Lewis Hamilton has won the British Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris at Silverstone. The British driver claimed his 104th win of his career, and it was his ninth race win at the British track.
Lewis Hamilton has won his first Grand Prix since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. After an exciting race at the Silverstone circuit, in his final season for Mercedes, the Briton crossed the finish line in P1. Max Verstappen finished in second ahead of Lando Norris, and completed the podium.
Because McLaren decided not to doublestack once the rain arrived, Oscar Piastri finished in P4. Carlos Sainz was the leading Ferrari with finishing in P5, while Nico Hulkenberg brought home his Haas in sixth place. The Ferrari driver also got the additional point for the fastest lap of the race. The two Aston Martins followed, with Lance Stroll finishing ahead of Fernando Alonso. Alex Albon finished in ninth position, while Yuki Tsunoda finished tenth.
As it happened
During the formation lap, Pierre Gasly was ordered back to the pit lane by Alpine. The Frenchman had to retire his car before the race began, because of a suspected gearbox issue. Following the start, the two Mercedes were able to hold onto their one-two from Saturday, but Norris lost a place to Verstappen in Turns 3 and 4. At the back, Alex Albon made contact with both Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg, but they could all continue.
After the start, at the front, everyone was waiting for some rain. The first rain drops arrived at the Silverstone circuit on Lap 15, as Norris was chasing Verstappen. The Briton overtook the driver he crashed with in Austria on the straight ahead of Stowe.
Madness in the rain begins
Hamilton also caught up to Russell in changeable conditions, and on Lap 18, using DRS, the seven-time world champion got in front of his teammate. Then starting Lap 19, they both Mercedes drivers went wide. As a result, Norris could also pass Russell as DRS was disabled. Verstappen was also struggling, as Piastri could also get past Verstappen for P4.
On Lap 20, Norris also overtook Hamilton for the lead on the start-finish straight, and on the Hangar straight, Piastri also got up to P2. Norris also briefly left the track in the Maggots and Becketts combination, but did not lose much time. At the same time, Leclerc and Perez switched for intermediates. Two laps later, the first period of raining stopped, with Norris leading ahead of Piastri and Hamilton.
The switch to the intermediates did not pay of for Leclerc and Perez, as both drivers were lapped by the leaders on Lap 25.
On Lap 27, then Verstappen was called in to pit lane together with Sainz, as Piastri was pushing to overtake Norris. The Briton could stay ahead of Piastri, so the Australian had to stay out in the heavy rain for one more lap, while Mercedes decided to double stack. After everyone switched to intermediates, the order was: Norris, Hamilton, Verstappen, Russell, Sainz and Piastri.
On Lap 34, surprisingly so, Russell was asked to retire his car. It happened because of a suspected water system issue. At the same time, Kevin Magnussen almost caused a safety car, as exiting Stowe, he needed his quick reactions not to finish the race in the barrier. The Dane manage to catch his car and continue without any damage.
On Lap 38, it was Kevin Magnussen who first switched to softs, and at the front, it was Hamilton the first to respond, together with Verstappen and Piastri. Norris pitted a lap later, and as the McLaren driver lost some time in the pit lane, Hamilton passed him for the lead.
During the final laps, Norris was chasing Hamilton, but on the hard tyres, it was the Dutchman who caught up to Norris, and he easily overtook the McLaren driver in Stowe.
