ax Verstappen delivered another impressive performance to win the British Grand Prix as Lando Norris held off Lewis Hamilton in a stellar match for second place.
A late safety car put Norris’s runner-up position in doubt after McLaren voted for the British driver to use stiffer, more durable tyres instead of a faster soft compound.
But Norris, 23, managed to keep Hamilton, 38, in a tantalizing battle between two of the most popular favorites at the sold-out Silverstone.
Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri finished fourth, one place ahead of George Russell, with three British drivers finishing in the top five.
Verstappen’s sixth straight win puts the Dutchman 99 points ahead of the top of the rankings.
“We’ve had a bad start so we need to look at that,” Verstappen said. “Lando and McLaren are extremely fast. It took a few laps to get past them and then everything was fine.
“I’m so happy we won again and 11 straight wins for the team was unbelievable but today was not easy.”
McLaren has been in desperate decline this season but a major upgrade at the England home race has worked wonders.
Indeed, Norris briefly took the 52-lap lead on Sunday after he stared at pole-keeper Verstappen after a great start in his McLaren in front of cheers from the crowd. British stands.
It marks the first time a McLaren car has led the British Grand Prix since Hamilton took the lead here for Team Woking in 2012.
Norris’ lead time lasted only four and a half laps, however, after Verstappen, in his superlative Red Bull machine, drew with the Briton on the Wellington Straight before moving into Brooklands.
Piastri is running in third with Russell trying to find a way past Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc without success.
Hamilton started in seventh but dropped to eighth at the end of the first round before regaining his place by knocking out Fernando Alonso in the seventh round.
A tedious race came to life on lap 33 when Kevin Magnussen stopped in his Haas. The flames quickly engulfed the back of his machine before smoking.
With Magnussen’s Haas in a precarious position at the start of the Wellington Straight, a full safety car was deployed and Hamilton, who was still not down the pit, was the main beneficiary, making seventh gear third third. when the shuffle command is executed.
Verstappen and Hamilton bolted to the soft rubber, but Norris, despite begging his McLaren team to follow suit, was still given the hard compound.
As the safety car pulled in at the end of lap 38, Norris’ mirror was suddenly taken over by Hamilton’s black Mercedes.
Hamilton sensed his chance racing around outside Norris past Brooklands and then Luffield, only to let the McLaren man keep his spot.
A third chance arose for Hamilton running down the Copse but Norris expertly defended the position, leaving Hamilton with nowhere to go.
Hamilton stepped back and tried again in the next round but Norris was elbowed and the older Englishman couldn’t find his way through.
From there, Norris was able to keep Hamilton narrow, crossing the line 2.9 seconds from the Mercedes.
“That McLaren is a rocket ship,” Hamilton said as he crossed the line.
Piastri finished fourth on a fine afternoon for McLaren, one place ahead of Russell, with Sergio Perez in sixth after he started in a low 15th.
Alonso took the flag in seventh with Alex Albon enhancing his reputation with a nice eighth for Williams.
Verstappen crossed the line 3.7 seconds before Norris to maintain Red Bull’s unbeaten streak this season.
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Hello and thank you for joining Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Max Verstappen’s victory at the British Grand Prix.
Find our report and response below!
Hamilton sends a classy message to McLaren behind the Silverstone podium
Lewis Hamilton says his former team McLaren is back where they belong after an impressive comeback at the British Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen is again the eighth winner this season but Hamilton finds himself sandwiched between two McLarens at the checkered flag.
In fact, McLaren deserves a double podium just for Hamilton to get past Oscar Piastri thanks to a pitstop behind the safety car in lap 34.
That means Hamilton drops to third place behind runner-up Lando Norris, who equaled his best record in the sport.
Read the full version here!
Norris and Hamilton rejoice at Silverstone as Verstappen takes the lead
Max Verstappen has won his eighth race this season and his first British Grand Prix seemed unimportant to the 160,000 people who crammed into Silverstone for Sunday’s race.
Verstappen’s steady march to a third consecutive world championship continues unabated, leaving him 99 points ahead of teammate Sergio Perez. Such is his dominance, he is also leading the constructors’ championship in his own right.
But for those who set a record for the British GP at the weekend – 480,000 people over the course of the run – they were quick to dare to dream of a first win for Lando Norris.
In a McLaren that looked unrecognizable in both shape and speed at Silverstone, he had a flying start to take the lead and leave Verstappen in an unfamiliar second place in 2023.
Read Matt Majendie’s full race report here!
Beautiful scene after the race
Lando Norris replied
A brilliant and much-needed day for McLaren…
MAX VERSTAPPEN WIN!
Max Verstappen won the British Grand Prix for the first time with Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton also on the podium.
Norris clear on Monday
Round 52: Hamilton has now given up on catching Norris.
Verstappen is set to win his sixth straight race.
Hamilton falls out a little bit
Round 47: Hamilton seems to have lost grip on his tyres, 2 seconds behind Norris.
Through go Perez!
Round 44: A beautiful battle between Perez, Leclerc and Sainz puts Mexico ahead in seventh place.
Excellent defense from Norris
Round 40: Verstappen took a two-second lead but Norris did a great job to protect Hamilton as we headed straight for Wellington.
