Rosberg picks up the Pieces Nico Rosberg took victory in a thrilling British Grand Prix that culminated in a breathless finish that showed what Formula 1 is all about. After a poor start, Rosberg drove a strong race to take it to Vettel following Hamiltons unfortunate tyre failure, keeping him under pressure and being in the right place to seize the victory from his fellow German when his gearbox failed. After a safety car, he then held off mighty Mark Webber to the flag to win by less than a second, and with Hamilton recovering fantastically to grab fourth place they helped Mercedes take second place in the constructors championship from Ferrari. Britain provided an astounding race overall under clear skies as Formula 1 boiled over with tyre failures, breakdowns, safety cars and incredible racing to bring the championship to life. Into the Weekend The main story going into the British Grand Prix weekend was to do with Mercedes and Pirelli, and their date with the FIA. Facing the tribunal during the week, after an analysis of all the evidence, Mercedes were deemed to have contravened the rules regarding in-season testing, however it was decided they had not sought to deliberately gain a competitive advantage from it. As a penalty, suggested by Mercedes themselves, they will be excluded from the young driver test later this year and given a reprimand, which the team has accepted and will not appeal. No action will be taken against Pirelli, who are not really subject to the FIA anyway and arguably the FIA would be smart to keep happy. Teams such as Red Bull and Ferrari felt that the penalty was insufficient, and that Mercedes got away with illegal testing. With that finally wrapped up, Formula 1 can move on. And it did, immediately, to Mark Webber announcing he is leaving the sport at the end of the season. It came perhaps as not much of a surprise in ways given his clear conflicts at Red Bull, but as a disappointment to so many of us that love the no-nonsense Aussie being in the paddock. He is moving to Porsche and back into sports cars, with the intention of competing at the Le Mans 24hr again next year, somewhere he said he would never return to after the terrifying accidents he endured racing for Mercedes there in 1999. At the recently upgraded Silverstone circuit, a spiritual home for so many teams with their bases in the UK, much of the grid were after a particularly promising weekend. Red Bull looked to build on the strong win they took in Canada that saw Vettel break away further at the top of the championship and take a stronger hold on the constructors too. Ferrari fought back from a low qualifying position to take a strong finish, but were looking for a much better, complete weekend of success. Mercedes intended to put the test-gate controversy behind them and continue to build on the improved pace of their car and take it to Red Bull and Ferrari on race day after falling behind Alonso in the closing stages three weeks ago. Lotus were seeking to recover the kind of form that won them the opening race of the season after two disappointing races that saw the championship slip away from them somewhat. Force India, after a great race for Di Resta in Canada and a somewhat messy one for Sutil, looked to fix their qualifying issues to give them a good springboard for race day and secure more strong points with a car that is working very well. McLaren on the other hand were looking to get all they could from their home race after a lacklustre Canadian showing that saw their mighty run of points finishes come to an end. They ran a straight-line aerodynamic test as permitted ahead of this race, and were hoping new parts would give desperately needed results. Torro Rosso had a strong weekend in Canada, with Vergne taking a career-best sixth place, though Ricciardo was less fortunate, and the Red Bull youth outfit will be seeking to build on their midfield-leading form. After taking a fantastic third place in Canada at the skilful hands of Bottas in the wet, the Williams car went backwards, joining Maldonado towards the back of a field in a dry race for another disappointing result. They will be hoping to show better this weekend, in their 600th grand prix, an incredible feat, and Bottas pole does seem to have lifted the team. Sauber had a disaster in Canada, where everything possible went wrong, and they will want to forget it ever happened. Sadly they cant, and they were seeking a result this weekend to reinvigorate the team and go in the right direction. Marussia won the battle at the back in Canada, and are still seeking to get back ahead of Caterham with developments. Caterham had a poor weekend in Canada after a strong show of pace earlier on and into qualifying, and will be seeking to extract more of their potential to chase down the Williams and Saubers in front.