The 2021 edition of the British GP will go down as a classic race but it wasn't a weekend without controversy.
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The 2021 edition of the British GP will go down as a classic race. In front of a sold-out Silverstone, Formula 1 drivers duked it out as a weekend of new formats and the future culminated. Lewis Hamilton picked up a memorable win – his eigth in his home Grand Prix. However, the race was not without controversy. Championship leader Max Verstappen crashed out on the first lap after a collision with Hamilton. As a result, the Dutchman scored no points and his 33-point lead is now down to an 8-point lead. To say he and Red Bull were unhappy about that was an understatement, as we will soon find out.
Elsewhere Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took a surprising second place with Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas third. The points finishes also reinforced the idea of a super tight midfield pack.
Without further ado, let’s delve straight into the takeaways from the latest F1 race weekend.
Hamilton, knowing full well that a good start was maybe his only chance of pipping Verstappen, went for broke on Lap 1 itself. His race start was better but the Red Bull just about held him off.
Hamilton tried two moves on the outside with Verstappen able to hold his line. However, it was at the Copse corner when things hit the fan.
Verstappen went slightly wide on a corner that is known to be high-speed, leaving Lewis enough of a gap to attempt an overtake. He did just that but Verstappen, believing the line was his, came back inside.
Hamilton’s wheel clipped Verstappen’s and the Dutchman went flying into the barries, his race quite obviously over. The session inevitably got red flagged to clear the debris and restore the barrier.
We’ll get to the incident in just a bit, but let’s focus on the restarted race for now. Hamilton trailed behind Leclerc, who took the lead in the midst of the crash. Even engine issues in the Ferrari didn’t do much to aid Hamilton.
The Mercedes pitted first, then got past McLaren’s Lando Norris before being let through by teammate Bottas. With 12 laps now on the clock, Hamilton was second and 10 seconds behind Leclerc.
The gap seemed massive but Hamilton pushed hard, gaining at him at the rate of a second per lap at one point. Eventually Lewis would get past him – ironically at the Copse corner.
It was a stunning drive from Hamilton, even considering the crash before. He gained 10 seconds in the space of as many laps on tyres that were older than Leclerc’s was.
Unfortunately for him, a lot of the focus was on the crash.
Given Red Bull ended up scoring no points from the race, the frustration on their pit wall was understandable. However, it’s worth looking at the incident again to analyse who or what could have done anything differently.
Hamiton had enough space to try an overtake on Verstappen at the Copse corner, as was evident while watching replays. Thus, when he did end up getting his car into the line, both drivers had the exact same option – back off.
Unsurprisingly, that was never going to happen. Hamilton was well within his rights to believe he could hold his line. Equally, Verstappen believed in his mind that he could defend as he held the line first.
Given that neither was going to pull out of the line, a crash was inevitable. Indeed, experts and even most of the drivers put it down to little more than a racing incident, especially on an opening lap.
However, the fallout has been ugly – and could spice up the championship race in the second half of the season.
Leclerc was disappointed to finish second, but he had nothing to be ashamed of. Holding off Hamilton as long as he did in a Ferrari that doesn’t quite have the straightline speed of the Mercedes is no mean feat.
The second-place finish was also Ferrari’s first podium since the Monaco GP, when Carlos Sainz finished second. Here Sainz took a respectable sixth-place finish, rounding off a decent weekend for the Scuderia.
It is unlikely to be anything more than a one-off – their main rivals this season are McLaren for the coveted third place finish in the constructor’s championship. However, a podium is a podium and Leclerc was eventually able to celebrate the finish.
The midfield battle has once again been a tight one for the most part of the 2021 season. However, there have been a select few drivers who have struggled moreso than others.
Daniel Ricciardo’s issues at McLaren are well known. Lance Stroll has had an up and down season in the Aston Martin. Esteban Ocon’s form nosedived massively after news of his Alpine contract renewal was confirmed. And Yuki Tsunoda has looked off pace in a reasonably competitive AlphaTauri.
Well, at the British GP, all of these drivers got among the points. Ricciardo finished fifth, behind teammate Norris in fourth. Stroll collected four points with an eigth-place finish. Ocon was ninth and Tsunoda finished 10th, ahead of teammate Pierre Gasly in 11th.
Whether they can continue this form remains to be seen, but it was a welcome boost for all these drivers.
