07/07/2024
NEWS STORY
The anticipated thunderstorm did hit Silverstone around three hours before the start of the race. However, despite the insistence of the Sky team that conditions for the race will be "changeable", no further rain is expected.
Indeed, as the drivers are ferried around the track to wave to the crowds, the sun is shining.
Much has been made of the fact that Britons fill the first three places on the grid, and after last night's football, in which England beat Switzerland on penalties, the jingoism is currently on 11 and in danger of climbing.
Whether there will be three Britons on the podium remains to be seen, but with England set to meet the Netherlands in the semi-finals of the Euros later this week, Max Verstappen might well want to serve an early warning.
While the other semi-final features France and Spain, the best hope for those two particular nations today is Carlos Sainz, for Alpine continues to struggle as does Fernando Alonso.
But what need of the Weather Gods anyway, for Silverstone usually manages to serve up something special, and with Mercedes now very much in the mix, Red Bull, already under pressure from McLaren, has a real fight on its hands.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton start from the front row, and while there does appear to be an increasing amount of needle between the pair, we are sure Toto will have had a quiet word. The McLarens start third and fifth, leaving Max on his lonesome, though not for the first time.
Qualifying 19th, Sergio Perez has taken the opportunity to take on a new engine and will therefore start from the pitlane, whilst Pierre Gasly starts from the back of the grid after taking on his 5th set of engine elements of the season.
Following another bravura performance, Nico Hulkenberg starts from sixth, ahead of Lance Stroll and Alex Albon, who will no doubt be given honorary British status should he perform well today.
In the same way that the media is ramping up the jingoism - which must be a real turn-off for those subscribers around the world who do not happen to be British - it is insisting that this will be the hardest fought British Grand Prix ever... conveniently ignoring the many great battles we have witness here, and at Brands Hatch, Aintree... and let's not forget Donington, over the years. But then again, that is one of the great follies of the modern era, anything from more than ten years ago is ancient history and doesn't count.
According to Pirelli, a one-stop is quickest, with all three compounds being viable. The soft/medium strategy is slightly quicker than going from the soft to the hard, while a strategy without the softs gives greater flexibility.
Most of the big guns have one set of fresh mediums and softs, though Leclerc has two sets of softs and the McLaren pair two sets of fresh mediums.
Fifty minutes before the start, it begins to rain... despite assurances to the contrary from the leading meteorological service.
If it continues, or worsens, we are assured that all the teams have sufficient sets of Inters and Wets to run a two-stop race.
The pitlane opens and Gasly leads the way, followed by Ocon, Leclerc, Hamilton and Bottas.
Taking time off from the weather and the jingoism, the Sky team turns its attention to the possibility of a clash involving Verstappen and Norris.
"No more rain," Sainz is told, "maybe one hour into the race, but not before."
As the National Anthem is sung, Race Control predicts a 60% chance of rain.
All are starting on mediums bar Zhou and Ocon who are on softs and Perez on hards. Everyone is on fresh rubber.
Ahead of the formation lap there are dark clouds in the distance.
Russell heads off at lightning speed for the formation lap, appearing to keep the rest of the field on the back foot.
The grid forms... as Gasly pulls into the pits reporting an issue and Hamilton has his car noticeably pointing towards his teammate.
They're away. Russell is quick of the grid and while his teammate pulls across the track towards him, he actually appears to be covering his back rather than battle for the lead.
Indeed, as they head towards Abbey, Hamilton is holding off Norris and the pursuing pack.
Through the complex, Verstappen is almost alongside Norris and just ahead of Piastri. Around Aintree, the Dutchman gets ahead of Norris while further back Hulkenberg has run wide.
On rejoining the track Hulkenberg almost hits Alonso who clout Albon in a bid to avoid the Haas.
At the end of Lap 1, it's: Russell, Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Sainz, Stroll, Leclerc, Hulkenberg and Alonso. Leclerc is up three places, Hulkenberg down three, as is Albon.
After 2 laps the field is evenly spread, and while Gasly has retired, Hulkenberg has been noted for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Having struggled earlier, unable to generate enough heat into his tyres, Norris now appears to have found his rhythm.
Sargeant reports that his teammate has lost a piece of his bodywork, following that clash with Alonso.
"There is small shower that might appear on Lap 6," Norris is warned, on Lap 4.
Albon reports possible front damage following the clash with Alonso. He is told that it is aero damage.
"Expected increased rain around Lap 16," Verstappen is advised.
Leclerc is all over Stroll and looks to make a move at Stowe but thinks better of it. The Canadian has dropped 3.5s behind the other Ferrari.
