This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
Canada: 
Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
Lewis Hamilton took a record sixth British Grand Prix victory in a thrilling race featuring a crash between Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.
Battles throughout the field created a dramatic race – by far the best of the year so far – as Hamilton benefited from a safety-car period to take a lead he never lost after Valtteri Bottas had held back an early attack from his Mercedes team-mate.
Behind them, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Red Bull's Verstappen staged a duel for the ages in disputing third place for the first third of the race.
Their exquisite driving would have been the talk of the day had it not been for the collision between the Dutchman and Leclerc's team-mate Vettel, for which the German four-time champion was given 10-second time penalty and two penalty points on his super licence.
Hamilton's victory extends his championship lead to 39 points at the effective halfway point of the championship, but the discussion will focus on Vettel, and what many will perceive as yet another error in the heat of battle – the latest in a series over the past year.
Bottas converted his pole position into a lead at the first corner, but Hamilton challenged hard over the first two or three laps, the Finn just managing to hold him off.
On lap four, Hamilton appeared to have taken the lead, going for the outside at Brooklands then cutting back and passing Bottas around the outside of the 180-degree corner of Luffield.
But he ran a little wide on the exit, Bottas came back at him on the inside and took the lead back into the 180mph Copse corner.
Their fight settled down, Hamilton sitting just over a second behind, until Bottas stopped for fresh tyres on lap 16, his decision to go for the same medium compound he had used at the start committing him to a second stop.
Hamilton, though, stayed out, clearly intending to go for a one-stop strategy, and when the safety car was called after Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi crashed at Vale, he could make a pit stop, comfortably rejoin in the lead and cruise to the finish.
The safety car gave Hamilton the lead as a gift, but the indications were Bottas would have found it difficult to hold him off anyway, once he had committed to a two-stop.
Amazingly, Hamilton also took the fastest lap on 30-lap-old hard tyres on the last lap, beating the mark Bottas had set a couple of laps earlier after a stop for fresh tyres.
His sixth British GP win moved him clear of Jim Clark and Alain Prost and puts him in a commanding position in this season's championship.
Vettel inherited third place after Ferrari initially left Leclerc out when the safety car was deployed because he and Verstappen had pitted for fresh tyres only six laps before.
The advantage Vettel gained by stopping under the safety car promoted him to third, with Red Bull's Pierre Gasly between him and Verstappen.
Gasly soon let Verstappen through and the Dutchman homed in on Vettel, catching him on lap 37.
Verstappen passed Vettel around the outside of the fast Stowe corner but the Red Bull ran a little wide, giving the Ferrari driver a chance to come back at him.
Verstappen covered the inside but Vettel was committed and could not stop in time, ramming into the back of the Red Bull.
Vettel could have complained Verstappen made a second move back to the outside – saying over team radio at the time: "What was he doing?" – but it was only marginal and the stewards decided it was the older man to blame.
The German went over to Verstappen's cockpit after the race and shook his hand, adding to the press: "Well it was my mistake so obviously he passed me and then ran a bit wide which gave me the chance to come back then I looked for a second that he was going to the right and there would be a gap of the left which didn't open and by that time it was too late and I crashed."
Verstappen passed Vettel around the outside of the fast Stowe corner but the Red Bull ran a little wide, giving the Ferrari driver a chance to come back at him.
Verstappen covered the inside but Vettel was committed and could not stop in time, ramming into the back of the Red Bull.
Vettel could have complained Verstappen made a second move back to the outside – saying over team radio at the time: "What was he doing?" – but it was only marginal and the stewards decided it was the older man to blame.
The German went over to Verstappen's cockpit after the race and shook his hand, adding to the press: "Well it was my mistake so obviously he passed me and then ran a bit wide which gave me the chance to come back then I looked for a second that he was going to the right and there would be a gap of the left which didn't open and by that time it was too late and I crashed."
Amid Hamilton's record and the drama of the crash between Verstappen and Vettel, arguably the defining images of the race were provided by Leclerc and Verstappen.
They battled extraordinarily hard but entirely fairly for lap after lap and Leclerc held Verstappen off until the safety car period on lap 20 ended the fight.
Verstappen clearly had a much better pace, but Leclerc defended with exquisite judgement, as hard as is allowed, but always on the right side of the line of fairness.
A number of times Verstappen looked sure to pass, only for Leclerc's race craft to hold him off.
Their battle even continued in the pits. They came in together on lap 13 and although Leclerc's stop was quick, Verstappen's was even quicker and they exited the side of the pit by side, the Red Bull just nosing ahead.
But Leclerc was not to be denied. He attacked Verstappen into Turn Three, Verstappen went in too deep to Turn Four and the Ferrari was able to sneak back ahead.
They continued to fight again until the safety-car period and a delayed second stop for Leclerc put him at the back of the queue of the top three teams.
But he caught and passed Gasly and then won the third place back after the collision between Vettel and Verstappen.
"It is the race I enjoyed most in my F1 career," said Leclerc.
It was a battle that will be remembered along with the famous tussle between Gilles Villeneuve and Rene Arnoux at the 1979 French Grand Prix as one of the greatest in F1 history.
How they finished at Silverstone
1 Great Britain Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2 Finland Valtteri Bottas Mercedes
3 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari
4 France Pierre Gasly Red Bull
5 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull
6 Spain Carlos Sainz Jnr McLaren
7 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Renault
8 Finland Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo
9 Russia Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso
10 Germany Nico Hulkenberg Renault
11 Great Britain Lando Norris McLaren
12 Thailand Alexander Albon Toro Rosso
13 Canada Lance Stroll Racing Point
14 Great Britain George Russell Williams
15 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari
16 Poland Robert Kubica Williams
17 Mexico Sergio Perez Racing Point
DNF Italy Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo
DNF France Romain Grosjean
DNF Denmark Kevin Magnussen
Be the first to comment