Max Verstappen storms to victory at the British Grand Prix to secure his SIXTH win in a row after surviving early scare from Lando Norris, with Brit holding off Lewis Hamilton to claim second
- Norris took Verstappen off the line but the world champion won the place back
- Hamilton put on soft tyres under the safety car while Norris put on hards
- The Brit held off Hamilton but Verstappen claimed another dominant victory
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For five laps here there was a race for Max Verstappen.
Beaten off the line by Lando Norris and soon finding himself wheel to wheel with another McLaren in Oscar Piastri, the runaway championship leader had to grit his teeth, go hell for leather and spoil the British party many decked in papaya were hoping Norris could deliver.
And Verstappen did as he so often does and won, opening up a 99-point lead at the top of the championship.
That’s six in a row now and his eighth win of the season so far. Red Bull’s invincibility, with Sergio Perez winning the other two in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, will rumble on to Hungary next. Eleven straight wins for Red Bull, too, to match McLaren’s record. The records continue to tumble.
With a 0.3 quicker reaction time off the line Norris was away and up went a roar, one of the loudest of the entire weekend, from the grandstand.
Max Verstappen won the British Grand Prix on Sunday to secure his sixth race win in a row
He survived an early scare after being overtaken by home favourite Lando Norris off the line
Norris finished second, with Lewis Hamilton third after pushing his fellow Brit in the race
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Not since Hamilton in 2012 has McLaren had a British driver lead here at Silverstone. Fans wanted to savour it, even if Verstappen would eventually play the party pooper role many anticipated as 160,000 streamed through the turnstiles.
In the end the move he needed to make on Norris came far too easy and was a sign that McLaren had no real interest in scrapping for the win.
Heading down the Wellington Straight he found himself ahead going into Turn 6 and Norris offered up no defence at all. His race would be for second, and little did he know it would be Hamilton he’d have to hold off.
It’s been a tough weekend for Mercedes with more questions than answers after a qualifying that Hamilton said was a ‘wake-up call’ for the whole team.
But few drivers benefitted more than him when the Haas of Kevin Magnussen caught fire on Lap 31 following an engine failure. Stopped on track and with nowhere to go, out Magnussen jumped and the safety car soon gave drivers the equivalent of a free pit-stop.
Hamilton, now up from seventh to third, took it and put on a used set of soft tyres, running the opposite strategy of Norris, who took the stop to put on a fresh set of the hard compound, which take longer to heat up but are more durable in the long run.
‘This is going to be an interesting sprint to the finish,’ McLaren team boss Zak Brown said when asked about the call. It would go on to pay off.
When the safety car ended on Lap 38, Hamilton was ducking and diving, probing the back of Norris’ McLaren. But in the end the younger Brit was up for the dance and held him off impressively.
Norris’ early lead – the first time a McLaren Brit has led at Silverstone since 2012 – was a hit with the British fans
Norris held off Hamilton despite expressing his frustrations at being put on the hard tyre
’That McLaren is a rocket ship!’ Hamilton said.
Make that the first time since 1999 that two UK drivers have ended up on the podium here at Silverstone.
The headline, again, is Verstappen with this his 43rd career win, his sixth in a row, his 11th straight podium and 87th of his career.
But the Battle of Britain many craved delivered. For now, it’s advantage McLaren.
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