A Record-Breaking Weekend at Silverstone

The British Grand Prix is one of the races that a lot of fans look forward to as the birthplace of Formula One and in the country where motorsport itself began - last week, the sport and the UK’s most successful driver broke his own record number of victories and ended a painful dry run of the last 56 races at 2 years and 7 months. The Mercedes team had a one-sided weekend as driver number 63 didn’t get to make it a 1-2 finish, although on the other hand they got to give their parting world champ a win for the first time post-2022 regulations.

Qualifying

One of the three home boys found themselves on pole position, this time in Mercedes’ George Russell - beating out his teammate by just under two tenths and sitting atop an all-British top 3, with Norris in third, for the Grand Prix for the first time in history.

Lewis Hamilton was the fastest in Q1, showcasing his deftness on the familiar Silverstone circuit and setting the tone early, making a strong case for the team’s development trajectory and that updates are taking positive effect.

Sergio Perez had a disastrous session in changing conditions, losing control of his RB20 at Copse corner, spinning off into the gravel, beaching himself and failing to advance into Q2. This marked a continuation of recent struggles, as he had been unable to make it past Q1 in multiple races leading up to this event.

Out in Q1 then:

16 - Valtteri BOTTAS

17 - Kevin MAGNUSSEN

18 - Esteban OCON

19 - Sergio PEREZ

20 - Pierre GASLY

As Q2 began, Albon led a group of cars onto the track, while race control confirmed normal grip conditions and enabled DRS, prompting all drivers to use soft tires for their initial laps.

Lando Norris initially set the fastest lap with a time of 1:27.432, before being bested by Fernando Alonso. Albon and Sargeant of Williams also had impressive runs, temporarily placing them in the top ten.

The pace of Ferrari

Missing out on Q3 were:

11 - Charles LECLERC

12 - Logan SARGEANT

13 - Yuki TSUNODA

14 - ZHOU Guanyu

15 - Daniel RICCIARDO

The final qualifying session began with some concern for championship leaders Red Bull as mechanics checked Max Verstappen's car for damage after an off-track excursion at Copse, similar to his teammate. Despite this, Verstappen joined the session as the battle for pole position began. Initially, Lando Norris looked set for pole, but compatriot Russell edged ahead with Hamilton placing third at this stage.

In the final laps, Russell improved his time, securing pole position, with Hamilton and Norris completing an all-British top three. Verstappen ended up a surprise fourth, followed by Piastri in P5, and Hulkenberg in a comparatively impressive P6. Sainz, Stroll, Albon, and Alonso completed the top ten.

Still I break records

Lewis Hamilton claimed a surprise victory at Silverstone, securing his first win since 2021 and setting a record with a ninth victory at the event. Hamilton's success was largely due to strategic pit stops during changing weather conditions, which saw him switch to slick tires earlier than his competitors, who chanced it by remaining on the wet weather compounds. This decision enabled him to overtake McLaren's Lando Norris, who had a disappointingly slow pit stop, allowing the seven-time world champ to maintain the lead and cross the line in P1.

We saw the emotional side of Hamilton post-race, which is a rare sight, with the Brit hugging his father Anthony and wiping a few tears from his eyes in parc-fermé. The Mercedes driver gave a heartfelt recollection of the final few laps in front of his adoring home fans:

Lewis Hamilton on winning his home Grand Prix

It’s been since 2021, every day getting up, trying to fight, to train, to put my mind to the task and work as hard as I can with this amazing team … I could see [the fans] lap by lap as I was coming around, and there’s just no greater feeling than to finish at the front here.

Despite the brilliant victory for Hamilton, the weekend wasn’t entirely positive for the team - Russell was forced to retire from the race on Lap 34 with a water system failure.

Verstappen vs. Norris 2.0

The on-track battles between these two that we’ve seen so far this year continued at Silverstone; Norris had a strong start and led the race for several laps, leveraging his front-row position to stay ahead initially. However, the pit stop strategies played a crucial role in reshuffling the order. Norris encountered issues during his pit stop, losing valuable time, while Verstappen's team executed a more efficient strategy that allowed him to close the gap.

Verstappen's pace and strategic calls ultimately enabled him to overtake Norris in the final stages of the race, securing second place. Despite this setback, Norris managed to maintain his composure and crossed the line in third, earning a well-deserved podium spot. The race demonstrated McLaren's growing competitiveness against Red Bull, with Norris proving to be a formidable contender throughout the event.

The young Brit couldn’t help but feel, however, that he wasted an opportunity to win in front of the home crowd:

“We threw it away … I should be making better decisions than what I’m making … It’s a win in F1, I’m not going to settle for something less when I should have achieved it”

— Lando Norris

Haas on the rise?

Nico Hulkenberg expressed confidence that Haas can be the fifth fastest team in Formula 1 following a strong performance last weekend - highlighting the team's consistent improvements and ability to challenge other midfield teams. Despite challenges with tire management and race conditions, Haas aims to capitalise on their current momentum to secure more points and climb the constructors ladder.

Nico Hulkenberg on Haas’ performance and development trajectory

I’m very happy … eight more points on the board, super valuable. But, more importantly, the performance…. the performance is there with this update, and that makes me very happy and optimistic looking into the remainder of the season … I think we’re definitely in the fight now for the fifth-fastest team, which is obviously very positive, and nobody really expected [that] a couple of weeks ago

It would be fantastic to see the team that’s historically struggled to be consistently in the points finally reach that point, especially with fresh blood in Ollie Bearman joining the team next year.

On the other side of the garage, Kevin Magnussen had a challenging race, starting in 16th position and struggling to make significant progress through the field. The Dane faced difficulties with the changing weather conditions and tire management, much like a lot of other drivers on the day. Despite his efforts, he was unable to finish in the points and ultimately crossed the line outside the top ten.

We look ahead then to the Hungaroring for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday 21st July - a track that’s brought us historic battles between the great Michael Schumacher and evergreen Fernando Alonso, as well as quite a few debut wins.

Whatever happens, you’re sure to hear about all the best bits right here on Race Reaction!

Final Race Classification

1 - Lewis HAMILTON

2 - Max VERSTAPPEN

3 - Lando NORRIS

4 - Oscar PIASTRI

5 - Carlos SAINZ

6 - Nico HULKENBERG

7 - Lance STROLL

8 - Fernando ALONSO

9 - Alexander ALBON

10 - Yuki TSUNODA

11 - Logan SARGEANT

12 - Kevin MAGNUSSEN

13 - Daniel RICCIARDO

14 - Charles LECLERC

15 - Valtteri BOTTAS

16 - Esteban OCON

17 - Sergio PEREZ

18 - ZHOU Guanyu

19 - George RUSSELL