For Norris it is a new boost, after his victory from last week in Austria. The backlog at World Championship leader Piastri (second) is only eight points exactly halfway through this Formula 1 season.
After the second Safety Car of the afternoon, Verstappen spinned on the wet English asphalt, shortly after Piastri committed a violation and was also punished for that. Behind the McLarens, Nico Hülkenberg (37) finished on stage for the first time.
Very messy initial phase on Silverstone
Verstappen was less away from pole position than Piastri, but kept the Australian behind him and therefore retained the leadership. The initial phase of the race nevertheless went incredibly chaotic in terms of weather conditions. Several drivers, including George Russell and Charles Leclerc, entered the pit lane immediately after the formation round to switch directly to dry weather tires.
Not a good decision afterwards, because in particular in the last sector it turned out to be too wet. The stopping of Liam Lawson (after being tapped by Esteban Ocon) and later Gabriel Bortoleto led twice to a virtual safety car situation. After that, Verstappen, whose intermediates took on much faster than the rubber of the McLarens, was quickly seen. Piastri took over the lead in the eighth round.
Max Verstappen loses ground
Shortly thereafter, the last, expected rain shower. Among others, Russell and Leclerc, who had lost a lot of ground, switched to intermediates again. Verstappen indicated that it was really time to make a pit stop. At a certain point he went wide at the release of Chapel, after which Norris could pass him and took the second place.
Given the heavy rainfall, almost all drivers came in in the front. Piastri retained the first place and took a big distance from Verstappen. He had a much better stop than Norris, so he could pass the Brit again. Shortly thereafter – in round 14 – the race management chose to send the Safety Car the track, given the (too) intense circumstances and the lack of sight.
Quick even a safety car
The field came together again and the lead of Piastri on Verstappen, about fifteen seconds, went up in smoke. Big winners in that phase of the race were Lance Stroll, who had been in fourth place due to two well -timed pit stops. And Nico Hülkenberg, who came in two rounds earlier than Verstappen and associates, had been torn to place five.
In the eighteenth round, when the Safety Car came in, Piastri immediately took a distance from Verstappen again. And Lewis Hamilton advanced to seventh place at the expense of Russell and Ocon. But shortly thereafter the drivers had to stay in line again, because Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) crashed, after he hit Kimi Antonelli on the back.
Max Verstappen Spints and Time Penoia for Oscar Piastri
After ending the Safety Car, who came in at the end of round 21, it went completely wrong. Piastri went on the gas too early, then braked again and that made Verstappen overtaken him for a moment. Then Piastri set things going again, but Verstappen spun and the Dutchman fell back to – eventually – place ten. Piastri remained first, but received a time penalty of 10 seconds from the stewards.
In the thereafter, Verstappen then stated on the intermediates on a slowly drying track that he had an incredible amount of trouble driving his RB21. Compared to the other drivers, he drove with a small rear wing and therefore with less downward pressure, which is not exactly an advantage in wet conditions.
McLaren again supreme
The McLaren drivers quickly walked away from the rest of the field. Norris remained neatly near Piastri, knowing that his teammate still had to take time. McLaren’s 1-2 was no longer in danger, not even after the last pit stops. It remained exciting behind it. Russell was one of the first to choose the slicksbut that turned out to be too early. He lost a lot of time in his first laps on those dry weather tires and fell back.
Verstappen came in at the same time with the drivers around him, but riding the medium band, he initially had a lot of trouble keeping his car within the white lines. He called his RB21 ‘unmanageable’ and had to satisfy himself with a fifth place after he still caught up stroll in the final phase.
Hülkenberg keeps Hamilton behind him
Behind the McLaren drivers, Hülkenberg held out well, with Hamilton for a long time behind him and the right choice for the moment of his second pit stop. For the German driver of Sauber, it is his first podium place in the royal class in his career. The Grand Prix of Great Britain was the 239th (!) Race in which he was at the start.
Behind it Hamilton, Verstappen, Stroll, Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon and Russell also finished in points.