Home Grand Prix win for Hamilton at Silverstone after major lap 1 drama

Lewis Hamilton secured a home victory after a controversial racing incident with rival Max Verstappen at the end of Lap 1. The main driver’s championship contenders for this season collided at the end of the first lap as Hamilton took an inside line collecting Verstappen’s rear wheel sending him flying into the barrier.

Max walked out of the car but was immediately sent into the back of an ambulance for precautionary measures to check for any potential injuries. At the end of the race reports said he was recovering in a nearby hospital reporting dizziness indicating a probable concussion.

A yellow flag was immediately shown which quickly turned into a red at the end of lap 3 as the marshals needed to repair the barriers. Just as the incident occurred Leclerc profited moving into P1 as Hamilton drove wide post contact with Verstappen. The race restarted from a standing start where Leclerc held his ground and continued to hold P1 all the way into the 50th lap (of 52) meaning he finished in 2nd for Ferrari behind the victorious Briton.

After deliberation and an investigation by the FIA, Hamilton was handed a 10sec penalty for the Verstappen incident halfway through lap 5 which he served at his first and only pit stop during lap 28.

At the restart the drama continued as Aston Martin driver Sebastien Vettel spun out after being pressured by Alpine’s Fernando Alonso which meant Vettel dropped to the back of the pack and eventually had to retire from the race in lap 41 after a decision to avoid further issues was made by his mechanics. Lando Norris jumped into 3rd ahead of Valtteri Bottas but failed to hang onto that position until the end with Norris finishing 4th and Bottas securing a solid points haul for Mercedes in 3rd.

Past lap 5 the majority of the British Grand Prix consisted of tyre management as the British weather was very much in a tropical mood with the track temperature up to 50 degrees at times and the air temperature around 30 degrees throughout. Leclerc held a strong lead for the majority of the race but complained of engine issues around lap 15 which were later confirmed as mapping issues within the cars computer. Luckily for the Ferrari driver that meant no mechanical issues therefore he kept his foot planted and finished in a well deserved second place.

A yellow flag was brought out on lap 48 caused by a spin from Raikkonen after a small collision with Perez, the track was quickly cleared as the Alfa Romeo driver swiftly continued without issues.

The final top 10 results were a pleasant spectacle with both the McLaren’s in the top 5 as Daniel Riccardo claimed 5th and Lando Norris driving home comfortably in 4th. The second Ferrari of Sainz came home in 6th meaning Ferrari stacked up 26 much needed points. Additionally the two Alpines of Alonso and Ocon finished in the top 10 bringing Alpine home 8 hard earned championship points. The final 2 spots in the points were taken by a brilliantly driven Aston Martin of Lance Stroll who quietly kept his head down throughout and ended up finishing 8th. Finally, 10th spot was snatched by the Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda as he bettered his teammate Pierre Gasly after the Frenchman took an unexpected trip to the pits after collecting a late puncture.

The final results were as follows:
(source: f1.com)

Feature image source: Getty images