After a good first lap with plenty of battles up and down the grid, the excitement got a bit too much for the Red Bull of Alex Albon as he collided with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen causing the Haas to spin off into the gravel trap and then the armco barrier which left him beached and with just three wheels on his car.
The beginning was largely uneventful after that until ten laps later on lap 11 when Daniil Kvyat’s Alpha Tauri caught just a bit too much kerb going through Maggotts and Becketts which threw his car through the gravel trap and into the leaving the Russian in a similar situation to Magnussen a few laps earlier but Kvyat exited his car which only had two wheels left. Both incidents bought out the Safety Car which at the time of Kvyat’s crash we had had only six laps on proper racing.
The drama began with Valtteri Bottas’ Mercedes around lap 47 – 49 out of 52, then we saw Sainz’s right front deflate just moments after causing him to drop out of the points, then on the final lap Hamilton had the same fate as his teammate but luckily for the reigning World Champion was far enough ahead of second placed Verstappen and near enough the finish to take his seventh British Grand Prix win and an 87th career victory putting him just four wins off equalling Schumacher’s record of 91.
With all the drama of the sudden tyre issue sweeping the grid some stand out performances include Charles Leclerc who managed a third place finish in the under performing Ferrari. Daniel Ricciardo managed fourth in the Renault and Albon who after his collision with Magnussen and the five second penalty which followed and the two pit stops which left him dead last for the majority of the race managed an incredible 8th place.
The next race is the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix (Silverstone) this is the second double header of the season.
Snooker Round-Up Day two: Williams cruises through