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Max Verstappen has made it six in a row. The reigning two-time champion won the British Grand Prix from pole despite briefly losing the lead to Lando Norris at the start. Norris and Lewis Hamilton made it a double British podium at home.
F1 British GP Results: Who Won the Race?
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Max Verstappen won the British Grand Prix. The Dutchman was passed by Lando Norris off the line, but managed to reclaim the lead five laps later. Lewis Hamilton jumped Oscar Piastri in the pits to make it a 2-3 for the home drivers. It also marked Red Bull‘s 11th consecutive win to tie McLaren’s F1 record.
Norris Jumps Into the Lead, Verstappen Fights Back
Norris got a great launch off the line and managed to overtake Verstappen into Abbey, sending the home crowd into a roar. Piastri also got off well, but did not manage to overtake the Red Bull. Further down the order, Russell, the only soft-shod among the frontrunners, got past Sainz, while Hamilton had an off through the Arena section and dropped two places, down to ninth.
Norris’ lead lasted until lap 5. With the help of DRS, Verstappen made the most out of Red Bull’s speed advantage and completed the overtake at the end of the lap with a move down the inside into Brooklands. The two McLarens did not let Verstappen pull away immediately, creating a DRS train from first through to third.
The crowd got treated to another round of Hamilton versus Alonso, as the former teammates rekindled their rivalry. Having recovered back to seventh place, the Mercedes driver pulled off a move into Brooklands on lap 7.
Action Cools Off, Verstappen Pulls Away
Verstappen slowly pulled away from Norris, and once the two-time champion got off the McLaren’s DRS range, the gap ballooned in the blink of an eye. By the start of the pit window, Verstappen was up by over four seconds. Further down the order, Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez methodically made his way up the order and got into the top 10.
Charles Leclerc was the first driver to pit, doing so at the end of lap 19. Sainz was the second driver among the frontrunners to head into the pits, but that didn’t happen until the end of lap 26. Russell followed suit two laps later. Despite a slow stop, the Brit took advantage of the newer tyres and got around Leclerc for fourth on lap 32.
Late Safety Car Costs Piastri’s Maiden Podium
Piastri pitted from third on lap 31 for a set of hard tyres. That would prove to be a costly move for the Aussie rookie, however: two laps later, Kevin Magnussen’s engine let go down Hangar Straight, triggering a safety car.
Verstappen pitted for a used set of softs, while Norris switched to sticker hards. Hamilton also took the chance to pit for a set of softs, jumping Piastri for third in the process.
The restart happened on lap 39. In classic Verstappen fashion, the Dutchman dictated the pace and held off the field until the last possible moment to slingshot away. Norris fended off two overtaking attempts from Hamilton in back-to-back laps before pulling away.
Meanwhile, Perez got around Sainz for seventh. It triggered a chain reaction, and the loss of momentum combined with the lack of pace on the hard tyres made the Ferrari driver drop another two spots in succession, to Leclerc and Albon. Perez then proceeded to get around Alonso for sixth.
On lap 47, Gasly attempted an overtake on Stroll around the outside of Vale. A clumsy defense by the Canadian resulted in contact, and the Frenchman came off worse with a broken rear suspension. Stroll picked up a five-second penalty for causing the crash.
Up front, Verstappen breezed to a three-second win from Norris. The Dutchman also secured the fastest lap, extending his advantage in the standings.
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