Max Verstappen pips Lando Norris to win F1 British Grand Prix – as ...

9 Jul 2023

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That’s all for our live coverage, but here’s Giles Richards’s report to keep you going. Thanks for reading, as ever, and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

British GP - Figure 1
Photo The Guardian

Norris wins driver of the day, as voted for by the fans.

Norris, slightly frustrated, admits he wanted softs as opposed to hards over the second part of the race, but otherwise he seems pleased with his podium finish. Hamilton praises Norris and McLaren for a “rapid” run. “We had a good little battle there, but I just didn’t have the grunt on the straights. To start seventh and finish third is a great, great run.”

Second-placed Lando Norris waves to the fans. Photograph: Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Verstappen takes a moment out of his victory celebrations to speak to Channel 4. “We had a terrible start so we need to look into why that was. Even after that, I think Lando, well, both McLarens, were super quick, so it took quite a few laps to pass them but then it was all right again.

“I’m very happy that we won again, I think 11 wins in a row for the team is incredible, but it wasn’t straightforward today.”

It’s six wins in a row for Verstappen, who continues to cruise serenely towards the world championship. The top three congratulate each other as they clamber out of their cars, with the Silverstone crowd going wild for Norris and Hamilton.

We’ve got some email correspondence under the subject line “polite request”, which is highly unusual. It’s not even sarcastic, which is even more odd. “Afternoon Will,” writes Simon McMahon. “Not normally much of an F1 fan, but I’m invested this week as daughter Anna and partner Ross have been at Silverstone since Wednesday and providing us with regular updates from the circuit. That’s Anna McMahon and Ross Sangster. I’m sure they’d love to see their names in lights, as it were.”

British GP - Figure 2
Photo The Guardian

Happy to oblige, Simon. “Ross is a big McLaren fan,” he adds, “so he [was] rooting for Norris. Whereas Anna’s highlight of the week was seeing Brad Pitt and Calvin Harris. So I think they’re both happy.”

Max Verstappen wins the British GP!

He came, he saw and, once again, he conquered. Norris finishes second, with Hamilton rounding off the podium in third.

Verstappen seals his win at Silverstone. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

Lap 51/52: Verstappen is 3.513sec ahead as the penultimate lap draws to a close. He’s done it again.

Lap 50/52: Stroll is given a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Gasly. Albon and Leclerc are gunning for Alonso in seventh.

Lap 49/52: Norris is shown a black and white flag for exceeding track limits. He’ll have to be careful here.

Lap 48/52: With four laps to go, Verstappen has extended his advantage to 3.714sec. Hamilton is still looking to get in front of Norris, but remains 1.559sec behind.

Lap 47/52: It looks like Gasly is going to be forced to retire, meaning both of Alpine’s drivers will have made early exits.

Lap 46/52: Verstappen is 3.291sec ahead and looks confident as ever. Pérez overtakes Alonso and, having started 15th, is now up to sixth.

Lap 45/52: Gasly makes a move on Sainz, but the bruised Ferrari driver defends tenaciously. Gasly then gets into trouble, suddenly dropping down to last place.

Lap 44/52: Gasly regains 11th position from Stroll. Sainz loses three places in as many corners, dropping down to 10th with Pérez, Albon and Leclerc now ahead of him.

British GP - Figure 3
Photo The Guardian

Lap 43/52: Stroll will face no further investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, though he’s given the black and white flag for multiple track limit violations.

Lap 42/52: Hamilton is still less than half a second behind Norris. Further back, Stroll has been noted for leaving the track while passing Gasly.

Lap 41/52: Verstappen will be pleased with his restart, having opened up a 2.635sec lead already. Norris and Hamilton are in a running battle now, with the seven-time champion almost nudging ahead on several occasions.

Lap 40/52: Hamilton immediately puts pressure on Norris, but the McLaren driver defends desperately and just about holds him off.

Lewis Hamilton in action at Silverstone. Photograph: David Davies/PA

Lap 39/52: The safety car exits the track, we’ve got the green flag and Verstappen is straight back at it.

Lap 38/52: Most of the drivers are on softs now, with Norris, Piastri and Sainz, all on hards, the notable exceptions.

Lap 37/52: Magnussen’s car is still being recovered, so the safety car remains on track.

Lap 36/52: The safety car is still out, but the green flag should be imminent.

Lap 35/52: Russell is back up to fifth, but sounds frustrated over the timing of the safety car. The threat of rain seems to have passed, meaning it’s a sprint to the finish.

Lap 34/52: There are tyre changes galore, with Hamilton pitting under the safety car and coming out ahead of Piastri. Verstappen also pits, joining Hamilton on softs, while Norris is now on hards.

British GP - Figure 4
Photo The Guardian
Verstappen makes a pit stop. Photograph: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Lap 33/52: Kevin Magnussen comes to a stop with smoke pouring from his Haas and will be forced to retire. The virtual safety car comes into force.

Lap 32/52: Gasly pits, as does Stroll. The former drops down to 11th, the latter to 14th.

Lap 31/52: Russell makes his move and earns his reward, overtaking Leclerc to go eighth. The Silverstone crowd howls in approval.

Lap 30/52: Russell has come out all guns blazing and is right on Leclerc’s tail. Hamilton is up to third, but still to pit.

Lap 29/52: Pisastri pits and it’s a slick stop, with the McLaren driver re-emerging in sixth on hards.

Lap 28/52: Russell finally pits, swapping his softs for mediums. He drops to ninth, with Hamilton, Alonso, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Leclerc pulling ahead of him.

Lap 27/52: Sainz is down to 12th with Leclerc, his Ferrari teammate, up to 10th. The majority of drivers are still on mediums with over half the race gone.

Lap 26/52: Verstappen is almost seven seconds in front. Sainz pits, switching to hards.

Lap 25/52: Zhou is the next driver to pit. He’s now 18th, with Hülkenberg, who was forced to pit early after damaging his front wing, in 19th.

Lap 24/52: Russell is still over five seconds behind the McLaren pair, who have held off the challenge from those behind them even as Verstappen has stretched his lead at the front.

Lap 23/52: Verstappen opens a 5.368sec gap at the front. Those tyres are still holding up.

Lap 22/52: Weather update: it seems that, apart from a few droplets, the rain has indeed missed the circuit. Leclerc can breathe a sigh of relief.

Lap 21/52: Verstappen is 4.645sec ahead as he continues to edge away from Norris and Piastri. Russell, in fourth, is 5.322sec behind.

Lap 20/52: Verstappen’s lead breaks the four-second mark. The frontrunners are pushing their tyres hard.

Lap 19/52: Russell is up to fourth, Sainz to fifth and Hamilton to sixth. Leclerc drops to 12th for now.

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