by Vettel, and really sets up the rest of the season if he can repeat it in 3 weeks’ time – it could be that Brawn have to pick up as many points as they can to keep in front, which would be great!

  16. This is the new improved F1 with better overtaking opportunities? If there were as many as a handful of overtakes I’d be surprised – certainly after the first couple of laps there were none in the front half of the field.

    The only interest was in seeing when the pit stops would be to shake down the positions. It’ll be even duller next year when there’s no re-fueling.

    The high point was seeing Vettel win, and win well. It was just such a boring race though.

  17. A good race, but completely boring commentary from the BBC. I’m sick of hearing about why Silverstone should be the British Grand Prix and how Donington’s plans are oh so going to fail.

    Do they forget that there are fans who live closer to Donington, or the fantastic fact that it has an airport right next to it?

    Also, where’s the fun in racing the same track year after year – British fans deserve the race to alternate between venues just like the Japanese and German races do.

  18. What a tedious race. Vettel just cruised to a 1 2 finish. Only difference from the previous races is that Button did not me.

    1. Button did not me.

      Ay?

  19. Its a sign of the times, when we have to look towards the battle for 16th place for entertainment.
    Vettel drove a good race, but he was never under any pressure from start to finish. It would have been very interesting to see how Webber and Vettel could have battled it out but for Barichello, although Vettel had a fuel advantage.

    Its also ironic that drivers who make the effort of getting into the top ten are then penalized for it. Anyone qualifying between 6th – 10th places is running at a disadvantage to the guys in 11th -14th positions.

    1. To be fair, the backmarkers always had very interesting fights even in the “boring” Schumi era. It’s just that now the backmarkers have tons of fans and the race director spends more time on them. So it’s all more visible.

      Its also ironic that drivers who make the effort of getting into the top ten are then penalized for it. Anyone qualifying between 6th – 10th places is running at a disadvantage to the guys in 11th -14th positions.

      Agreed. There is too sharp a difference between what is allowed for #10 and #11 positions on the grid. They are only a few meters apart but #11 has a much wider range of choices for strategy. But this has been well known for a while, it’s just that some tracks bring it out more.

  20. Christian Briddon
    21st June 2009, 19:00

    I was there sat in Pit Straight B and I thought the race was fantastic. :-)

    Being there though can make any race amazing and I have not watched the recording yet.

    1. Very True.

      I was at Valencia last year and still enjoyed it ;)

    2. I believe that being there, even a boring race turn into a great show. But be fair after waiting the TV recording and compare it with other – from this year and others!

      I’ve been to 4 or more GPs and some winter tests, so I know who it sound when we ear that engines blast away, really, but the race was very uneventful, no twists, no crashes, no rain, not even a leader change (exact those 2 or 3 laps with Vettel went into the pits and Webber became first…)

  21. Compared to other races this year, it was good, but I found it very frustrating that in some corners, where an overtaking move could have materialized, it just wasn’t possible to do because of the dirty air the cars leave behind them. I can’t imagine how frustrated the drivers got as well… The Alonso-Hamilton battle was good and I enjoyed that.

    RedBull Racing also did a very good job with the car. I think it’s the new monster of the grid.

  22. Great drive by Vettel, absolutely mullered the competition.

    However when the only fights are for 16th place, you know its a dull race. 4/10.

    1. i agree, with a 5/10. sure, red bull dominated, and good for them, but i’d like to see some action for points-paying spots.

  23. How in the heck can anybody vote that race as “good”.

    It was from the 1990’s; a “precession”. They start and they go around. I thought the new rules changed something, but no–round and round they go :-(

    1. Yeah the rule changes have just made it worse. They should have banned the double decker diffusers. Now they just get dirty air again and it’s annoying

  24. I spent the day at Club Corner, from their the cars look awesome and the action at Vale was great!

    Hamilton put on a great show for us too, with some donuts for us on his in lap!

  25. StrFerrari4Ever
    21st June 2009, 21:22

    Oh will you all please stop the moaning that was for me a Perfect race only because of the speed and character Vettel showed to pull away from the field its not like there wasn’t any squabbles going on.I mean yes i’d have prefered seeing cars closer together but you have to look past the lack of action and appreciate the skill those drivers were showing.

  26. Nice last 3 or 4 laps with Button closing on Rosberg. It was never gonna happen though. Bourdais probably sealed his fate today. Webber looked disappointed on the podium. How do you compete with Vettel right now? Button better win the WC this year, ’cause it looks like Vettel is gonna have a lock on it for the next few years.
    Also, nice to se a GP that has more people on a Friday than some of the others, (Turkey, Bahrain, Maylasia), have all weekend. The British know how to do a GP.

  27. I can’t believe all of these comments about a boring race. You guys need to find a new sport. I thought it was great. Sure, Vettel started from front and one. Most races are won from the front row though aren’t they? There was tons of action behind the top three. Massa had a great race back there and several other drivers did as well. Silverstone really is a great racing track.

  28. I voted boring. I even fell asleep at about quarter distance, to wake up for the final 20-odd laps.

    1. On second thought: that might have had to do more with me than the race.

  29. Pretty boring, the only real action was those cars and drivers who have been struggling all season.

  30. Bigbadderboom
    22nd June 2009, 11:53

    For me the race was good, very interesting to see how sensative the cars are now track conditions, excellent interview with Rob Smedley from the BBC Red Button F1 Forum. He explained how even a single degree of track temperature can bring the car to the driver, the details of tyre wear and explained the dynamics of the relationship between engineer and driver, very informative.
    I must say how impressive the BBC coverage has been, David Coulthard gives opinion from a drivers stand point as does Martin Brundell, Eddie Jordan give his view as an ex team principle. Jake Humphrey does an excellent job, however the weak link is Leggard, his innacurate, ill informed observations anoy me, but not as much as his stating the obvious, I actually shouted obscenities at his commentary this weekend, especially during quali.
    One last comment, well done Jake for getting the “looney” comment out of Mad Max, and getting Flavio identified as who Max see’s as the trouble maker. Great interview, I must say if that is how Max negotiates, by contradicting himself and adopting offensive terminology then it’s no wonder the sport is in such dissaray!!!!

  31. I enjoyed the Alonso vs Hamilton battle. Both of them in equally bad cars. Amazing to see how much Alonso’s rear slid out during cornering in comparison to the BMW’s.

  32. it was a long day for me as i left home at one in the morning and got home at ten. so i was a bit of a let down to see such a dull race. i was praying for a safety car or rain after 10 laps.

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