Webber stakes claim with Silverstone win

Last year at Silverstone Webber was contentiously ordered to hold station behind Sebastian Vettel as he closed in on his Red Bull team-mate in the dying stages at Silverstone.

Today it was Webber and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso battling at the front at the death, with the former grabbing the lead on lap 48 of the 52, going on to claim the ninth victory of his career.

More importantly it has allowed Webber to close the gap on Alonso at the top of the championship standings to 13 points, with Vettel having to settle for third on this occasion, and lying 29 points down.

Webber said: "It was another great day for us, a great day for me. To win here again is a fantastic feeling."

For the Britons it was a day to forget in front of a sell-out 125,500 crowd. McLaren pair Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button were eighth and 10th, while Force India's Paul di Resta retired after two laps.

A delighted Webber said: "At the start Fernando had good pace. Fernando started on a different tyre to us but we never gave up and kept pushing.

"It didn't work out for Fernando at the end. It was very, very close for him but we were able to capitalise.

"It's a special win for the team, we are a local team based just down the road and it's incredible for them and it's another victory for Renault Sport in the UK and I am very proud."

Alonso remained upbeat despite being denied a second consecutive victory so late on.

"At the end Mark was much quicker than us and he deserves the win so congratulations to him and the Red Bull team, but I am proud of Ferrari's recovery in the last couple of weeks," he said.