Home hiccup

Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber duked it out at the front in Sunday's German Grand Prix, leaving Sebastian Vettel to snatch a distant fourth place from Felipe Massa on the last lap. The German world champion was despondent after failing to qualify or finish in the top two for the first time all season during his home race in front of an adoring crowd at the Nürburgring.

"I didn't feel too good all weekend, I never got to the pace Mark [Webber] had in the car and, as I said, I struggled to keep up," Vettel told reporters after the race. "Generally I think fourth anyway was probably our maximum today, which is not satisfying, but…we have to accept it and go from there."

Vettel, never a winner on home soil, surely didn't want his incredible run of form to falter at the renowned Nürburgring racetrack - he had frequently thanked the German supporters for braving the elements to cheer him on over the course of the weekend.

"Next week is the next race and it looks like McLaren and Ferrari are getting quicker and quicker," the Red Bull driver warned, looking ahead to the Hungarian Grand Prix next Sunday. "We need to work harder on our car to try to improve it in order to be back on the podium, and maybe stand on the top step again."

Vettel's Australian teammate Mark Webber, who finished third in the overcast but dry Eifel mountains, also hinted that the Red Bull car - the class of the 2011 field to date - might have lost its edge. He pointed not to Hamilton's win for McLaren in Germany, but to Fernando Alonso's Ferrari triumph two weeks ago at the British Grand Prix.

"I think it's clear to see," Webber said. "Everyone is reasonably intelligent up and down this pit-lane when it comes to performance so we know that in the last race at Silverstone, which has normally been a very, very good track for us, Ferrari were very quick there."

Could have been worse - and wasn't

There are a number of reasons why Vettel shouldn't despair at his fourth place finish.

First, and foremost, the defending champion might very easily have retired. On lap eight, Vettel brushed the white marker line on the edge of the track under braking; the tarmac had dried after heavy morning rainfall, but the track's extremities were still soaking wet and Vettel was catapulted into a violent spin. He recovered the car and continued, without even losing a position, but was a passenger throughout the incident and could very well have ended up in a barrier or beached in a gravel trap.

It was also inevitable that Vettel's astounding 13-race hot streak - during which he clocked up nine wins, nine pole positions and twelve podium finishes - would eventually come to an end. And this end was hardly a catastrophic one: Vettel qualified third and finished fourth.

To put that in some perspective, consider fellow German Adrian Sutil, who finished a season-high sixth on Sunday after an impressive drive on a contrary pit strategy to the front runners. Sutil has raced in 81 grands prix - nine more than Vettel - for the comparatively lowly Force India team, and his best ever finish was fourth position at Monza in 2009. Also, Michael Schumacher has never finished higher than fourth since his comeback in 2010.

Red Bull boss Horner less downbeat

Thanks to Mark Webber's third-place finish, at least one Red Bull driver has still finished on the podium at every race of the season so far; no other team can claim this record. It's reflected in Red Bull's 112-point lead in the constructors' championship. Team principal Christian Horner was quick to quell talk of a disaster in Germany.

"Well, in all the previous races he [Vettel] finished first or second," Horner reminded reporters. "One fourth place - and thus missing out on a podium - is anything but a catastrophe. The 12 championship points awarded are very valuable for him."

In fact, Vettel's overall lead diminished by just three points - with Mark Webber closing the gap to his teammate to 77 and race-winner Lewis Hamilton reestablishing himself as a contender after an erratic set of showings.

Top speed the chink in Vettel's armor?

If there's a genuine negative to draw from the weekend, it's the amount of time Vettel spent cooped up in fifth position behind Felipe Massa's Ferrari. The German looked clearly faster than his Brazilian adversary, quickly catching up if he ever fell behind - but he couldn't find a way past until his mechanics got the job done on his behalf with a blistering pit-stop as the duo changed their tires in tandem.

Vettel, Horner, and Red Bull's engine suppliers Renault have all complained in the past that their motor is lacking horsepower against the rival Mercedes and Ferrari power plants - in a series that targets parity in terms of engine performance.

Red Bull's rivals counter that the team gear their car for a slower top speed so as to allow for better performance through the corners.

Whoever is correct - and both sides may have a point - there's no denying that Vettel lacked the top-end pace to pass Massa on the track on Sunday; perhaps a bad omen if the Red Bull drivers need to overtake their competitors in the future.

But even here, there's a silver lining. Next Sunday's race is in Budapest at the Hungaroring - a low-speed, high-downforce track where overtaking is virtually impossible and qualifying is crucial. And the Red Bull of either Sebastian Vettel or Mark Webber has started every single race of 2011 from pole position.

Author: Mark Hallam
Editor: Spencer Kimball