Highlights - German Grand Prix

By Martin Brundle BBC F1 broadcaster

The German Grand Prix provided many great drives but none compared to that of Mark Webber as he motored to a maiden victory.

What made the Australian's win even more extraordinary at the Nurburgring was the fact he achieved it in spite of being handed a drive-through penalty.

He was stunning behind the wheel of the Red Bull from lap one of practice on Friday and without the penalty it would have been a cruise for him, make no mistake about that. He thrashed local favourite and team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

Webber was punished for his brush with Brawn rival Rubens Barrichello, charging off the line towards the first corner.

I've seen him defend like that quite a lot. It's a bit too extreme and the stewards were right to investigate it.

I'd have given him the benefit of the doubt on this occasion with a heavy warning after the race - the penalty was a little bit harsh because no damage was caused to either car and we want aggressive racing. But in the end it didn't cost him.

You have to remember the last two world championships have been won and lost by a single point. The second half of this season looks to be equally compelling

Webber received the chequered flag for the first time in his 130 grand prix career starts. He also hauled himself up into third in the title race, just one-and-a-half points behind Vettel.

Jenson Button saw his championship lead cut to 21 points but that shouldn't panic him unduly.

Yes, he's had a couple of ordinary races, sixth place at Silverstone followed by fifth on Sunday, but he's still looking solid for the title at this stage.

Webber's win played to Button's advantage because it meant his closest rival, Vettel, didn't maximise the pain in terms of points gain.

Button says they must win at Budapest, but in reality all he has got to do is to be one point ahead of all the others at the end of the last lap in the final race of the season. So he doesn't have to do anything yet. The extra point he scored over his team-mate at the Nurburgring could be crucial, though.

Brawn's double title bid is definitely coming under pressure with the pendulum of momentum swinging firmly in Red Bull's direction in terms of pace.

You have to remember the last two world championships have been won and lost by a single point. The second half of this season looks to be equally compelling.

There were, however, a couple of things going on in the Brawn camp that are worth pointing out.

For the last two races the team have called the wrong strategy on tyres and that is not normal territory for them in 2009.

Presumably, there will also be a conspiracy theory rumbling about Barrichello's hashed second pit-stop, which ultimately cost the Brazilian a podium chance and allowed Button to pass him.

The cards just don't seem to fall for Barrichello. At his second stop the mechanics couldn't get the fuel rig on square and after the race he accused the team of demonstrating how to lose a race. It's the same crew for both drivers, though, made up of members from both sides of the Brawn garage.

Any foul play would be outed immediately by Barrichello's mechanics and engineer. It just isn't going to happen, and they're trained and respected F1 personnel, not actors pretending to botch a fuel stop.

Webber, 32, grabbed his first GP win on his 130th race start

Barrichello is often emotionally driven. In the heat of the moment and disappointment post-race, he publicly said some things he will be regretting.

You can fully understand why, after years of playing second fiddle to Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, he is so frustrated to see it happening all over again with Button and Brawn.

To defend against the thrust of Red Bull, though, Brawn needs Barrichello fully motivated and happy.

Barrichello is towards the end of his career, even though he is driving beautifully, so every result is precious and he can still taste that elusive world title this year.

Team boss Ross Brawn probably thinks Button is their best chance of breeding a champion and is more likely to lead their push into next season.

The development race between all the teams on the grid is just brilliant and in Germany we saw McLaren in particular take significant steps forward.

The ban on in-season testing is forcing teams to try out their latest updates during Friday and Saturday's practice sessions.

I was absolutely dumbfounded when I saw a lump of fibreglass on the front of Lewis Hamilton's McLaren on the grid. Back in Ron Dennis's days of aesthetic control, that would never have happened.

More than ever the cars are works-in-progress prototypes. Whoever turns up with the best box of goodies goes on to make strides over the weekend. It must be like Christmas for the drivers, although quite often they have been disappointed with their presents.

You can't tread water in F1, otherwise you'll drown.

Martin Brundle was talking to Sarah Holt.

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