F1: Verstappen holds off Norris to win British GP

–by Mark Cipolloni–

World Driving Champion Max Verstappen lost the lead from pole to McLaren’s Lando Norris, took his time for a couple of laps, but then made the pass for the lead on lap 5 to win the British GP Formula 1.

Norris stayed with Verstappen before finally falling out of DRS range at one-fifth distance, allowing Verstappen to inch away.

Verstappen took his first British GP win despite a Safety Car for the Haas of Kevin Magnussen that closed the field up. It was then a sprint to the finish for 13 laps.

Verstappen took his 6th straight Formula 1 win in a row in his #1 Red Bull Honda and his 8th win of the year, bringing his win tally to 43.

Verstappen now leads Sergio Perez in the point standings by a sizeable 99 points.

With that victory, Red Bull have won 11 races in a row  – the first team to do that since McLaren in 1988. Also, if Max Verstappen was a constructor, he has enough points to lead the constructors’ championship himself. The form on show right now is something incredible.

Norris finished 3.8 sec. behind the Dutchman and 2.8 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, giving the British drivers two spots on the podium, much to the delight of the huge British crowd.

Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren was 4th, and George Russell who rounded out the top5.

Both got burned by the Safety Car coming out after they had pitted under green.

“We had a terrible start so we need to look into why that was,” said Verstappen.

“But after that, both McLarens at the beginning were super quick. It took a few laps to pass them, and everything after that was quite alright.”

“I brought the fight to Max for as long as possible,” said a happy Norris. “It’s a long, lonely race when you’re in the middle. But it’s amazing.”

“To start seventh and come third is a mega job,” said a happy Hamilton. “Big thank you to my team. It continues to be an honor to race and represent all of you.”

Lewis Hamilton complemented McLaren on its pace today.

“I also want to say a big congratulations to Lando and McLaren – that’s my family, that’s where I first started,” he said.

He also added: “That thing was rapid in high-speed corners. I was just like wow.”

Sergio Perez brought the 2nd Red Bull Honda home in 6th after starting down in 15th. He passed Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin late as the Spaniard had to settle for 7th.

Alex Albon was an excellent 8th for Williams, and his American rookie teammate Logan Sargeant had his best Formula 1 result to date – 11th – just missing out on his first F1 point.

The two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. rounded out the top-10, which was a disappointment for the Scuderia.

There is now a week off before the series returns for the Hungarian GP in Budapest, two weeks from now.

British GP Race Results – 52 Laps