“Momentum” seems to be the word of the moment in Formula 1. You either have it or you don’t. Lewis Hamilton didn’t have much of it this morning, given that he was staring down the barrel of a 30-point-plus deficit to teammate Nico Rosberg, but now he has it by the bucketload. It’s amazing what a victory can do.
Lewis has suffered from most of the bad luck thrown Mercedes’ way so far this year, but today it was Nico’s turn to come unstuck. He had his first non-score of the season as his gearbox went kaput and forced him to retire from the race. His 29-point lead has been whittled down to just four.
There were a number of interesting results and battles going on during today’s race, making it a quite fascinating grand prix – even if we had to wait a little longer for it to get going.
RACE REPORT
- Hamilton was the home hero today at Silverstone, sending the British fans into raptures as they cheered on the Mercedes driver. Valtteri Bottas came home in second place ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.
NEWS FROM THE PADDOCK
- Silverstone turned a shade of pink today as the F1 community paid tribute to John Button.
- Felipe Massa celebrated his 200th grand prix today, only for it to last one lap.
- Here’s what was the full starting grid for the race.
- A huge crash for Kimi Raikkonen saw the British GP get red flagged after just one lap.
- Here’s a video of said crash.
- McLaren and Hugo Boss will part company at the end of the season after 33 years together.
- Lewis Hamilton feels that his win made up for him letting the fans down on Saturday.
- Rosberg’s DNF allows Hamilton to move within four points at the top of the championship.
- Valtteri Bottas claimed his best ever F1 finish today.
- Kimi Raikkonen escaped a crash measuring 47g with just some bruising.
- Watch the last lap of the race as Lewis Hamilton soaks up the atmosphere at Silverstone.
- Jenson Button came within one second of his first podium at Silverstone today.
- Daniel Ricciardo was all smiles after finishing third on Sunday.
- Esteban Gutierrez has been given another grid penalty, this time for nearly flipping Pastor Maldonado.
- Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso put on a show with an epic on-track duel today.
THOUGHTS FROM THE TRACK
When Lewis Hamilton entered the press conference room following the race today, he was greeted with a round of applause from the assembled media. He came in beaming, holding the ‘proper’ British GP trophy and placing it on the desk in front of him while he conducted the post-race interviews.
Apart from when he was asked a question, Lewis couldn’t take his eyes off it. He looked around the base of the golden cup, looking at the other names engraved on it: Schumacher, Senna, Prost, Lauda, Stewart, Brabham, Clark. He is certainly in good company.
Today was Lewis’s day, without a doubt. The Briton made yet another rocket start to put himself in the mix upon the race restart, and was there to pick up the pieces when Rosberg’s gearbox gave up the ghost.
However, he was looking good to catch him anyway. Thanks to Mercedes’ strategy, Lewis had the option to one-stop, whereas Nico would have had to stop again had he made it that far in the race. The pace that Hamilton was laying down was mightily impressive, and he deserved the win today. The fact that Rosberg retired could prove crucial come the end of the season.
Beyond the Mercedes dominance, there were a number of other big stories. Valtteri Bottas showed his star quality once again to charge from P14 on the grid to second come the checkered flag, teaching Vettel and co. a lesson in overtaking along the way. The Finn is certainly turning heads in F1, and has the makings of a champion.
The crash between Raikkonen and Massa was unfortunate but perhaps avoidable. After running wide at Aintree, Raikkonen thought he could ride it out, keeping his foot on the throttle. Then this happened.
The impact was a mighty 47g, but the Finn limped away with nothing more than some bruising to his ankle and knee.
Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso treated us to a wonderful on-track battle in the final 15 laps of the race, with the German driver eventually coming out on top. Two champion drivers going toe-to-toe at full throttle; if only Gutierrez and Maldonado could have done the same earlier in the race.
Other honorable mentions must go to Nico Hulkenberg, who scored points yet again, and the Toro Rosso drivers who both scored points in ninth and tenth. Marussia’s Saturday form did not carry over to Sunday, although Bianchi was lapped just the once.
All in all, it was a good day to be British. Lewis Hamilton’s win has tightened everything up at the top of the championship once again, and we’re set for another epic duel at the German Grand Prix in two weeks’ time.
