British GP: Lewis limps to victory
Lewis Hamilton wins his 7th British GP by the skin of his teeth as his front left Tyre gives up on the last lap. Verstappen and Charles came second and third respectively. Valtteri Bottas was unfortunate as his tyre gave up just two laps before the race ended.
Smooth win for Lewis ? Not so much
It was almost a forgone conclusion after yesterday’s qualy that Mercedes will end up on podium. Only something out of the blue will stop the Silver arrows and that is exactly what happened. Both Lewis and Valtteri were cruising throughout the race, until the last few laps when Valterri’s tyre gave up after having vibrations for a long time. He limped back to the garage but this cost him too much time and he ended up being 11th after consistently being second in the entire race.
Lewis and Max had a dramatic last lap
The scare didn’t end there for Mercedes. Lewis had exactly the same issue on the final lap. Luck was on his side and he somehow managed to limp to the Chequered flag. Also Max pitted to put on the soft tyres and go for the fastest lap ( which he got) but if not for the extra pit-stop he would have won the race. Lewis sure had the support of the local people with him.
Unlucky Hulkenburg
After making a frantic dash from Germany to England and going through all the hoops, Hulkenburg could not start the race. Technical issues prevented him from even being on the grid and his race ended even before it started. It was really disappointing as Racing Point showed good potential on this race track. It is not sure whether he will be there for the next race or not as it depends on Perez’s test result and FIA decision. We hope to see him at least for one race.
Red Bull – same story again
While Max Verstappen drove consistently in the entire race, his team mate Albon left much to be desired. Albon started 13th on the grid and in his quest to move up quickly, he spun Magnussen off ( just like how Hamilton did to him – twice). This earned him a 5 second penalty and an additional pitstop. Still he managed to gain a few place and finished 8th.
Max was far behind the Mercedes, all through the race. However Bottas puncture gave him an opening. He pitted to go for the softs and the fastest lap. Then Lewis’s tyre gave up too but he somehow managed to finish the race. He Max not pitted for the softs he would would have won the race. Well who knew it then. Anyway Max seem happy with the results.
Ferrari all over the place
While Charles was consistent all through the race, Vettel’s pace was nowhere to be found. Vettel even struggled against Gasly in Alpha Tauri which is shocking. He started 10th and finished at the same spot. The beloved German just doesn’t seem to have that enthusiasm for racing.
Charles on the other hand extracted as much as he could from the sub-optimal Ferrari. His consistency was rewarded with a podium finish. Ferrari should be happy with that and keep on working on that car.
McLaren unlucky but going good
McLaren had a solid qualifying yesterday (5th and 7th) and their race pace was looking very good too. Towards the end of race Sainz was 4th with Lando 5th. They could have hauled some solid points. Alas they suffered the same fate as Mercedes. Sainz’s tyre gave up on the last lap. After a solid consistent race he ended up being 13th. Lando had a good consistent race and he finished in P5.
Great performance by Renault
No one saw this coming. Renault were really really good in the entire race. Daniel Riccardo pushed the McLaren’s throughout the race and ended up at 4th position. He was consistent and had the pace to challenge McLaren.
Ocon drove superbly too, overtaking Stroll, Gasly and others, finishing on the 6th position in the end.
Renault overall would be very very happy with today’s result. Both the drivers bagging in the points.
Racing Point – no race pace
Racing Point looked in fine form throughout the weekend. Lance was first in FP1 and a podium finish was on the cards. However Hulkenburg could not even start the race due to technical issues. Even Lance struggled both yesterday and today. He was overtaken by both the Renault cars. Even Gasly in Alpha Tauri overtook him. He finished 9th, much below expectation.
As mentioned above, Gasly was in very good touch and he punched above his weight, finishing a respectable 7th. His teammate Kvyat was unlucky as his race ended with a crash.
HAAS tried to play the same game again of not pitting and moving up the places. Grosjean fought valiantly to hold his position but had to give up finally with a pitstop and finished 16th. His teammate Kevin was knocked out by Albon.
Alpha Romeo are struggling a lot. It looks like even Williams will surpass them in performance. Russell managing a respectable 12th and Latifi 15th.
This was suppose to be a boring race but there more twists and turns than expected!