Raceday Recap: Speed in Silverstone
The British Grand Prix was a whirlwind of yellow flags, DNF’s (+ one DNS), and questionable driving conditions - with each of these factors making the race extremely exciting to watch. Whether you were streaming it online or spectating at the track (like me!), this year’s weekend at Silverstone did not disappoint. Let’s break down what made this iconic race so special, from the occasion to the results.
Saturday’s qualifying saw Max Verstappen taking pole position ahead of both McLarens, with Oscar Piastri on the front row and Lando Norris starting P3 in his home race. Behind him were fellow Brits George Russell (P4) and Lewis Hamilton (P5). Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc backed him up in P6, followed by Kimi Antonelli starting 7th, British rookie Ollie Bearman in 8th, Fernando Alonso starting in P9, and Pierre Gasly finishing out the top ten. However, the grid placement looked a little different on Sunday afternoon due to Antonelli’s 3-place grid penalty for his collision with Verstappen in Austria, as well as Bearman’s 10-place grid penalty for his pit lane crash under the red flag in FP3. This pushed Antonelli down to P10 on the grid and Bearman down to P18 - yikes! Franco Colapinto qualified last and then had to start from the pit lane after changing his car in between sessions.
Crowd favorite Lando Norris on a flying lap for Saturday’s FP3 session. Photo credit: Lucy Coon.
Because of the on-and-off rainy conditions that changed the driveability of the track, the formation lap was led behind a safety car, and afterwards, many cars took a gamble by coming into the pits to change their tire choices, including Leclerc and Russell. These drivers also had to start from the pitlane, which looked odd as half of the grid was missing when the race was about to begin. However, as the red lights went out and the green flag was granted, Colapinto stayed stuck in the pitlane and didn’t even start the race, even after a formation lap with seemingly no issues. On Lap 1, Liam Lawson spun out and caused the first yellow flag of the race, but was able to recover and avoid a safety car. On the next lap, however, Esteban Ocon slammed into Lawson’s rear left tire and pushed him across the gravel with no damage taken to his own car, causing Lawson to retire his RB under a virtual safety car. On lap 4, Bortoleto spun off but was also able to get back on track without the need for a safety car. Shortly after, though, Bortoleto was called to retire his car under another VSC. On lap 10, the rain returned, allowing for all of the drivers with dry tires to pit for intermediates, followed by lap 11 where Max Verstappen went off the track, allowing Norris to snag 2nd place. A safety car came out on lap 14 due to the uncertain rainy conditions, with spray shooting off the back of every car. It was extremely hard for the drivers to see, affecting their driving and ability to stay on track (Leclerc cut two huge corners). The safety car went back in on lap 17, but came back out 2 laps later after Isack Hadjar rammed into the back of Antonelli’s Mercedes and spun into the barriers - not a great day for Racing Bulls. Antonelli also had to retire his car because of the damage left by Hadjar (a bad day for Mercedes too, after Russell’s 720 degree spin towards the end of the race that leaves him far back in the rankings on home turf). On lap 22, the safety car went in, followed by a huge spin from Verstappen who then got back on track just for Piastri to brake hard in the middle of the straight. For half of a second, Verstappen went in front of Piastri, which is not allowed under a safety car. However, the stewards (correctly) determined that Piastri was in the wrong for his excessive braking, and the Aussie received a 10-second time penalty for his actions. The next major race incident occurred on lap 44 of 52, when Ocon slams teammate Bearman as he tries to overtake (who’s surprised?) and both Haas cars spin out in sync. By this time, Hulkenberg had snatched P3 after a successful pitstop and incredible defensive tactics over 6 laps that kept Lewis Hamilton behind him - Hamilton was consistently in the 1-second DRS range of Hulkenberg but was still unsuccessful with each overtake attempt. To the end of the race, this was the battle that fans were watching in awe, but Nico Hulkenberg may have been the most surprised of them all.
Silverstone legend Lewis Hamilton on the track for the first time in red. Photo credit: Lucy Coon.
After a disastrous race for some, an incredible podium erupts: Lando Norris, hometown hero on the top step; Oscar Piastri completing the McLaren 1-2; and Nico Hulkenberg achieving his first podium after 239 race starts - wow! Hamilton takes P4 with his streak of 12 consecutive Silverstone podium finishes broken. Verstappen ended up P5, with both Gasly and Lance Stroll impressing the fans in P6 and P7. Alex Albon finished in 8th place to bring home some points for Williams, with Alonso carrying P9 for 2 more Aston Martin points and George Russell finishing in below-average 10th for Mercedes. Ollie Bearman ended up just outside of the points but was still the only rookie to finish the race, which is better than joining them in the wall.
Overall, this race was absolutely wild but also super exciting to watch, and an incredible first race experience!! I highly recommend going to a race, and Silverstone will now be one of my favorite tracks to watch on the calendar for years to come. As always, thank you for reading!
Lights out and away we go,
Lucy xx
