The Red Bull driver started second on the grid, but he spun on the first lap at the Becketts turn, dropping right down to 18th.
However, the Australian managed to claw his way back to 10th position by the 13th lap.

Five laps later he pitted for fuel only- his team electing to keep him on the same set of intermediate tyres, but he then slipped back to 15th behind Felipe Massa, who had endured a torrid day in his Ferrari.
Despite a quick spin out at the Luffield corner on lap 38 which cost him a position to Nico Rosberg, he was able to move up the order to 11th, and he eventually finished 10th following a collision between Rosberg and Timo Glock.

Britain's Lewis Hamilton won the race, and is now tied at the top of the drivers' standings on 48 points with Massa and Kimi Räikkönen. Webber is in eighth, with 18 points.

Afterward the race, Webber, said: "We went down to Becketts and exiting the fast left-hander I spun when I shifted gear. I was very frustrated about it as I told myself before the race that we mustn't have any errors in the first part of the race as it would be difficult to come back through the spray."

He added: "It was a difficult day to go car racing and it just didn't go our way today. The guys did a good job all week and it's a shame we couldn't convert our good qualifying performance."

At the weekend it was announced that Silverstone, which is located on the north Aylesbury Vale and Northamptonshire border, will not be hosting Formula One from 2010, the honour instead heading to Donington Park. The British Grand Prix contributes more than £30 million a year to the local area.