Written by: James R. Harrison Jr.
SILVERSTONE, England (F1 America) – Five-time Formula One World Champion, Lewis Hamilton, took home first place for a record sixth time for Mercedes-Benz AMG Petronas Motorsport Sunday. The British-born racer was elated as he darted through the checkered flag, simultaneously breaking the record for fastest lap and securing the extra championship point, in front of 141,000 fans.
“I cannot tell you how proud I am to be here today in front of my home crowd,” he told Jenson Button, a former Formula One Champion, after the race. “So many British flags out there; I could see them lap after lap. Every year I’ve been coming and I’ve seen it and noticed it and appreciated it. You would think you would get used to something like that but I’ll tell you, it feels like the first time.”
Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, who earned his 10th career pole position Saturday at Luffield, fought off several valiant efforts from Hamilton to overtake the Finnish pilot early in the race, and at one point, overtook Hamilton on the inside at Copse to regain the lead in dramatic fashion.
However, when Antonio Giovinazzi beached his Alfa Romeo, drawing a Safety Car, Hamilton was able to pit on a one-stop strategy and exit the pit-lane ahead of his teammate, who had already pitted and was on a much more time-consuming two-stop strategy. Hamilton, who babysat a 20-second lead for most of the Grand Prix, crossed the finish line to secure his seventh win in 10 races, and further his lead in the Driver Standings.
The real action at Silverstone was between first-year Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, whose new-found rivalry spilled over from the Austrian Grand Prix a fortnight ago. Leclerc, who was bullied of the track at the Red Bull Ring, was much more aggressive in his defensive strategy, holding his line and forcing Verstappen off the tarmac on multiple attempts to pass the young Ferrari driver. Verstappen eventually passed Leclerc, was let through into P4 by his teammate, Pierre Gasly, and overtook Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel with relative ease.
In an aggressive move, Vettel attempted to regain his position from Verstappen on the inside, but ran out of room, locking up his breaks and rear-ending Verstappen, sending both drivers off the track.
Although neither driver sustained race-ending damage, both Vettel (16th) and Verstappen (5th) finished off the podium and were out-placed by their teammates. Verstappen was approached by Vettel after the race, who shook his hand and offered an apology to the Dutchman.
“I guess he misjudged his braking in there – but I already spoke to him, he apologised to me immediately out of the car, and that’s it,” Verstappen said. “It’s disappointing but you can’t change it now.”
Following the crash, Charles Leclerc was able to hold onto third position and secure his fourth straight podium finish.
“We were very unlucky with the safety car, a little bit lucky with the crash of Max. Unfortunately there was also Seb into it, but yeah, overall I think third was the best we could have done today.” When asked about the prospect of a career-long rivalry with Verstappen, Leclerc said, “then so be it. We are used to fighting since karting. So yeah, it’s cool to be fighting now in F1.”
As a relatively boring Formula One season starts to heat up, there are plenty of intriguing storylines to follow. The 2019 season resumes on July 26th in Germany, as Mercedes look to continue their dominance.
Other Notable Results:
- McLaren’s Carlos Sainz gains seven positions, finishes P6
- Pierre Gasly finds pace, finishes P4 ahead of teammate, Verstappen
- Fan-favorite, Lando Norris, finishes in disappointing P11 in home-debut
- Haas has nightmare Grand Prix following sponsorship drama, losing both drivers and finishing P19, P20
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