Race Round-Up: What Happened at Silverstone?

Sainz claims maiden victory over Perez comeback in rollercoaster British Grand Prix.

Podium Finishers

P1 – SAI

Carlos Sainz cruised to victory in Silverstone on Sunday thanks to a late safety car and a controversial call against team orders.

Following the restart, Sainz quickly overtook his teammate and current race leader, Charles Leclerc, thanks to his fresh soft tyres during the safety car. Meanwhile, Charles was on old hard tyres after Ferrari decided to only pit one of the drivers … for some reason?

While Sainz enjoyed his first victory, Charles Leclerc fell to fourth, appearing visibly (and understandably) frustrated after being faster than Sainz for the better half of the race despite front wing damage.

It was the Red Bull of Sergio Perez who crossed the finish line second, arguably the driver who benefited most from the safety car after falling to P16 thanks to early contact at the race start.

Lewis Hamilton rounded out the podium in an impressive yet underwhelming P3 as he looked primed to win at various points in the race. The hometown hero offered the sold out crowd a show with a thrilling fight with Perez and Leclerc, and breaking yet another record for his career: 13 podiums at Silverstone. Well done, Sir Lewis!

Best of the Rest

Charles Leclerc finished fourth, leaving pretty much everyone questioning Ferrari’s strategy for the day. All we can hope is that Charles enters his reputation era before Austria this weekend!

The Alpine of Fernando Alonso finished P5 for the day, ahead of a frustrated (and pleased) Lando Norris who lost position thanks to a questionable pit stop.

Max Verstappen finished seventh, a damage limitation of a race for the current championship leader after running over a broken piece of carbon (later revealed to be from sister team Alpha Tauri). Verstappen essentially hobbled to the finish line, thankful to be in the points.

Verstappen held off the Haas of Mick Schumacher, who finally claimed his first points in F1. Fans, family members, and mentors (cough Seb cough) alike were understandably over the moon!

Inspector Seb finished P9 ahead of Kevin Magnussen rounding out the points for a double points finish for Haas. A very lovely way to celebrate the fourth of July for the American-based team.

Looking Ahead

The grid returns to Austria on Friday for another sprint weekend at the Red Bull Ring. Can Charles Leclerc claw his way back to a podium or will Verstappen further his lead in home territory? It’s all to play for!