It was always going to be emotional and it was always going to be dramatic, but few could have predicted how so for Milton Keynes-based Red Bull Racing over the course of the weekend.

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber secured a historic first and second place finish at the final British Grand Prix to be raced at Silverstone – or not as the case may be.

The 18-point haul nudged the city team to within 25.5 points of construction leaders Brawn-Mercedes, with World Championship leader Jenson Button only managing a sixth place finish at his home track.

But the weekend's action on the track was overshadowed before it had even begun after the news that eight rebel F1 teams announced shock plans to break away and form their own championship following a row over budget-capping with the sport's governing body.

Brawn GP, Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Toyota, BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso and Red Bull took the decision on Thursday night ahead of the GP after months of arguments with the FIA and motorsport boss Max Mosley.

As for Silverstone, emotions were running high in the week building up to the race, with the knowledge that the chequered flag would be coming down on an F1 race at the circuit for the final time.

Although with the sport now in turmoil and the prospect of a new championship series for the 2010 season a possibility, there could yet be a return of F1 racing to Silverstone.

The race was something of a procession as German Vettel qualified on pole position and never looked back to claim his second success of the season.

"The start was important, then in the first stint I tried to pull away and make a gap, as I knew it would be crucial for the whole race," he said.

"The car was fantastic, just unbelievable and I was able to push more and more and the tyres were very consistent.

"The second stint wasn't so easy with a lot of lapped cars that were all battling with each other, so the team told me to be careful.

"But from the last pit stop I was in clean air and from then on I was just counting down each lap. I had quite a big gap to Mark and was controlling the race from that point on.

"Everyone in the team has been working so hard, both in the factory and at the track.

"This weeekend we've taken a step in the right direction."