Vettel victorious at Silverstone

Sebastian Vettel drove a perfect race to win the final Grand Prix at Silverstone and make up some much needed ground in the championship race.

There was disappointment for a huge crowd who saw British driver Jenson Button finish a disappointing sixth and miss out on a podium place for the first time this season at his home event.

Vettel's newly upgraded Red Bull car had been the fastest all weekend and starting from pole position he quickly established a lead. Teammate Mark Webber could have mounted a challenge, but was trapped behind Rubens Barrichello's Brawn GP which allowed Vettel to build-up an insurmountable gap.

Webber did eventually pass Barrichello and Red Bull claimed an impressive one-two with the Brazilian veteran in third.

Felipe Massa's Ferrari was fourth after winning a battle with the Williams of Nico Rosberg, and behind them came Button, whose faint hopes of glory evaporated at the start when he dropped from sixth to ninth.

Lewis Hamilton, who spent much of the race locked in a battle down the field with his old adversary Fernando Alonso eventually finished 16th, two places behind the Renault driver.

Hamilton did draw cheers from his home fans by performing a doughnut in front of the crowd after the chequered flag.

Vettel's win reduces Button's advantage in the drivers championship to 24 points and cuts Brawn's lead over Red Bull to 30.5 points in the constructors race.

Although Button and his team still have impressive leads, the performance of the Red Bull will have them sweating with half the season remaining. ·