Tsunoda is currently eleventh, ahead of Albon, Sargeant, Ricciardo, Zhou and Magnussen, as Hulkenberg closes on the Stroll/Leclerc battle for 7th.
In quick succession, Magnussen and Perez pass Zhou, who drops to 17th.
"Rain expected in 7 laps," Leclerc is told on Lap 10, "lasting around ten minutes."
Verstappen reports that his tyres are fading, while Piastri is within DRS range of his McLaren teammate.
"When the rain comes it's going to be a racing decision re tyres, so we'll keep it simple," Norris is told.
Zhou pits at the end of Lap 12, the first driver to make a scheduled stop, switching from softs to mediums.
Russell leads Hamilton by 1.5s with Verstappen a further 3s behind, just 0.8s ahead of his old mate Norris.
Leclerc passes Stroll at Stowe for seventh.
"Keep me posted if anyone's going off, it's getting harder," reports Russell on Lap 15.
Indeed it does appear to be raining as Norris closes on Verstappen.
On the run to Stowe down Hangar Straight, Norris passes Verstappen who clearly doesn't have the pace to resist. In the process the McLaren driver posts a new fastest lap (30.946).
"We expect heavy rain now," Leclerc is told, "it's coming soon."
Meanwhile, Piastri is within DRS range of Verstappen. Indeed, in a repeat of his teammate's move, the Australian passes the Red Bull.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Silverstone here.
"Target would be to try and survive this rain cell if you can," Verstappen is told, "but it's your call."
To the delight of the crowd, as the rain increases, Hamilton passes his teammate heading into Stowe to take the lead. Shortly after, both Mercedes run wide. Norris subsequently passes the struggling Russell as the McLaren driver complains about the Mercedes potentially gaining an advantage in running wide.
Norris closes on Hamilton, the youngster passing the seven-time champ on the pit straight.
Leclerc and Perez pit at the end of Lap 19, as Piastri passes Russell for third.
On Lap 20, heading into Stowe, Piastri passes Hamilton to make it a McLaren 1-2.
"We think it's time to jump to Inters, what do you think," Hamilton is asked. "Nope!" he replies.
Leclerc, Perez, Ocon and Zhou are all on Inters, however the Ferrari driver is clearly struggling on the green-banded rubber.
"It's too dry, man, it's too dry," sighs Perez.
Ocon pits at the end of Lap 21, rejoining in 18th on mediums.
A second heavier rain cell is expected in four minutes as Norris goes quickest in S2.
In 17th, Perez is shown the blue flag as he is lapped by the leaders, with Leclerc just ahead.
"It's too early for Inters," reports Piastri as Sainz laps Leclerc.
Verstappen pits at the end of Lap 26, as does Sainz. Hulkenberg and Stroll also stop as the leaders are lapping in the 1:40s.
Verstappen rejoins in 5th and Sainz 6th as Ricciardo and Bottas pit.
Norris pits but Piastri stays out. Hamilton and Russell also stop.
Piastri leads but on his ageing mediums. Norris rejoins in second, ahead of Hamilton, Verstappen, Russell and Sainz as a whole load of drivers dive into the pitlane.
Piastri lapping at 1:49, around 5s slower than the pursuing pack.
The Australian stops at the end of Lap 28, struggling to slow the car as he enters the pitlane. He rejoins in 6th behind Sainz. Leclerc also stops.
"OK, Lewis, this is our time," Hamilton is told, the Briton 3.2s down on race leader Norris and 4.6s clear of Verstappen.
On Lap 30, Race Control claims the rain will end in 15 minutes.
"These tyres are degrading a lot," reports Verstappen as Russell closes to within 1.6s.
"This rain is going to last for another six laps at least," Hamilton is warned. "It's not raining anymore," he replies. "Front tyres are falling apart," he adds.
Piastri is just 0.612s down on Sainz.
Russell pits at the end of Lap 33, however it is to retire. The Briton swears as he is given the news that he has to retire.
Seemingly it was an issue with the water system. Hamilton is appraised of his teammate's problem.
A nasty snap but kept well under control by Magnussen. Teammate Hulkenberg is currently sixth.
The rain should end in six minutes we are told.
Still lapping in the low 1:40s, there is bright sunshine though the track remains damp.
Hamilton is 2s down on Norris, but 6.7s ahead of Verstappen who is 12.3s clear of Sainz who has Piastri on his tail.
"Currently we think mediums is the way to go, 15 laps to go," Norris is told.
Magnussen, Ricciardo and Bottas all pit for softs on lap 38, with Hamilton, Verstappen and Piastri following suit. That said, Hamilton is on softs, Verstappen on hards and Piastri on mediums.
