For the third consecutive year and for the fourth time, Lewis Hamilton was victorious at the world renowned British Grand Prix at the Silverstone Circuit.
Home Win For Lewis Hamilton:
After starting the British Grand Prix from pole position, Lewis Hamilton cruised to a relatively simple yet well deserved victory at his home race, leading for much of the 52 lap race, with the race being started behind the safety car after a short yet heavy downpour just before the race start. Following Hamilton home was his Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg. However, in a post race investigation, Rosberg was demoted to third after Mercedes broke radio regulations, instructing Rosberg how to nurse a gearbox issue. This result is key for Hamilton’s championship campaign, meaning that the Brit is now only one point away from taking the championship lead, shortening a 43 point deficit to his team mate that he once experienced earlier this season. This penalty promoted Red Bull Racing‘s Max Verstappen to second place, marking the 18 year old’s second podium this season, with Rosberg rounding out the podium positions.
Finishing in fourth place yet again was Verstappen’s team mate, Daniel Ricciardo, with the Australian experiencing a very quiet race. In a post race interview, Ricciardo described his afternoon as quite boring, simply because he experienced little on track action. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen finished the British GP in fifth place, securing 10 points in his championship campaign, promoting him into third place in the drivers standings, overtaking Sebastian Vettel after the German experienced a disappointing race, finishing in ninth place, scraping 2 points.
Experiencing a successful race was Force India, with both of their drivers finishing in the top 10, securing a double points finish. Mexico’s Sergio Perez finished in sixth place and Germany’s Nico Hulkenberg finished in seventh, bringing a total haul of 14 points for the team through their efforts. Also securing a double points finish was Toro Rosso, with Carlos Sainz Jr finishing in eighth place and Russia’s Daniil Kvyat finishing in tenth, bringing an overall collection of 5 points to Toro Rosso’s constructor’s championship efforts.
Experiencing a disappointing race weekend were McLaren and Williams, with both teams failing to make it into the points despite their strong driver line ups. However, despite this, encouraging signs are evident from the McLaren camp, with Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button regularly battling against the two Williams drivers of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, with the Honda engine competing against the stronger Mercedes power unit competently.
The changeable conditions of the British Grand Prix proved difficult, with the corner of Abbey in particular claiming many victims, including reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton and four time champion Sebastian Vettel, with both drivers running wide in the corner after some parts of the racing surface remained damp and slippery for much of the race. The races of Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto came to an end at turn 1, with Manor experiencing their first double DNF since the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve.
Driver of the day is a hard one to call for the British Grand Prix, the title could be granted to anyone. Max Verstappen could get it for the amazing overtaking move he made on Nico Rosberg on the outside of the Maggots and Becketts complex. Lewis Hamilton could be awarded the title for being fastest in all practice sessions, getting pole, and securing the race win. Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat could even be worthy, successfully finishing the race after a string of recent DNFs. However, Max Verstappen did have a brilliant performance in Silverstone, keeping Nico Rosberg in his clutches for the majority of the race, as well as successfully pulling off an ambitions overtake on the Mercedes driver, making him my driver of the day.
Results from the British GP:
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 25 points
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 18 points
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 15 points (penalty)
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 12 points
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 10 points
- Sergio Perez, Force India, 8 points
- Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 6 points
- Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 4 points
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 2 points
- Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1 point
- Felipe Massa, Williams, 0 points
- Jenson Button, McLaren, 0 points
- Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 0 points
- Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 0 points
- Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 0 points
- Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 0 points
- Kevin Magnussen, Renault, Ret
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, Ret
- Rio Haryanto, Manor, Ret
- Romain Grosjean, Haas, Ret
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, Ret
- Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, Ret
Drivers Standings after 10 races:
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 168 points
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 167 points
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 106 points
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 100 points
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 98 points
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 90 points
- Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 54 points
- Sergio Perez, Force India, 47 points
- Felipe Massa, Williams, 38 points
- Romain Grosjean, Haas, 28 points
- Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 26 points
- Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 26 points
- Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 23 points
- Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 18 points
- Jenson Button, McLaren, 13 points
- Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 6 points
- Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1 point
- Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, 1 point
- Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 0 points
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 0 points
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 0 points
- Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 0 points
- Rio Haryanto, Manor, 0 points
Constructors Standings after 10 races:
- Mercedes, 335 points
- Ferrari, 204 points
- Red Bull Racing, 198 points
- Williams, 92 points
- Force India, 73 points
- Toro Rosso, 41 points
- McLaren, 32 points
- Haas, 28 points
- Renault, 6 points
- Manor, 1 point
- Sauber, 0 points
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