Lando Norris took his maiden win at the British Grand Prix after a dramatic and incident-packed race at Silverstone in treacherous wet and dry conditions, including a somewhat controversial penalty for his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, who had led for most of the race and finished in second. Nico Hülkenberg took third for Sauber, an historic moment for the German, his first podium after 239 races in the sport.
Lewis Hamilton, always enjoying the wet, made a feisty drive to take fourth, while Max Verstappen took another severe blow to his chances of retaining his world title, finishing fifth after he spun during a safety car restart. Pierre Gasley was sixth for Alpine and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll came seventh.
As rain came and went throughout, the two McLarens had looked to be in control once they had both passed Verstappen for the lead but Piastri took a huge setback when he was given a 10-second penalty for driving erratically, in slowing too drastically just before a safety-car restart.
He was left furious at the decision but could do nothing as it proved decisive, with Norris closing out the victory at his home race he has craved more than any other and, having taken the top spot at the last round in Austria, his first back-to-back wins in F1. In so doing he has closed the gap to Piastri in the championship to just eight points.
Charles Leclerc (right) cuts through the wet conditions at Silverstone. Photograph: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Norris had wanted to assert some control on the title fight and with a controlled and assured victory, albeit one aided by his teammate’s penalty, his fourth of the season was indicative that he is determined not to allow his teammate to take charge of the championship battle.
Silverstone is a track he enjoys and roared on by the crowd, not least the 10,000 who packed his dedicated Landostand at Stowe Corner, he flew round and on this form Norris is going to take this title fight to the wire in what will probably be a blow-for-blow face-off with Piastri.
With rain having hit the circuit all morning, the race opened on a wet track as Verstappen held his lead from the off but with Hamilton swiftly hounding Norris in third. In difficult conditions, including one sudden deluge causing a safety car, the race was impossible to call but it also prompted the crucial moment after Piastri had taken the lead from Verstappen. After another safety-car period to deal with Isack Hadjar’s crashed Racing Bulls, Piastri was investigated for driving erratically under the safety car, Verstappen believing he had slowed too drastically before the restart. The Australian was given a 10-second time penalty.
Lando Norris now has back-to-back victories after his success at Silverstone. Photograph: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
Verstappen, , really struggling on cold tyres and using a low-downforce setup, then spun, dropping to 10th place.
Piastri and Norris now led from Stroll, who had made up a hatful of places with an early opportunistic and well-called stint on slick tyres, and Hülkenberg in fourth, he too having taken advantage of an early stop for new intermediates.
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The final set of stops were vital as the switchover to slick rubber occurred. Piastri came in on lap 44 and served his penalty, Norris followed him a lap later and emerged leading the race.
Quick Guide
Show
1. Lando Norris (McLaren) 1hr 37min 15.735sec
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +6.812
3. Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber) +34.742
4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +39.81
5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +56.781
6. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +59.857
7. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +60.603
8. Alex Albon (Williams) +6.135
9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +65.858
10. George Russell (Mercedes) +70.674
11. Oliver Bearman (Haas) +72.095
12. Carlos Sainz (Williams) +76.592
13. Esteban Ocon (Haas) +77.301
14. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +84+477
15. Yuki Ysunoda (Red Bull) +1 lap
DNF Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls), Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber), Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
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Piastri had been rapid as his tyres came up to temperature but he then had an off at Copse, the Australian telling his team he was furious with the stewards’ decision and that he believed he should be given the lead back, a request summarily rejected by McLaren.
Norris doubtless would have ignored any orders and, now in control, held it together to close out the final laps with assurance for a striking victory, while Hülkenberg hung on too for his finest finish.
