Once again, Silverstone delivered another British Grand Prix that will live long in the memory.
Not only did McLaren’s Lando Norris take victory for the very first time at his home race, there was also plenty of celebrating for Kick Sauber as Nico Hulkenberg took his first ever F1 podium on his 239th start.
With plenty of famous faces turning out to watch all the action, here’s our round up of the highlights from a chaotic wet-dry British Grand Prix…
Norris leads home a penalised Piastri
Norris headed into the British Grand Prix weekend joking that he would swap all his other trophies for a victory on home soil – and the McLaren driver brilliantly achieved that lifelong ambition in Sunday’s wet and wild encounter.
Norris ended Qualifying with a tinge of disappointment, having been outpaced by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and team mate Oscar Piastri, but the race would belong to the home favourite after all sorts of weather conditions, incidents and drama.
That path to victory was aided by Verstappen’s spin as a mid-race Safety Car ended, and Piastri’s 10-second penalty for his approach to the restart – the papaya pair swapping places when that sanction was applied during the final pit stops.
While Piastri was left unhappy with the penalty dished out to him for the Safety Car infringement, emotional scenes followed in Parc Ferme when Norris parked up in front of his family and began to process what he had just achieved, with the bonus of cutting Piastri’s championship advantage from 15 points to eight.
“The last few laps I was just looking into the crowd,” said Norris after the race. “I was just trying got take it all in, enjoy the moment, because it might never happen again.
“I hope it does, but these are memories that I’ll bring with me forever so – an incredible achievement.”
Hulkenberg’s first ever F1 podium
Hulkenberg was making his 239th start at Silverstone on Sunday, having arrived on the F1 grid with Williams back in 2010 – his personal best result up to this point behind a fourth-place finish on three occasions.
But in addition to Norris’ big day, the German got a breakthrough of his own as he finally stood on the F1 podium after a superb rise from 19th position to third – behind only the aforementioned McLaren drivers.
Crucial to the result was Hulkenberg’s ability to keep another home hero in Lewis Hamilton at bay across the second half of the race, with the Kick Sauber proving to be a match for the Ferrari in the challenging, wet/dry conditions.
“Obviously I was thinking that Lewis is going to give it all in front of his home crowd and I was like, ‘Sorry guys – it’s also my day!’ I’ve got to stick my neck out,” Hulkenberg said afterwards, before finding some champagne and beginning the celebrations.
The weather comes to play at Silverstone as Verstappen spins amid five retirements
Wet weather races always cause chaos, and Silverstone this year was no exception. There were incidents galore throughout the 52 laps of the race, with spins, shunts and crashes to go with drivers running wide, choosing the wrong tyres and getting frustrated with the strategists.
Verstappen was one of those to crucially spin, the Dutchman doing so at the Safety Car restart that saw Piastri penalised. While he managed to recover to fifth at the flag, not everyone was so lucky. In the end two Safety Car periods were required along with two Virtual Safety Cars to deal with a few stricken vehicles.
Liam Lawson crashed out at the start after colliding with Esteban Ocon, who later spun after contact with his team mate. Speaking of the other Haas driver, Ollie Bearman also spun after being hit by Yuki Tsunoda, with the Red Bull driver earning a 10-second penalty of his own for that one.
Ferraris’ Charles Leclerc took the scenic route across the grass more than once, while George Russell spun into the gravel after popping on the hard tyres a tad optimistically.
Lawson’s team mate Isack Hadjar also parked up after rear-ending Kimi Antonelli, who had to retire himself as a result of that shunt. Gabriel Bortoleto retired after knocking off his rear wing spinning into the barriers, but at least that lot saw some racing action.
The same couldn’t be said for Franco Colapinto, who stalled in the Alpine pit box before the lights had even gone out – and therefore failed to start the race.
Hollywood graces the Silverstone grid with plenty of actors watching on
The celebrities were out in force at Silverstone, braving the weather to experience a taste of F1 action. For many, this was not their first rodeo – actors Tom Holland and Hannah Waddingham have been here before, as has Keanu Reeves, who will front a new documentary series covering Cadillac’s journey to the F1 grid.
Vin Diesel was treated to plenty of fast and furious racing through the rain, with Olivia Wilde also getting another taste of F1 action having starred in Rush a few years ago.
Big F1 fan Jeremy Clarkson was in attendance along with his farming guru Kaleb Cooper – who might have found these cars a tad faster than the tractors he normally deals with.
Tony Hawk brought his skateboard along, Gordan Ramsey was another keen to watch the action while Jose Mourinho managed to stay dry by presenting the pole position award on Saturday to Verstappen.
Finally, Damson Idris hung up his race helmet to watch the action and even got to wave the chequered flag – definitely not a task he handled when starring in F1 The Movie.
