Lando Norris took his first home victory at the British GP, while a first time podium finisher had an emotional experience in Parc Ferme.
Dark clouds enveloped Silverstone as the countdown to the British GP continued. Releasing a sudden deluge onto the circuit, it threw carefully crafted plans by the teams out of the window.
Drivers fitted with extra downforce faced an uphill struggle in the challenging conditions. Polesitter Max Verstappen needed the track to dry, facing a difficult opening laps. The two McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar aimed to jump the Red Bull in the early stages of the British GP.
Further down the order, Franco Colapinto would start from the pit lane following his Q1 crash, his Alpine fitted with a new power unit. Oliver Bearman looked to put in a strong performance in front of his home crowd at the British GP from 18th, following his ten-pace grid penalty.
With just minutes left until the race start, the rain eased, but all cars would start on intermediate tyres.
Lights out at the British GP leads to a Virtual Safety Car
The cars started the formation lap behind the Safety Car, but the race would get underway normally via a standing start.
With the sun shining down on Silverstone, the track started drying out quickly. George Russell and Charles Leclerc pitted at the end of the formation lap to remove their intermediates. But with the final sector wet, it became a lottery.
Franco Colapinto’s race ended before it had even begun, the Argentinian stalling in the pits, before getting stuck in second gear.
At lights out, Verstappen held his line into turn 1, with Piastri keeping second place. Lewis Hamilton moved into fourth, before challenging Norris for third. Norris held position, while Liam Lawson went wide before the start of the Wellington Straight after contact with with Esteban Ocon, bringing out the Virtual Safety Car.
Several drivers took the opportunity to pit, for slick tyres, including Kimi Antonelli, who then went wide on his return to the track.
The race restarted on lap 4, with the threat of rain in the air, but Gabriel Bortoleto’s risk on slicks came undone. He spun and hit the barriers. He continued but pulled over to retire, bringing out the VSC once again.
A rain deluge and multiple Safety Cars
The slick runners of Leclerc, Hadjar and Bearman were catching the back of the pack, but were failing to make any meaningful progress. However, Lance Stroll took a risk by fitting soft tyres.
At the second restart, Piastri started to challenge Verstappen immediatley. The two duelled for the next two laps, before Piastri passed the Red Bull at the end of the hangar straight. After less than a lap, Piastri pulled two seconds on the reigning world champion.
The track now began to dry quickly, with Stroll, Leclerc, and Russell lapping significantly faster than the front runners. But as fast the track dried, the deluge arrived. This forced the slick runners to pit ending their run.
Verstappen, now under pressure from Norris, went wide at Chapel, his intermediate tyres finished. He, Norris and Piastri all pitted for fresh intermediates. However, a slow pitstop from McLaren allowed the Dutchman to repass the Briton.
Stroll’s tenure on the soft tyres put him into P4, with Hulkenberg, Ocon and Gasly all benefitting. The deluge brought out the Safety Car on lap 14.
The race restarted on lap 18, with Piastri leading from Verstappen. Russell passed Hamilton for 7th into the first corner, only for the seven-time world champion to repass him immediately afterwards.
Hadjar fell victim to the spray, unable to see the Mercedes of Antonelli ahead of him, and had a heavy impact into the barriers, ending his British GP.
With debris from Racing Bulls car littering the run off at Copse corner, the Safety Car was deployed, once again. Antonelli came into the pits on lap 21 for new intermediate tyres.
A dramatic fourth restart at the British GP
Verstappen had a spectacular spin ahead of the restart, losing eight places. Moments before, Piastri was noted for driving slowly behind the Safety Car, causing Verstappen to get in front of him momentarily. Verstappen dropped more places, ending the first lap of the restart down in 10th.
Back at the front, the McLarens were pulling away from the rest of the field. Stroll now lay third, with Hulkenberg, Gasly and Hamilton completing the top six. Hamilton had a slide into Copse Corner on lap 25, losing position to George Russell.
Piastri was awarded a ten-second penalty for his incident with Verstappen, making Norris the de facto race leader.
Yuki Tsuonda was awarded a ten second penalty for causing a collision with Oliver Bearman, both cars rooted to the bottom of the order.
Hamilton, having passed Russell again, now had Gasly in his sights. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, he passed the Alpine into the final corner to take fifth on lap 30.
The battle for third intensified as the race approached half-race distance. Hulkenberg was pushing Stroll hard, his first podium now within reach. However, the Ferrari of Hamilton loomed into view for the battling pair. With DRS enabled on lap 35, Hulkenberg stormed into third, Hamilton passing the Aston a few corners later.
Further back, Verstappen passed Sainz for ninth, while Gasly defended hard from Russell and Alonso. Verstappen began to close on Alonso, as he aimed to get his race back on track. The second Ferrari of Leclerc remained out of the points in 11th.
Ill-advised early changes to slick tyres
Alonso became the first to pit for slick tyres on lap 38, acting as a guinea pig for the rest of the field. Russell took the gamble a lap later.
Russell’s gamble did not pay off, as he spun entering the sweeping complex of Maggots, Becketts and Chapel. Alonso, while not as dramatic, also had trouble.
Ferrari opted to bring in Hamilton, fitting soft tyres, setting off a chain reaction, as Stroll, Verstappen, Gaslu, Sainz and Bearman all fitted dry tyres. Hulkenberg reacted a lap later, along with Leclerc. The drivers now faced an uphill challenge to warm up his tyres. Further back the two Haas cars collided.
Piastri pitted and served his penalty on lap 44, Norris pitting one lap later. The hao between the two cars was 5.8 seconds with 7 laps remaining. Piastri demonstrated the challenging conditions by running wide, but was able to continue.
As the British GP entered its final laps, the home duo of Russell and Bearman duelled over the final point, with Russell holding the advantage. Further up the order, Verstappen now found himself defending from Gasly, with three laps to go, but was able to hold position, and pass Stroll for fifth.
Norris took the chequered flag to take his first British GP win, with team-mate Piastri in second. Nico Hulkenberg got the biggest cheer, taking third. Hamilton was fourth, Verstappen fifth, Stroll sixth, Gasly seventh, Alonso eighth, Albon ninth, with Russell holding to take the final point.
Provisional Classification
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Nico Hulkenberg
- Lewis Hamilton
- Max Verstappen
- Pierre Gasly
- Lance Stroll
- Alex Albon
- Fernando Alonso
- George Russell
- Oliver Bearman
- Carlos Sainz
- Esteban Ocon
- Charles Leclerc
- Yuki Tsunoda
Not Classified
Kimi Antonelli
Isack Hadjar
Gabriel Bortoleto
Liam Lawson
Franco Colapinto
