Sport

Max Verstappen underlines dominance with victory in F1 British Grand Prix

World champion stretches his lead in title race to a massive 99 points after eighth win of season

Red Bull's Max Verstappen on his way to winning the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Photograph: Tim Goode/PA Wire
Red Bull's Max Verstappen on his way to winning the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Photograph: Tim Goode/PA Wire
Giles Richards at Silverstone
Sun Jul 09 2023 - 16:59

Max Verstappen won the British Grand Prix with a dominant drive for Red Bull from the front of the grid at Silverstone on Sunday. He beat the McLaren of Lando Norris into second with the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton claiming third place, after the two British drivers had vied thrillingly in the final third. Oscar Piastri was in fourth for McLaren, the rookie’s best finish. George Russell was fifth for Mercedes with Sergio Pérez in sixth.

The home crowd briefly had been hugely buoyed and erupted in cheers when Norris took the lead from the off but the ultimate pace of the Red Bull could not be denied and once Verstappen had retaken the lead he did not relinquish it.

Norris, however, deserved huge acclaim for fighting off a late charge from Hamilton to hold second as the pair went wheel to wheel across several laps. It was just the fillip required in another race where Verstappen was in almost complete control.

He appears increasingly untouchable. On the occasion of his 150th race for Red Bull, having made his debut with the team with a win at Spain in 2016, he has scored his sixth victory in a row this season. Moreover he now has eight from 10 meetings and with second place at the other two. It is an opening half of the season that is second to none.

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By race 10 at Silverstone last season his lead was only 34 points, he now leads Pérez by 99 points, while Red Bull remain unbeaten all season. Verstappen’s 43rd career win is also his first at the British Grand Prix, although he has won at Silverstone before at the 70th Anniversary GP in 2020.

Norris made an electrifying start, powering past Verstappen up the inside through turn one and clinging on to his lead in the opening corners as Piastri harried Verstappen, who was lacking grip.

The British driver held his place at the front while Hamilton had dropped places off the start. The crowd roared Norris on, a British driver leading his home grand prix. Verstappen, however, consolidated and set off after him, closing to within DRS range and Norris was ultimately powerless against the Red Bull when he opened his rear wing and sailed past at Brooklands on lap five.

Hamilton began making the places back, returning to seventh by lap seven, including passing old rival Fernando Alonso, with both Mercedes looking strong in race pace.

Verstappen, in clear air, opened a gap to Norris but the McLaren driver stoically stuck within a second of him, the car showing the best form it has had all season. Yet the Red Bull pace was inexorable and Verstappen proceeded to eke out the lead to two seconds.

An early threat of rain failed to materialise while Russell moved up to fifth chasing down Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc but with similar pace the they were settled into something of a train.

Leclerc opened the pit stops for the leading group from fourth, taking the hard tyre, while Verstappen further opened the gap to almost five seconds with a series of fastest laps. The two McLarens could not stay with him but were solidly maintaining second and third.

Russell pitted on lap 28 and emerged once more behind Leclerc but the British driver on fresher rubber attacked and went past on the outside at Luffield on lap 31. Verstappen, Norris and Hamilton stayed out but when a VSC and then full safety car was called to deal with Kevin Magnussen’s Haas which had ground to a halt on track on lap 32, they all came in for a free stop.

Hamilton made a huge gain from the stops, emerging in front of Piastri and in third place on the soft tyres. Norris had wanted the softs too but McLaren controversially overruled him to put on the slower, hard rubber.

With Verstappen leading from Norris and Hamilton the Dutchman’s lead had gone but he still held the cards. Norris, however, was clearly concerned about the threat from Hamilton behind him.

When racing resumed on lap 39 Verstappen leapt away but Hamilton climbed all over Norris. The pair vied thrillingly through several corners with Norris’s tyres slow to come up to temperature.

Norris defended valiantly for a further lap with Hamilton coming at him repeatedly but unable to quite make it stick. It had enlivened what was a somewhat prosaic race, the pair battling for second with 10 laps to go but Norris’s determination paid off, with the McLaren’s tyres up to speed he was able to finally open up over a second on Hamilton.

Verstappen, however, was good and gone and cruised comfortably to the flag and another step closer to the title. – Guardian