Round 10 brought the F1 caravan to iconic Silverstone, which is fulfilled with motor sport history. Although statistically it rains one in three days in the UK, the conditions were dry, as the qualifying got underway. Tyre-wise, in Q1 Ferrari repeated their strategy used in Austria; both Sebastian and Charles came out on the medium tyres. Charles showed convincing pace right away, whilst Sebastian seemed to struggle with his performance. Home hero Hamilton, who had clocked his fastest lap time on the softs, was only a tenth faster than the red-suited Monegasque. As Silverstone was known to be very hard on the tyres, it was very expected to see the top teams opt for the medium compound in Q2. Mercedes sent their drivers out on the yellow-walled rubber, so did Red Bull. This time also Gasly came out on the more durable rubber. The Red Team's strategy caught my eye. Charles was sent out on the medium Pirellis, whilst teammate Sebastian came out on the soft rubber. Charles went fastest on the mediums, but Sebastian was only able to make it 8th, in spite of the soft tyres! The German had to make a second attempt in the end, but he still wasn't able to make his way higher than P5. Against the odds, Charles came out on the soft Pirellis at the end of the second session, improving his lap time. This meant, that the young Ferrari ace was going to start to the race on the softs. Things looked excellent for the Red Team, as Charles was topping the time sheets, with Bottas second and Hamilton third. Verstappen could make it fourth.
Hamilton had made it on pole on his home turf for six times already. But his teammate wasn't going to let him snatch the seventh one. Bottas set a sensational lap time on his first flyer, leaving his teammate two tenths off the pace. Verstappen had raised the bar as well, and the Dutchman was third. Charles' first attempt had left a little to hope for, and he was in P4. Verstappen's teammate Gasly, who has been under-performing during the first third of the season, was 5th, and Sebastian was only sixth! A six-tenth gap to Bottas seemed incomprehensible indeed. The battle for pole was hair-raising. Bottas was unable to improve his lap time, but teammate Hamilton managed to put together an extremely competitive lap. However, the Briton missed out on pole by six thousandths of a second only! Charles, too found more pace for his last flyer, and he qualified 3rd, only 0.079s down on pole-setter Bottas! Verstappen ended up 4th, with teammate Gasly fifth. Unbelievable but true, Sebastian was left 6th, almost seven tenths off the pace. What had happened to Sebastian, who used to put together a perfect lap every time it was needed? I was flabbergasted.
There were sparks in the air, as the lights went out. Hamilton did everything he could to challenge his teammate for the lead, but Bottas was stubborn not to let anyone snatch the lead from him. Charles maintained his third place, and Verstappen was fourth. Sebastian took an excellent start on the soft tyres, and managed to overtake Gasly at the start. There was a fierce battle between the Mercedes teammates on the opening laps. Hamilton lurked right behind Valtteri's back, ready to use any opening chance to overtake. On lap 4 the hungry home hero attacked, squeezing bodily past the Finn. But Valtteri disagreed with Hamilton's intention to take the lead. The Finn stroke back and snatched the lead back to himself! It was sensational racing indeed!
Sebastian was still struggling with his pace. Gasly manage to make it pass the German on lap 12. The Frenchman opened the pit stop roulette on the very same lap. Charles and Verstappen drove into the pits on the following lap. Now it was all down to the pit stop crew; which one was going to be ahead? As Charles was released from the pit box, he was side by side with Verstappen. Aggressive Max took the upper hand, moving past Charles. These two youngsters had had an intense battle already in Austria, and now they seemed to continue, where they had left off at Red Bull Ring. Charles attacked a couple of laps later, making it past Max. Their battle was such a pleasure to watch. Race leader Bottas pitted for a fresh set of medium tyres. His rivals, on the contrary, had switched to the hard compound.
Lap 20 was a turning point in the British GP. Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi suffered a puncture in high speed, which caused an off for the Italian. He was stuck on the gravel, and safety car was deployed. This meant, that both Hamilton and Sebastian were going to get a free pit stop! The Briton drove into the pits, and re-joined the track on the hard Pirellis. Sebastian opted for a similar tyre choice.
As the race was back on, Hamilton was leading the race, with Bottas second and Sebastian third. Gasly was now ahead of his teammate in P4, and Charles had dropped down to P6 due to the safety car episode. It didn't take many laps, until Verstappen attacked his teammate, moving to fourth. In no time also Charles made his way past the Frenchman.
Lap 38 proved dramatic. Flying Verstappen had closed the gap to Sebastian, who was missing pace badly. Max made a bold move and overtook Sebastian. But the German was determined to take his third place back. However, Sebastian misjudged Max's moves, and ended up hitting the rear of the Dutchman's RB15! Both drivers went off, but were able to continue. However, Sebastian had severe damage to his Lina's front wing, and he had to limp into the pits. The nose change dropped Sebastian down to the very back of the pack. Verstappen got away from the collision with less damage, and he was in P5.
As Bottas had opted for the mediums for his second stint, the Finn had to make a second pit stop at the end of the race, to fulfill the tyre regulation. It didn't cost him any positions, as his second place was secured. Hamilton took his sixth win in his home GP, and pole-setter Bottas had to settle for playing the second fiddle -again. In addition to the victory, Hamilton also took the extra point for the fastest lap time. Charles completed the podium, which was well-deserved. Finally Gasly was able to deliver, as the Frenchman crossed the finish line fourth, ahead of teammate Verstappen. McLaren's Sainz was "the winner of the midfield", finishing 6th. Due to his own mistake, Sebastian was left far out of the points! I don't know, what has happened to Sebastian this season, but I know, that his skills haven't gone anywhere.
Hamilton's lead in the drivers' championship standings is overwhelming; the reigning world champion has now a 39-point lead to his teammate. Although Bottas drove a sensational qualifying and a perfect-looking race, it wasn't enough to beat his teammate. In that light it seems almost impossible for the Finn to win the world championship this year. Verstappen moved third and is now 13 points ahead of Sebastian. It seems only a matter of time, when Charles takes the fourth place from Sebastian in the standings.
Next up will be the German GP, which holds so many bad memories from last year. Race leader Sebastian drove off in slow speed, which ended the home hero's race. I definitely hope, that this year Sebastian's home race will be the turning point for the better! Forza Ferrari!
With passion for racing red,
Iina Huhmarniemi
Comments
Authorize to comment