It's lights out and away we go in Silverstone...
In a season defined my Red Bull's dominance and Max Verstappen's overwhelming superiority, Aston Martin's surprise contention has been a highlight. This weekend in Great Britain, Mclaren delivered a resurgent performance, claiming best of the rest as an impressive contender.
Come Sunday, with dark clouds over Silverstone, local heroes Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton shone. Lando Norris leading into Turn 1 sent the home crowd into a dazzled frenzy, buoyed by the British driver's electrifying dash off the line. Norris soon relinquished the lead to exhilarating pace of Max Verstappen at Brooklands, but defended Lewis Hamilton's attack resolutely, in a thrilling battle for second place. Oscar Piastri unluckily missed out on a double Mclaren podium yet finished a personal best in his rookie season.
Max Verstappen survived the early Lando Norris attack to triumph in the British Grand Prix, the sixth victory in a row for the reigning world champion. The Red Bull's pace was insurmountable and Max Verstappen's 150th race for Red Bull culminated in a 99-point lead for the Dutchman. After Sergio Perez's streak of disastrous qualifying, the Mexican delivered yet another recovery drive to claim sixth, hardly an impressive drive in an evidently superior RB 19.
Ferrari yet again disappointed, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finishing ninth and tenth respectively. Lewis Hamilton grabbed a podium, with George Russell finishing fifth, in another solid Mercedes performance in their home race. Aston Martin labelled Silverstone as not being their 'strongest' track and both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll failed to mount a challenge, finishing 7th and 14th respectively.
Further down the order, both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly were forced to retire, while Valtteri Bottas gained eight places to finish in 12th. Williams impressed all weekend, with Alex Albon claiming a points finish, and Logan Sargeant a personal best 11th.
Had not been for Max Verstappen's dominance, who would be comfortably leading the constructor's championship individually, this season would have all the ingredients of a blockbuster. From Aston Martin's ascendancy to McLaren's surprise improvements, and with neither Mercedes nor Ferrari in absolute control, a Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton battle for victory at Silverstone would have been one to remember...
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