Silverstone delivered another classic race, leaving us breathless even before the halfway mark. So much unfolded that it`s hard to recall every moment.
First, huge congratulations to Lando Norris on his stunning home win. Equally impressive was Nico Hulkenberg`s first podium finish in 239 races, securing third place. He`s clearly a much better driver than that long wait suggests.
Commiserations to Oscar Piastri, who finished second. In many respects, victory was within his grasp, but the Safety Car deployment thwarted him for two key reasons.
Firstly, his commanding 14-second lead vanished when the Safety Car was rightly deployed due to severely poor visibility in the heavy rain. Secondly, during the race restart on lap 21, as the Safety Car lights went off indicating it would pit, Oscar, still leading, took control of the pack as expected.
However, he was in a phase of warming his brakes, yet despite this, he dramatically reduced speed by 100mph. This action violated rule 55.15 of the Sporting Regulations concerning erratic braking or manoeuvres (yes, the rulebook is extensive…).
This rule is crucial because sudden braking can cause a dangerous `concertina effect` through the trailing cars, especially in poor visibility, which very nearly happened.
The clear breach raised the question of the appropriate penalty severity.
A ten-second penalty is standard unless mitigating factors justify a five-second one. The stewards, after reviewing the brake pressure and speed reduction data, decided against mitigation.
Lando ultimately finished 6.8 seconds ahead of Oscar, making the penalty decisive. Though we`ll never know how much pace either driver held in reserve.
This doesn`t diminish Lando`s victory at all. He arguably should have won last year with a better tyre strategy, and this time, in front of an adoring home crowd, his moment arrived. The frenzy is beginning to rival that seen for Nigel Mansell and Lewis Hamilton.
Chaos and Incidents Aplenty
The conditions were constantly changing throughout the day.
We were quite surprised initially to read the formation lap would be behind the Safety Car, especially on a largely dry track. That decision was quickly reversed for a normal standing start.
George Russell, Isack Hadjar, Charles Leclerc, and Gabriel Bortoleto gambled by pitting for slick tyres before the start, beginning the race from the pitlane. It proved a gamble too far, with Bortoleto soon crashing out.
Mercedes` strategy of fitting hard compound tyres in marginal conditions seemed questionable. While they offer longevity, their slow warm-up felt like data overriding common sense.
There were numerous clumsy contacts, often not even during genuine battles, just from being close together. Having recently driven one of these cars, I`m not surprised; their length and width, combined with poor cockpit visibility, make tripping over each other almost inevitable.
The race featured a continuous stream of broken and stranded cars. Others spun dramatically or explored distant run-off areas.
Max Verstappen delivered a masterful performance to secure pole position for Red Bull. It was a fierce six-way battle for the front row, and while Norris, Piastri, Hamilton, and Leclerc made minor errors, Verstappen produced another pinpoint lap.
However, he had set up his car with lower wing levels and downforce for maximum top speed, anticipating much less rain than the Northamptonshire skies provided on Sunday.
This setup meant he struggled for grip. Despite leading early on, a spin during the Safety Car restart dropped him down the order, and his car was `beeping and undriveable` at times. Yet, he still salvaged fifth place.
Mixed Fortunes: Hulkenberg`s Triumph, Leclerc`s Struggle
Overall, it was a race where being on the correct tyre at the opportune moment was key, often outweighing time lost in the pits.
For Hulkenberg, starting last, the right strategy meant intermediates on lap nine and slicks on lap 43.
Lance Stroll, starting 17th, began on intermediates. He switched to soft dry tyres on lap nine, just minutes after his team told Fernando Alonso heavy rain was imminent. Stroll then pitted again for intermediates four laps later, and finally for soft dry tyres on lap 42. The final tyre choice was a mistake, but he held a strong fourth for a significant period before dropping to seventh near the end.
Remarkably, 15 out of the 19 starters were classified finishers.
Franco Colapinto`s Alpine suffered transmission issues and never started from the pitlane. However, every one of the other 19 drivers could recount numerous scary moments and near misses from the race`s challenging conditions.
Lewis Hamilton secured another solid fourth place, outperforming his teammate Leclerc throughout the weekend. Lewis appeared to struggle significantly in the initial heavy rain and low visibility but recovered well as conditions improved.
Leclerc commented that his recent, more aggressive car setup didn`t suit the low grip conditions at all, resulting in arguably one of his weakest races for Ferrari.
Piastri vs Norris: The Championship Battle Heats Up
With the Ferrari drivers, Verstappen, and Russell facing challenges, and the McLaren pair being significantly faster in certain phases (up to two seconds per lap), Silverstone, marking roughly the season`s halfway point (four of six Sprint races remaining), solidifies the expectation of a Drivers` Championship battle between Piastri and Norris. We can certainly anticipate sparks between them.
That race revealed the first glimpse of the `angry` side of the usually calm and quiet Aussie, Oscar Piastri.
His radio call, suggesting the team should swap positions if they felt his 10-second penalty was unfair, was particularly audacious.
Frankly, McLaren might as well be handed the Constructors` trophy now, saving time in what promises to be a very short F1 winter.
The grid walk was, as usual, quite entertaining.
Apologies to any famous or accomplished individuals I hurried past and didn`t manage to interview. My capacity to walk, talk, think, listen, and simultaneously identify hundreds of faces is limited.
Having taken a few knocks to the head in my racing career, my brain feels like it`s running on floppy disks. I probably need a Google search implant and some AI chips!
