In the last two months, what began as a drab and dispiriting Formula One season has come to life. There have been five different winning drivers from four different teams in the last seven rounds. Max Verstappens absolute dominance has ended with McLaren and Mercedes as genuine challengers to Red Bull.
The British Grand Prix was one of the races of the season as those three teams vied for the lead in a captivating, tense and damp 52 laps.
A sequence of six laps showed F1 at its very best with mistakes, overtakes and the lead swapping several times between three Britons Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris.
After a reshuffle of the order at the start, the race settled into a holding pattern by lap 14 with Russell leading team-mate Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris and Oscar Piastri all covered by just 6.5sec. That all changed with the arrival of the rain on lap 15.
Initially it was a sprinkling, but it perhaps made the difference in the battle for third as Norris, who moved within DRS range a few laps earlier, made a charge on his Dutch rival. With the rear wing flap open he closed to Verstappens own rear wing on the Hangar Straight, then put his McLaren up the inside at the fast right-hander at Stowe, from a fair way back.
As he crossed the line he posted the races fastest lap to that point and set about hunting Hamilton three seconds up the road with a British 1-2-3 restored.
Lando takes back P3! pic.twitter.com/oMgFjW7KpS
Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 7, 2024
We expect heavy rain now, is the message from Ferrari as waterproof ponchos are donned in the Silverstone stands. As the rain intensifies the McLaren cars come to the fore. Norris takes another 0.25 sec out of Hamilton and Piastri, in fifth, closes up to within a second of Verstappen ahead.
Verstappens struggles in the Red Bull continue as he falls back into the clutches of Piastri. Whether it is related to the rain or not, it is difficult to tell but the Australian eats half a second into Verstappens advantage in sector one alone.
By the fast esses of Maggots, Becketts and Chapel Piastri is on the back of the Red Bull and puts in a near-identical move to Norriss a lap earlier. McLaren are now third and fourth, chasing Russell and Hamilton.
As the rain continues, Hamilton shows his prowess in the damp conditions as he has done so many times before. The gap to leader Russell moves from 1.7sec at the start of lap 17 to 0.8 at the start of the following lap.
The margin diminishes throughout the lap, with Hamilton nose to tail with his team-mate by the hairpin at Luffield. Patiently waiting through Copse, he activates DRS on the Hangar Straight and sends it to Russells inside to take the lead to a deafening applause.
LEWIS HAMILTON LEADS THE BRITISH GRAND PIX pic.twitter.com/IvzSYoyXXW
Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 7, 2024
Hamilton may have taken the lead but it is the McLarens who are on the charge. On lap 18, Norris took two seconds out of Russell and one from Hamilton. With the track increasingly greasy, Hamilton runs wide at Turn One and Russell follows him off.
Russell keeps Norris who complains of them rejoining the track unsafely behind them but only momentarily as the McLaren driver steals second place off him at the Loop. He then sets about hunting leader Hamilton and takes a staggering 1.2sec out of his lead in the final sector alone.
Hamilton now looks like a sitting duck to the imperious McLaren behind him. Norris gets a much better exit out of the final turn and chooses not to wait any longer before attacking the leader.
He has such an advantage he chooses to go up the inside at the fast right-hander at Turn One. Hamilton does not resist and we have a third British race leader in the space of three gripping laps at Silverstone.
LANDO TAKES THE LEAD IN THE RAIN AT SILVERSTONE AND OSCAR MAKES IT A MCLAREN 1-2! pic.twitter.com/Rblxaukn6u
Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 7, 2024
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