Banger British Grand Prix Ends With A Whimper

Perhaps I can at least thank Max Verstappen for the clarity. Before he ran his Red Bull car into the wall on the 49th of the Silverstone Circuit’s 52 laps, the British Grand Prix was shaping up to be too exciting to be coherent. It got off to an uncharacteristically slow start, yes, to the point where I wrote “first half shocking processional for silverstone” in my notes and was prepared to place some blame on the sprint format for the ongoing viewership woes. But shortly after, as though the race heard my complaint, it became, as Silverstone always is, one of the best races of the season.

Where to start? The feral drivers’ parade and their little LEGO minicars? The Verstappen–Lewis Hamilton–George Russell three-way battle for P3? The absurd multiple pass-repass sequences from former teammates Hamilton and Russell during that sequence? Russell’s poor luck with a slow puncture that took him out of the fight? What about the more one-sided squabble for the race win between Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari, who had never won at Silverstone, and Kimi Antonelli in a Mercedes, who was the quickest all weekend and set to win convincingly? And within that, what about Antonelli’s frightening pace during the race, until it all unraveled when he ran over a curb and the vibrations broke his car and he fought retirement to try to squeeze out just one more point for the Drivers’ Championship standings?

Well, Verstappen dictated that it is most narratively compact to start at the end. After Antonelli’s car had already given up, leaving Leclerc and Hamilton in a Ferrari 1-2, Verstappen pushed hard on new medium tires to try to close the gap to Hamilton ahead. On lap 49, he lost his car going into Stowe, and went into the gravel, drawing out the safety car. Verstappen was irate over the radio at his car, but in a more saddened, understated manner than previous rages. The last podium place went to Russell’s Mercedes, improving his championship hopes.