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Home triumph for Seb at 'Ring

NURBURGRING, Germany - What a race! It’s what we’d love to see every Formula 1 weekend and it was great that Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) won his home GP at the Nurburgring.

Kimi Raikkonen was second after a late tyre change failed to get him close enough to Vettel's Red Bull in an exciting finish while Lotus team mate Romain Grosjean was third.

The exploding tyres spectre went away. There was the shock of an on-track burning car – that later rolled itself away across the track – and problems with wheel nuts in the pits. Then a brave recovery by Red Bull’s Mark Webber after a pits fiasco.

His early departure shed the right rear wheel, which hit a TV cameraman – who was later declared OK.

Supplier Pirelli brought different tyres, with an inner ring of synthetic fibre Kevlar rather than steel, after the controversial blow-outs at Silverstone. There were no failures in practice or qualifying.

AFP REPORTS…

Sebastian Vettel finally won a race on his home soil on Sunday when he survived spells of intense pressure to steer his Red Bull to victory in the 2013 German GP.

The 26-year-old German, who also had never won a race in the month of July, came home narrowly ahead of fast-closing Finn Kimi Raikkonen and his Lotus team mate Romain Grosjean of France.

Vettel's win was his fourth this year and the 30th of his career and it lifted him 36 points clear of nearest rival, Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Ferrari, in the Drivers’ championship.

Alonso came home fourth ahead of Britons Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Jenson Button of McLaren with Australian Mark Webber seventh in the second Red Bull.

Mexican Sergio Perez finished eighth for McLaren ahead of Germans Nico Rosberg in the second Mercedes and Nico Hulkenberg of Sauber. Vettel became the first German to win a German GP at the Nurburgring in the history of the F1 World championship.

After the drama of exploding tyres in the previous Sunday's British GP, the race was run without similar incidents other than when an errant wheel flew off Webber's car during a pit stop and struck a TV camerman on his back.

He was taken to the circuit medical centre, but later said to be bruised and shocked, but not seriously injured.

Result from the 2013 German F1 GP at Nurburgring
1 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull - Renault 1min41:14.711
2 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Lotus - Renault +00:01.008
3 Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus - Renault +00:05.830
4 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari +00:07.721
5 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes +00:26.927
6 Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren +00:27.996
7 Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault +00:37.562
8 Sergio Perez (Mexico) McLaren +00:38.30
9 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes +00:46.821
10 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) Sauber - Ferrari +00:49.892
11 Paul Di Resta (Britain) Force India - Mercedes +00:53.771
12 Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Toro Rosso - Ferrari+ 00:56.975
13 Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India - Mercedes +00:57.738
14 Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Sauber - Ferrari +01:00.160
15 Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Williams - Renault +01:01.929
16 Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams - Renault +1 lap
17 Charles Pic (France) Caterham - Renault +1 lap
18 Giedo van der Garde (Netherlands) Caterham - Renault +1 lap
19 Max Chilton (Britain) Marussia - Cosworth +1 lap

Retired
Jean-Eric Vergne (France) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 38 laps
Jules Bianchi (France) Marussia - Cosworth 39 laps
Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 57 laps

Fastest lap: Fernando Alonso – 1min33.468, lap 51

Drivers’ and Constructors’ points
Drivers

1 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull 157
2 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 123
3 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Lotus 116
4 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 99
5 Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull 93
6 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 84
7 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 57
8 Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus 41
9 Paul Di Resta (Britain) Force India 36
10 Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 33
11 Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India 23
12 Sergio Perez (Mexico) McLaren 16
13 Jean-Eric Vergne (France) Toro Rosso 13
14 Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Toro Rosso 11
15 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) Sauber 7
16 Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Williams 0
17 Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams 0
18 Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Sauber 0
19 Jules Bianchi (France) Marussia 0
20 Charles Pic (France) Caterham 0
21 Max Chilton (Britain) Marussia 0
22 Giedo van der Garde (Netherlands) Caterham 0

Constructors
1 Red Bull - Renault 25
2 Mercedes 183
3 Ferrari 180
4 Lotus - Renault 157
5 Force India - Mercedes 59
6 McLaren 49
7 Toro Rosso - Ferrari 24
8 Sauber - Ferrari 7
9 Williams - Renault 0
10 Marussia - Cosworth 0
11 Caterham - Renault 0
 
Stay with Wheels24 for the 2013 German GP weekend.
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