National holiday, except for the winner. It must have been precious for the 160,000 fans who burst out at Silverstone this Sunday, those who saw Mansell and those who do not let go of the smartphone, putting his hands to his head the fierce fight between Norris and Hamilton for the second position. The pretty boy with the McLaren, the eternal champion on the Mercedes. Two generations of drivers who have little in common but share the enormous amount of talent with which they get into a single-seater. In the end the game was won by Lando, second with an impressive MCL60 this weekend at the British GP, and had to settle for the last podium place by Lewis. In front, impassive and possibly unaware of everything that was happening behind, Verstappen won the eighth race of ten this season. He only messed up at the start, when Norris threw the car at him to lead a few laps.
It was a party, yes, but for them. Alonso saved the furniture with a seventh place that he knows even sweetly the lack of rhythm of the Aston Martin in the circuit closest to his factory, just 50 meters. The two Red Bulls were expected in front and also the Mercedes, but the McLarens also slipped in here with a pace that caught almost everyone by surprise since Saturday. So, from the Spaniard’s perspective, the best possible result was achieved and now more favorable tracks will arrive, like Budapest in two weeks. From Sainz’s perspective, little more of the same: with extreme degradation in the Ferrari and a hard tire that got him nowhere in the final ‘rush’, Carlos saved tenth place after a battle against everyone in the train of the points and only lost one compared to Leclerc (9th). Evil of many…
Norris passed Verstappen at the start
The departure had no major incidents. The two McLarens attacked each other and Lando passed Verstappen to lead until DRS was allowed to be used. Behind, Russell took advantage of the soft rubber to quickly remove Carlos and attack Leclerc. Alonso progressed two places, he even overtook Hamilton, but the difference in pace ended up putting everyone in their place. From there, many fast corners but little chicha: The Pirellis are so hard that the British GP can be completed with a stop, from medium to soft, on the circuit that distributes the most forces on the tyres.
Magnussen retired on lap 33 with his Haas threatening barbecue and the safety car came out. That benefited those who had not yet stopped (Hamilton thus passed Piastri, who could have been third and was fourth; Alonso also overtook the Ferrari). Max rode the soft, Norris rode the hard and Lewis rode the soft as well. But the extreme pressure of the Mercedes at the start did not serve to overtake a Lando in a state of grace, grown in front of his audience. He held the position when nine out of ten pilots would have given it up. The shaken stands, on their feet. There’s a pilot there. And there is a team, and a car, that the other greats take note.
That comeback did not suit him Sainz, who had just put the hard ones on and found himself in a firing squad with better tires than him. From seventh to tenth, in one lap he lost all the positions. It must not have gone very well for Leclerc either, who made a second stop to get rid of the tough one. He was ninth. Alonso (7th) only lost the place with Checo (6th) and sustain the pressure that came from behind thanks to the block from Albon (8th). For the events chapter, the fight between Stroll and Gasly with a sanction for the Canadian and withdrawal of the French. And Ocon’s breakdown in another of those races with zero points for Alpine.