British Grand Prix Review

Max Verstappen scored Red Bull’s first victory at Silverstone since 2012, but it was Lando Norris’ second-place finish that had the British capacity crowd off their feet.

The McLaren driver completed a phenomenal weekend after qualifying on the front row and overtaking Verstappen at the start. Lewis Hamilton finished third recording his 13th podium on home turf.

The British Grand Prix Saw Two British Drivers On The Podium

Verstappen secured his sixth consecutive win but the Dutch driver had his mirrors full with the McLarens hot on his wing.

Both Norris and team mate Oscar Piastri went on the charge in their upgraded MCL60 cars. The Australian rookie got a taste of the newer spec car for the first time after Norris debuted them in Austria.

When Norris took the lead and held off Verstappen for the first couple of laps it came as a surprise as we’re accustomed to witnessing the RB19 blitz all its competition.

Piastri immediately pounced onto the back of the Red Bull and was alongside the double world champion, but Verstappen was able to wriggle free from the McLaren sandwich.

The Australian came within touching distance of a F1 podium in his first season after pitting right before Kevin Magnussen’s Haas dying caused a Safety Car.

Piastri said: “Of course it was slightly frustrating with the Safety Car, I thought we were on the podium for a very, very long time in that race, so it hurts a little bit – but I’m very, very happy that the injury is for a podium.”

Several drivers including Hamilton pitted and the seven-time world champion inherited third place. Hamilton and Norris battled on a track they know very well, much to the joy of the British crowd.

McLaren opted to send Norris out on the hard compound tyre and he held his own against the Mercedes, with Hamilton unable to pass the McLaren.

“It was an amazing fight with Lewis, to hold him off, and I brought the fight to Max for as long as possible. It’s a long, lonely race when you’re just in the middle but it’s amazing to be on the podium at my home race,” the McLaren driver said.

Hamillton was gracious in finishing on the podium, reflecting after the race he said: “For us to get on the podium is huge. It’s been an up-and-down season and we’ve still got a lot of work to do with our car. We’ve got strengths with it, particularly our long run.”

There was a huge cheer as Norris finished second, capping off a brilliant weekend for Zak Brown’s team.

Another British driver who had reason to cheer was Williams’ Alex Albon. He finished eighth after another masterful drive.

George Russell (P5), Sergio Perez (P6), Fernando Alonso (P7), and the two Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz rounded out the top 10.

The sport takes a one week break before the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 23.

Formula 1 British Grand Prix Final Classification

DRIVERS

1 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing
2 Lando NORRIS McLaren +3.798
3 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes +6.783
4 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren +7.776
5 George RUSSELL Mercedes +11.206
6 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing +12.882
7 Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin +17.193
8 Alexander ALBON Williams +17.878
9 Charles LECLERC Ferrari +18.689
10 Carlos SAINZ Ferrari +19.448
11 Logan SARGEANT Williams +23.632
12 Valtteri BOTTAS Alfa Romeo +25.830
13 Nico HULKENBERG Haas F1 Team +26.663
14 Lance STROLL Aston Martin +27.483
15 Guanyu ZHOU Alfa Romeo +29.820
16 Yuki TSUNODA AlphaTauri +31.225
17 Nyck DE VRIES AlphaTauri +33.128
18 Pierre GASLY Alpine DNF
19 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas F1 Team DNF
20 Esteban OCON Alpine DNF

Drivers’ Championship Standings

DRIVERS

1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 255 points
2 Sergio Perez (Red Bull) – 156
3 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 137
4 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 121
5 Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – 83
6 George Russell (Mercedes) – 82
7 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 74
8 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 44
9 Lando Norris (McLaren) – 42
10 Esteban Ocon (Alpine) – 31
11 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 17
12 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 16
13 Alex Albon (Williams) – 11
14 Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) – 9
15 Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) – 5
16 Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) – 4
17 Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) – 2
18 Kevin Magnussen (Haas) – 2
19 Logan Sargeant (Williams) – 0
20 Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri) – 0

Constructors’ Championship Standings

1 Red Bull – 411 points
2 Mercedes – 203
3 Aston Martin – 181
4 Ferrari – 157
5 McLaren – 59
6 Alpine – 47
7 Williams – 11
8 Haas – 11
9 Alfa Romeo – 9
10 AlphaTauri – 2

Sean Parker

Sean Parker is a motorsport journalist and sports content creator at The South African. He has worked for the country's premier motoring publications, and is a Formula 1 contributor to Bet.co.za, the Bet Central podcast, and Vision View Sports radio.