"We need to pit now," urges Norris, who subsequently pits for softs. It's a slow stop and he rejoins in second, behind Hamilton. Sainz, Hulkenberg and Stroll also stopped.
So, after 39 laps, Hamilton leads Norris by 2.5s with Verstappen a further 3.4s behind.
"Norris same tyre," Hamilton is told.
Piastri posts a new fastest lap (29.913) having passed Sainz and now pursuing Verstappen who is 1s down the road. The Dutchman, like Sainz, is on hards, while Piastri is on mediums and Hamilton and Norris on softs.
Lap 42 sees a new fastest lap from Verstappen (29.472) as he reels Norris in.
"Leave me to it, mate," replies Hamilton when appraised of the situation behind.
After 42 laps (of 52), it's: Hamilton, Norris (+ 2.2s), Verstappen (+ 2.3s), Piastri (+ 10.9s), Sainz (+ 11.1s), Hulkenberg (+ 22.9s), Stroll (+ 3.7s), Alonso (+ 4.4s), Tsunoda (+ 6.1s) and Albon (+ 0.4s).
"We're seeing signs of front-left damage on the cars ahead," Verstappen is told as he closes to within 1.9s of Norris.
On his softs, Norris is clearly struggling, as Albon passes Tsunoda for ninth.
With 5 laps remaining, Verstappen is within DRS range of Norris.
On Lap 48, Verstappen goes around the outside of Norris in Stowe to take second. Crossing the line at 28.952, the Dutchman sets about closing the 3.2s gap to his former nemesis, Hamilton.
Perez makes his fourth stop of the afternoon, rejoining in 16th on softs. Moments later he is lapped by Hamilton.
The gap continually fluctuates, but on Lap 51, around 2.7s down on the leader, Verstappen is running out of time.
Sainz pits and switches to softs, the Spaniard clearly targeting the point for fastest lap.
Hamilton begins the last lap 2.5s ahead of his old foe.
Piastri posts a new fastest lap (28.748).
As Hamilton heads towards Stowe, the crowd cheers.
He crosses the line to claim a well-deserved victory. Verstappen is second, ahead of Norris, Piastri, Sainz, Hulkenberg, Stroll, Alonso, Albon and Tsunoda.
Sargeant is eleventh, ahead of Magnussen, Ricciardo, Leclerc, Bottas, Ocon, Perez and Zhou.
As his rivals pulls alongside to offer their congratulations, Hamilton is overcome with emotion as he talks over the radio to Bono and then Wolff.
The Briton slows and a marshal gives him a Union flag, which he proudly waves to the crowd.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Silverstone here.
"Congrats to Lewis," says Norris. "That crucial decision at the end he just did a better job. Hats off to him and Mercedes so they deserve it.
"It was tough," he adds. "It was enjoyable, it was fun battling these guys.
"These tricky conditions are always on a knife edge and you're risking a lot.
"So many things good, but a few too many let downs today and as a team I don't think we quite did the job we should have done, or good enough. But still lovely to be on the podium here at Silverstone."
"We just didn't have the pace today," admits Verstappen. "I was slowly dropping back when it mattered at the beginning.
"It didn't look great at some point, I was really thinking are we going to finish fifth or sixth?
"But we made the right calls. Going from the slicks to the Inters and also from the Inters back to the slicks... I think it was every time the right lap.
"Also at the end the call from the team to be on the hard tyre instead of the soft was definitely helping me out," he adds. "That's why we also finished second today.
"It could have been a lot worse but with making the right calls we still got onto the podium and I'm of course very happy with that."
"I can't stop crying!" says Hamilton. "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 and this is my last race here at the British Grand Prix with this team.
"I wanted to win this so much for them because I love them, I appreciate them so much... all the hard work they've been putting in over these years.
"I'm forever grateful to everyone in this team, everyone in Mercedes and all our partners. And to all our incredible fans, I can see you lap by lap as I was coming round.
"There's just no greater feeling as to finish at the front here."
A thoroughly entertaining race that really didn't need all the media hyperbole that led up to it.
No doubt there will be recriminations at certain teams, while one or two drivers might have done just enough to silence the critics.
Of course, the excitement didn't come anywhere close to that witnessed in the sixty second promo for the imaginatively named F1 movie, but, hey, that's real life for you.
Despite the infuriating jingoism, a Briton did win, and deservedly so, and in the process showed that there is life in the old dog yet. Surely nobody would begrudge Lewis for what was a hard-fought victory.
While Max bemoans his lack of pace, the good news is that as we reach the halfway point of the season we have a real fight on our hands for both titles, one that could well go down to the wire.
So ignore the media hype, sit back and enjoy the twelve remaining races, it looks like we could be in for some classics.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Silverstone here.