Max Verstappen was on pole at Silverstone with Oscar Piastri second but it was Lando Norris in third who would put in the flawless performance required in treacherous conditions
When Silverstone and the Great British summer combine, the results are usually spectacular. So everyone knew something special was ahead when the heavens opened before Sunday’s British Grand Prix. In those conditions it is so often the driver who stays out of trouble that prevails.
That man was Lando Norris, who waited patiently in the opening stages while his two biggest rivals duelled ahead of him. Pole-sitter Max Verstappen was in a low downforce Red Bull which had shone in a dry qualifying but hated the rain. He was slipping and sliding everywhere while trying to keep championship leader Oscar Piastri at bay in the opening stages.
He lost the lead when the downpours intensified and was about to be swallowed up by Norris when the safety car came out. But it only delayed the inevitable and it was made simple for the Brit when Verstappen spun out – moments after Piastri had braked dramatically behind the safety car.
The Dutchman was down in 10th, Piastri was slapped with a 10-second penalty and, suddenly, the British GP was Norris’ to lose. But he was never going to. Most of the 168,000 fans at Silverstone, including thousands in the ‘Landostand’, roared their approval as he managed the second half of a chaotic afternoon with aplomb.
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Every other big name driver had at least one off-road moment, including fellow Brits George Russell and Lewis Hamilton after changing to slick tyres on a drying track. Norris admitted: “it’s just tough to not crash in these conditions.”
But he didn’t and now he is the 11th home winner of a British Grand Prix at Silverstone. And he’s now only eight points behind Piastri in the championship. It’s been so tight between them this year that the 14-point swing caused by that penalty could make the difference come December.
No wonder Piastri was unusually grouchy, quipping sarcastically: “Apparently you can’t brake behind the safety car anymore.” He also rejected the stewards’ claim that Verstappen had been forced to swerve to avoid slamming into his McLaren.
“I don’t think he had to do anything… so I’m a bit confused,” Piastri said. Even Verstappen seemed baffled by the severity of the penalty and said: “I only heard after the race that he got 10 seconds for that. That’s very extreme, a 10-second penalty.”
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Hamilton was his usual fierce self in the wet but felt he was hampered by his Ferrari. He finished fourth behind the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg as his wait for a first podium in red goes on. He said over the radio that his car was “so hard to drive” and later added: “It’s the most difficult car I’ve driven here in these conditions.
“It’s only my second time driving this car in the wet and I can’t even express to you how hard it is. It’s not a car that likes those conditions. I have to sit down with the people that design this car for next year because there’s elements from this car that cannot go on.”