After a season of Dutch dominance, what blessed relief for the crowd at the British Grand Prix that if Max Verstappen could not be knocked from his perch there were two homegrown drivers who brought the race alive at Silverstone. Verstappen won, of course. The cynical might now query: when does he not? But behind him Britain’s veteran champion Lewis Hamilton went up against Lando Norris, the young gun who had grown up idolising him. Together they brought the fireworks that rescued the race.
For Verstappen the inexorable march to his third title continued unabated and, indeed, at a pace at this rate that will ensure he seals it well before even the run-in to the season finale. His victory was never really in doubt, even as the crowd enjoyed a surge of uproarious celebration as Norris threw the script out of the window and burst past Verstappen from second on the grid to take the lead up the inside of turn one.
They roared him round at every corner and if will alone were enough he would have been swept to the flag. Alas, it is the horses that matter and there Red Bull remain unmatched. Verstappen calmly closed and on lap five, swept past into Brooklands to take a lead he would not relinquish.
Indeed, for many of the ensuing laps this was far from a classic, something of a procession, until the racing fates decided it was time to bring the noise. Hamilton, like Verstappen, was out of sorts off the grid in seventh, dropped places and was eighth at the end of the first lap. Being out of place worked for him. He stayed out long and as the pit stops fed through, was behind only Verstappen and Norris who had also yet to stop.
Behind them Kevin Magnussen’s Haas decided it had had enough of the struggle and his engine gave out with a fiery chorus. He ground to a halt, the safety car was called and the top three dived into the pits for a free stop.
Hamilton was the net winner in sealing that third place but Norris was less enamoured. He had wanted to take the soft tyres as Hamilton had but the team stuck with their plan of using the hards, the slower rubber leaving him vulnerable at the restart.
With the gaps closed the race had the reboot it needed. Per expectations, Verstappen leapt away. Behind him it was battle royale. Hamilton came hard at Norris, throwing himself at him round the outside through Brooklands and Luffield; wheel to wheel, the two drivers separated in age by 15 years went at it. Yet Norris, who had been inspired to enter F1 by watching Hamilton in 2007, was far from afraid of his hero.
A record crowd of 160,000 were on their feet across the expanses of the old airfield, and it was magnificent. Hamilton attacked again into Copse, scant inches between them and a grand, collective holding of breath. Again Norris squeezed out in front. He edged ahead only for Hamilton to come back as they went at it again through the same set of corners the following lap.
Norris held his nerve and the place as his tyres came up to speed and he pulled away. There had been nothing in it. A crucial decision Norris had made might just have been the differentiator. He revealed he had taken some downforce off the car looking for one or two extra kilometres per hour as he anticipated being in a fight and it paid off. He held second with Hamilton taking third.
The seven-time champion offered high praise for his young rival. “He’s very talented, naturally,” he said. “It’s great when you can have close battles like that, and rely on the driver that you’re competing with to be hard but fair. There was never a moment where we thought we were going to come together. That’s what motor racing is all about.”
For Norris it was his seventh podium but the one that meant the most. “I would say it’s the best, the most exciting one,” he said “It’s special hearing everyone chanting, seeing all the fans, seeing all the team below the podium. I’m very proud.”
The pair’s battle illustrated that in Verstappen’s wake there is an almighty tussle taking place that has just become all the more fascinating. Indeed, it must be considered that were Verstappen not in this field, this would be an absolutely captivating season.
Mercedes, Aston Martin, Ferrari and now even potentially McLaren are vying closely with one another. For all that he doubtless wants to be racing for the win, Hamilton fulsomely approved.
“This is one of the most exciting times we’ve seen in the sport,” he said. “We’re finally starting to see the regs pull people closer. The Williams was up there with Alex Albon, you’ve seen the McLarens now, the Astons. A lot of teams getting very, very close. Small gaps in qualifying, which is exactly what we need. Looking forward to see the rest of the year evolve.”
What Silverstone also illustrated, however, was that while their fight may be fascinating, the gap to Verstappen remains a chasm. By race 10 at Silverstone last season his lead was only 34 points; at the same point this year he now leads teammate Sergio Pérez by 99 points and Red Bull remain unbeaten. The seasons’s understudies lit up Silverstone but its leading actor continues a mighty soliloquy.
Oscar Piastri was in fourth for McLaren, the rookie’s best finish. George Russell was fifth for Mercedes with Pérez in sixth.
Albon was eighth for Williams, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in ninth and 10th respectively for Ferrari.
