British Grand Prix 2013 Results: Reaction, Leaders and Post-Race Analysis

After one of the wildest Formula One races auto racing fans could ever dream of, it was Team Mercedes' Nico Rosberg who finally took the checkered flag and won the 2013 British Grand Prix from the famous Silverstone circuit in the United Kingdom.

Team Red Bull's Mark Weber made the race interesting at the end by bringing the heat to Rosberg's bumper, but he was unable to make the final pass for the win. Weber finished second, and Fernando Alonso made it back to third for the final spot on the podium.

While any victory in Formula One is a special feeling, walking away from a race as unpredictable as what was seen in the 2013 edition of the British Grand Prix is huge. This was Rosberg's second win of the season, as he also took the victory at Monaco earlier in the year.

Full British Grand Prix 2013 Results

Pos	Driver	Car #	Team	Started
1	Nico Rosberg	9	Mercedes	2
2	Mark Webber	2	Red Bull	4
3	Fernando Alonso	3	Ferrari	9
4	Lewis Hamilton	10	Mercedes	1
5	Kimi Raikkonen	7	Lotus	8
6	Felipe Massa	4	Ferrari	11
7	Adrian Sutil	15	Force India	6
8	Daniel Ricciardo	19	Toro Rosso	5
9	Paul di Resta	14	Force India	21
10	Nico Hulkenberg	11	Sauber	14
11	Pastor Maldonado	16	Williams	15
12	Valtteri Bottas	17	Williams	16
13	Jenson Button	5	McLaren	10
14	Esteban Gutierrez	12	Sauber	17
15	Charles Pic	20	Caterham	18
16	Jules Bianchi	22	Marussia	19
17	Max Chilton	23	Marussia	20
18	Giedo van der Garde	21	Caterham	22
19	Romain Grosjean	8	Lotus	7
20	Sergio Perez	6	McLaren	13
21	Sebastian Vettel	1	Red Bull	3
22	Jean-Eric Vergne	18	Toro Rosso	12

Finishing order via NBC Sports.

Team Mercedes star, fan favorite and pole sitter Lewis Hamilton had an amazing start to the race; he looked to be the class of the field in front of his home crowd at Silverstone. But after leading the first several laps, Hamilton’s left-rear exploded on Lap 7 and sent the talented driver to the pits early.

That opened the door for points leader Sebastian Vettel to take the overall lead.

It was just a few laps later that another top contender, Felipe Massa, faced the same fate as Hamilton. Massa's left-rear tire blew out in a corner and the Ferrari spun through the grass and caused some serious damage.

The story of the day became how many cars were forced to deal with blown tires—three in the first 15 laps of the race—and it forced out the safety car to slow the field down.

After the safety car ducked off the course, the race calmed down a bit and the running order remained relatively unchanged with no further major tire issues.  

Vettel was the class of the field on Sunday, but his teammate, Webber, was working his way through the field all day. Vettel was cruising to a sure win, but on Lap 42, the Team Red Bull car lost its gear box and was unable to continue. This opened the door for eventual winner Rosberg and the rest of the field.

The madness of the last few laps made this one of the most enjoyable events of the Formula One season, and the amazing battle for the final spots in the finishing order made even the most causal racing fans feel the energy of the sport.

2013 F1 Championship Standings

Rank	Driver	Points	Behind	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	DNF	Laps Led
1	Sebastian Vettel	132	-	3	7	7	1	186
2	Fernando Alonso	111	21	2	5	7	1	85
3	Kimi Raikkonen	98	34	1	5	8	0	32
4	Lewis Hamilton	89	43	0	7	7	0	18
5	Mark Webber	87	45	0	5	7	1	32
6	Nico Rosberg	82	50	2	4	6	2	104
7	Felipe Massa	57	75	0	3	6	1	4
8	Paul di Resta	36	96	0	1	7	1	3
9	Romain Grosjean	26	106	0	1	4	3	0
10	Jenson Button	25	107	0	1	5	1	8
11	Adrian Sutil	23	109	0	1	4	2	11
12	Jean-Eric Vergne	13	119	0	0	3	3	0
13	Sergio Perez	12	120	0	0	3	2	0
14	Daniel Ricciardo	11	121	0	0	3	3	0
15	Nico Hulkenberg	6	126	0	0	3	2	8
16	Pastor Maldonado	0	132	0	0	0	3	0
17	Valtteri Bottas	0	132	0	0	0	0	0
18	Esteban Gutierrez	0	132	0	0	0	2	2
19	Jules Bianchi	0	132	0	0	0	1	0
20	Charles Pic	0	132	0	0	0	1	0
21	Max Chilton	0	132	0	0	0	0	0
22	Giedo van der Garde	0	132	0	0	0	2	0

The next challenge on tap for the Formula One drivers will be July 7’s German Grand Prix at the world-famous Nuerburgring track. The race will be televised on CNBC in the United States starting at 8 a.m., and the defending champion for the race is Fernando Alonso.

Follow @Donald_Wood