Max Verstappen passed Lando Norris to win F1 British GP after safety car dramas, as Lewis Hamilton recovered to third.
It was a slightly slow start from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen which allowed McLaren’s Lando Norris to take the lead of F1 British GP with Oscar Piastri trying to sneak past but steadied in third. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc stood fourth from Mercedes’ George Russell.
A soft tyre start helped Russell to gain places with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in sixth from Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Williams’ Alexander Albon in the Top 10. Hamilton was on to lose out after a wide moment.
But he quickly regained the place on Gasly and eventually passed Alonso to be seventh. At the front, Verstappen finally managed to pass Norris for the F1 British GP lead but the Brit stuck with the Dutchman on his tail for the early part of the grand prix.
McLaren played a team game with Piastri holding station behind, as Leclerc held off Russell in the fight for fourth. Sainz was sixth from Hamilton, Alonso, Gasly and Albon in the Top 10, as Red Bull’s Sergio Perez climbed up to 12th from 15th in the opening stages.
A moment between AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries and Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg cost the German with a damaged endplate, forcing him to pit. A little later, Alpine retired Esteban Ocon with an unannounced issue. The grand prix steadied on as the laps progressed.
It was Leclerc who pitted first on Lap 19 but that strategy seemingly wasn’t working with Russell in free air doing a good lap time. Sainz had Hamilton on his tail, while Alonso resisting Gasly for track position, as Perez cleared Albon for the final point.
But he couldn’t make huge inroads against Gasly. The pit stop game started with Russell pitting along with Sainz and Perez. The Brit came out behind Leclerc but made the pass on the Monegasque to gain track position. All of the things were neutralised soon.
There was a Virtual Safety Car deployed which converted into a full Safety Car for Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, whose car caught fire. The lead cars stopped with Verstappen still leading F1 British GP from Norris and Hamilton but the McLaren was on the hard tyre.
Norris was on the hard compound along with Piastri and Sainz in the Top 10, with the Australian in fourth from Russell, Alonso, Sainz, Perez, Albon and Leclerc in the Top 10. The ones to gain were Hamilton, Alonso and Perez in the pack with Gasly outside in 11th.
The re-start worked well for Verstappen who led the way in F1 British GP. He build a good gap against Norris who had to fend off Hamilton for couple of laps when the Mercedes driver pounced on him. Piastri steadied in fourth from Russell in fifth.
Alonso was sixth from Sainz, Perez, Albon and Leclerc in the Top 10. Just outside, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll passed Gasly with all four wheels off track which was noted. But there was a chain reaction after Perez cleared Sainz for seventh which dropped the Spaniard.
He lost to Albon, Leclerc and even Gasly for a moment. Sainz came back on the Frenchman who had cleared Stroll a lap before. There was eventual contact between Gasly and Stroll when the Canadian came back on the circuit after a kerb moment to make a contact.
It forced Gasly to pit and retire, as Perez cleared Alonso for sixth with Stroll under investigation for his collision with the Frenchman. At the front, Verstappen led from Norris and Hamilton, Piastri, Russell, Perez, Alonso, Albon, Leclerc and Sainz in the Top 10.
It was eventually a steady run from Verstappen to win F1 British GP from Norris who fended off Hamilton who had Piastri close behind. Russell was fifth from Perez as Alonso held off Albon and Leclerc, with Sainz rounding the Top 10.
Even though Stroll finished 11th, he dropped down to 14th with Williams’ Logan Sargeant earning his best result in 11th. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was 12th with Hulkenberg in 13th from Stroll, as Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu was 15th.
The AlphaTauri pair of Yuki Tsunoda and de Vries slotted in 16th and 17th to round out the runners. DNF: Gasly, Magnussen, Ocon.
How we crossed the line after 52 scintillating laps around Silverstone#BritishGP #FG2 pic.twitter.com/gC0i3yL0vi
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 9, 2023