Aditya ChaudhuriIt’s six wins in a row for reigning World Champion Max Verstappen as he won the 2023 British Grand Prix, seeing off Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton behind him. It is the first time since 1999 that two Brits finished on the podium at the British Grand Prix.
Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri finished a stunning fourth—following a stellar drive—ahead of George Russell, who finished fifth ahead of Sergio Pérez, who finished sixth after starting P15, ahead of Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
The British GP win is Verstappen’s 11th consecutive podium finish. It’s also the Dutchman’s first-ever British GP win and Red Bull’s eleventh win in a row.
Verstappen got the race underway, but it was Lando Norris who got him on the inside and led the race, with his teammate Oscar Piastri also pressurising the Dutchman.
While one Brit had a stellar start, the other Brit, Lewis Hamilton, had a shocking one as he lost a place in the opening lap and dropped to P8.
Verstappen re-took the lead of the race on the Wellington Straight, heading into Brooklands on Lap 5. Behind him, Hamilton passed Alonso on Lap 7, going down the inside at Brooklands on his former teammate. By Lap 10, Verstappen had a second over Norris in second.
Lap 10 also saw the first retirement of the race as Esteban Ocon’s race came to an early end due to a hydraulic leak.
Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez, who started P15, was making moves through the field and got past Lance Stroll for P11 on Lap 13. The Mexican was looking to redeem himself after yet another poor Qualifying.
By Lap 15, Verstappen had built up a gap of over three seconds at the top, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who was P4, had George Russell right on his gearbox. Pérez, meanwhile, moved into the top ten, getting past Alex Albon for P10.
Leclerc was the first of the frontrunners to box, coming in on Lap 19, and switched to the hard compounds, re-joining the track in P12.
By Lap 26, which was midway through the race, Verstappen had built up his lead up front to over six seconds, with Piastri a further two seconds behind Norris.
Leclerc finally made it to P11 on Lap 26 as he got past Stroll. Sainz pitted on Lap 27 and also switched to the hard compounds, re-joining the track in P12, with Leclerc having moved into the points places. Mercedes called in George Russell for his stop on Lap 29, who came in from P4 and switched to the medium compounds, re-joining in P9, behind Leclerc. Piastri and Pérez pitted at the same time, with the former re-joining in P6 and the latter in P13. Sainz moved back into the points on Lap 30 as he went past Stroll. Russell finally got Leclerc for P8 on Lap 31, going on the outside of Leclerc at Luffield, while Piastri got Albon for P5 at Stowe.
Lap 33 saw the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) being deployed, as Kevin Magnussen’s engine died on the track. Leclerc used the VSC to switch to softs, while Verstappen, Norris and Hamilton were also called in for their pit-stops. The Safety Car was deployed eventually, as Verstappen switched to the soft compounds and Norris switched to the hards. Hamilton also switched to the softs, while Alonso moved to the softs. While Verstappen led from Norris, Hamilton took P3 from Piastri under the Safety Car.
Racing resumed on Lap 38, as Verstappen led the pack again with 14 laps to go. After one lap of racing following the Safety Car, he was already two seconds clear of Norris, who was pulling out every defensive move in his bag to keep Hamilton behind, who was keenly pressing down on him.
Pérez, meanwhile, got Sainz for P7 on Lap 44. Sainz lost two more places on the same lap to Albon and his own teammate, Leclerc.
Gasly became the third retiree of the race after coming together with Stroll, making things worse for Alpine, as neither of their cars saw the chequered flag. Stroll was given a five-second penalty for causing the collision that ended Gasly’s race.
Pérez, meanwhile, got Alonso for P6 heading into Stowe on Lap 47.
Verstappen took the win as he finished almost four seconds clear of Norris, while Hamilton managed to hold off Piastri in P4.
Verstappen’s win now takes his points tally in the Drivers’ Standings to 255, while his teammate Sergio Pérez is 97 points behind in second place.
Racing resumes in two weeks’ time, as we head to Hungary.
McLaren’s strong showing at their home race, which saw them leave with 30 points, has moved them up to fifth place in the Constructors’ Standings.
