Lando Norris took an early lead. Then he took the fight straight to Max Verstappen. But the British Grand Prix that provided some early drama at Silverstone circuit on Sunday ultimately ended in the most predictable way possible: with Verstappen reclaiming the lead, pushing Red Bull wide at the front, and leaving everyone racing for second place.
Verstappen took his sixth consecutive win, his eighth of the season and his first at the British Grand Prix with another dominant day. The victory extended Red Bull’s record to 10 perfect victories in 10 races this season and allowed the team, along with a victory on the last day of last season, to equal McLaren’s Formula 1 record of 11 consecutive victories, which was set in 1988. .
But it was Norris, in a McLaren, who felt he was the big winner of the day after beating Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes in an all-British battle for second place.
Norris’ result was McLaren’s first podium finish of the season, and a welcome bonus for his impressive performance in beating seven-time world champion Hamilton on the closing laps.
Hamilton tried everything to get around the 23-year-old Norris as the laps faded: he feinted on the inside; Gripping widened maneuver in close quarters. But none of Hamilton’s experience or skills could trump an impressive defensive drive by Norris. It was the first time that two British drivers had stood on the podium at Silverstone since 1999. The second McLaren car, driven by Australian Oscar Piastri, finished fourth directly.
Star Strike
The most interesting driver at Silverstone that teams and fans alike wanted to catch a glimpse of all week was a fictional one: Sonny Hayes.
This is the name of the character that actor Brad Pitt will play in the new Formula 1 movie Spent the Week shooting scenes on the track as part of an effort to gather intelligence, tips and race footage.
The teams seemed eager to get closer to the project. Lewis Hamilton is part of the film’s production rig, Red Bull’s Christian Horner met with the filmmakers on Friday and Mercedes helped design Pitt’s fictional Apex racing team cars.
“We were involved very early,” Mercedes’ Toto Wolff told reporters last week. “When we had the first discussions, we sent Brad to a driving school in France, passing Formula 4 cars along the way, and tried to be co-operative with the narrative. Louis is an executive producer, so he wanted to make sure when he came out with the movie, that it was as realistic as possible. “.
Pete and his partner, Damson Idris, have been around the grid all week, and many windows have been cut out of the tight racing schedule to allow filming on the track itself.
what are they saying
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“I did the best I could. I brought the fight to Max for as long as I could.” – Norriswas able to take the lead at the start before ceding it and focusing his efforts on protecting second place.
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“We had a terrible start, so we need to look into why that was.” – Verstappenunwilling to look at the back of another car until one lap.
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“This is where I started, so seeing them back on top warms my heart.” – Hamiltonthe former McLaren driver, upon seeing his old team on the podium.
Drivers’ Championship standings
Verstappen’s lead over his teammate Sergio Perez, who came off another bad Saturday (qualifying 15th) with another strong one (finishing sixth), is now 99 points.
The margin also ensured that Verstappen would carry his points lead into September even if he stopped appearing in races. (Spoiler: He will appear in all races.)