The 2023 British Grand Prix went down as one of the best races of the season so far. From the atmosphere, to the racing, and even the surprise performances — Formula 1 was in full swing at Silverstone.
Lando Norris was the home hero in front of the British crowd as he claimed provisional pole in Saturday’s Q3 qualifying session. His time was beaten only by Max Verstappen as the reigning World Champion put his Red Bull into pole position.
However, the McLarens of Norris and Oscar Piastri put in an incredible performance to line up in second and third place on the grid. That performance flooded over into Sunday’s Grand Prix as well — the crowd roared into life when Lando Norris snatched the lead from Max Verstappen at turn 1.
Piastri nearly put his car into second place for a McLaren 1-2, but the Dutchman cut him off in the nick of time. However, Norris knew that his time in the lead was short-lived, as the powerful Red Bull DRS system kicked in and Max retook the lead of the race on lap 5.
Just after the halfway point of the Grand Prix, a safety car triggered a flurry of pit stops. Some drivers got lucky with the timing on their pit stops while others suffered. Lewis Hamilton was one of those who were fortunate enough to benefit from the safety car, as he was promoted into third place with brand new soft tires fitted to his Mercedes.
McLaren on the other hand fitted hard tires to their two cars, with Norris feeding out in second place and Piastri in fourth. At first it seemed like a questionable decision, but it was soon clear that the hard tires were the better option. Norris survived the onslaught from Hamilton with an excellent battle raging on between the two home heroes. However, the Mercedes quickly overheated its soft compound tires, allowing the McLaren to scamper off into the distance.
The race ended with victory for Verstappen, Lando Norris in second place, and Lewis Hamilton in third.
Red Bull lead, but for how long?
Red Bull took their 11th consecutive victory at the British Grand Prix. That means they equal McLaren’s record of 11 consecutive wins in 1988. If they win the next race in Hungary, they’ll break that record.
Max Verstappen is also currently on 6 consecutive victories as he chases down Sebastian Vettel’s record of 9 in a row — set during his similarly dominant 2011 season with Red Bull.
Red Bull may have won the British Grand Prix, but their lead isn’t looking as dominating as it has been for the earlier part of the season. Verstappen was only leading by 9 seconds before his pit stop during the safety car, and his gap to Norris in the end was just 3.7 seconds.
It seems as though Red Bull might be losing their lead, and the surprising challenger to their domination is McLaren! Norris got the upgrades in Austria, and we saw the team leap forward in terms of performance. With upgrades fitted to Piastri’s car in Silverstone, it became very clear that they’ve made real progress in their car design.
The cars are second and third fastest on genuine pace, and we could see them get onto the podium more often from here on out.
Aston Martin have dropped down the pack significantly though. It seems as though all of their hard work and car development from last season has gone to waste. From being podium contenders to fighting for the final points positions, Aston Martin will need to rethink their upgrades going into the next couple of races.
The Hungaroring is up next, and it’s a completely different type of track. Who will be challenging Red Bull in Budapest?
Brad Pitt stars in Silverstone
Brad Pitt was the talk of the paddock as filming commenced on his Formula 1 movie “Apex”. The movie, directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick), was put under the spotlight at the British Grand Prix.
Plenty of filming took place in between the sessions over the course of the weekend, and the team also took the opportunity to film their own car on the Silverstone grid. They’ll be filming at plenty of other races throughout the season, so make sure to keep an eye out for them.
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