Angry Webber proves his point by storming to British GP glory

The Australian, who won from home favourite Lewis Hamilton as Jenson Button rose from 14th on the grid to fourth, beat his estranged team-mate and pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel to the first corner at Silverstone and never looked back as he recorded his third victory of the season.

It was a remarkable achievement considering two weeks ago in Valencia he escaped unscathed when his car flipped over at top speed.

But more pertinently in the context of the season, this was a significant statement of intent after his Red Bull team had prioritised Vettel in Saturday's qualifying by removing a new front wing on his car and giving it to the German.

Webber asserted a modicum of revenge as he sprinted out from second on the grid and forced Vettel wide at Copse to seize the initiative.

Vettel had to pit on lap two to fix a subsequent puncture and went on to entertain the crowd of 120,000 with a thrilling chase as he climbed from 24th right up to seventh.

But it was Webber's day and his reaction on the team radio at the chequered flag spoke volumes about the anger that had driven him to a famous win.

"Not bad for a No 2 driver," sniped the Australian to the team bosses who have repeatedly prioritised his younger team-mate in pursuit of the title.

Red Bull have the fastest car in Formula 1 but as the season swings into its second half, team politics are threatening to undermine their challenge for maiden titles in both the drivers' and constructors' championship.

Their cars have dominated the qualifying battle, failing only once in 10 races to win pole, and they have won five races to McLaren's four.

Yet it is the established works team who hold a 29-point lead in the constructors' race with Hamilton leading the drivers' standings from Button, with Webber and Vettel 17 and 24 points, respectively, off the pace.

In the post-race press conference, a more measured Webber gave enough away to suggest he was still fuming inside.

"I wouldn't have signed a contract for next season if that (No 2 driver) was the way I knew it was going to be going forward," said Webber. "Yesterday (qualifying) I wasn't happy, clearly, but today went well.

"Yesterday (Saturday) was a really unique situation."

The build-up to the grand prix had looked to shed light on the relationship between Button and Hamilton, the last two world champions, whose friendly rivalry was not befitting of two title challengers.

Racing instincts mean they will never see eye to eye in the heat of battle, but the mutual respect they are showing could prove the vital component in the title race.

Hamilton gave the crowd something to cheer when he benefited from Vettel's early problems to ask serious questions of Webber's determination, and the Briton was also on the receiving end of fortune when the safety car came out midway through the race to help cut the gap on the runaway leader.

His was a marvellous performance and his ability to drive on the edge gives him an advantage over the more calculated Button, who scythed his way through the field after gaining an astonishing six places on the first lap.

"It was a great weekend for us," said the world champion who has never got on the podium at his home grand prix but emerged with credit after a trying weekend.

"I lost points to Lewis and I'm now 12 points behind which in old money is about seven or eight, but I'll come back fighting next race.

"I got a great start and made up six places at the start so to finish fourth is a great result and although we've not achieved the win, we've given the fans something to cheer."

Hamilton said his result was a reflection on the team's hard work, but revealed that Saturday morning's decision to abandon the exhaust-blown diffuser upgrade that has given Red Bull such an advantage this season, did not meet with his approval.

The 2008 world champion said: "I wanted to stay with the floor, but they had to make a team decision; we didn't know if it was delivering too little or too much downforce.

"You cannot complain with two second places (Silverstone and Valencia) when we have been on the back foot.

"Jenson did a really great job to get up there and score points for the team.

"Hopefully it's not too much of a disappointment for the British fans."

Nico Rosberg finished third in the Mercedes with his team-mate Michael Schumacher down in ninth.

Two strong performances came from Rubens Barrichello in the Williams (fifth) and Kamui Kobayashi in the BMW Sauber (sixth), with Vettel seventh and Adrian Sutil (Force India) eighth.

Niko Hulkenburg completed the top 10.

Fernando Alonso summed up an erratic day for Ferrari by finish 14th, despite setting the fastest lap on the modified circuit on the 60th anniversary of Formula 1 at Silverstone.