British GP Report 2021: “It takes two to tango”

The British Grand Prix is always a momentous occasion, with its classic track boasting some of the world's fastest and most challenging corners flowing through the sea of emotion that is one of the most passionate crowds in sport. I'm bias - I know. This year, the weekend had it all: a trial format that worked well, moments of brilliance from all of the home drivers and an era-defining race that had us on the edge of our seats (and often off them) from lights to flag. 

Friday saw the teams go straight from a late practice one into an evening qualifying. This was a fantastic way to get people excited on a Friday and allow people to get home from work to watch. The event didn't disappoint. We had George Russell being cheered around the lap to qualify a remarkable 8th position and Lewis Hamilton shocking Red Bull by snatching pole position with a remarkable lap. The energy was already high, and that's what we all love to see.

Saturday was the day of the 17-lap sprint qualifying race, which would decide the starting order for Sunday's Grand Prix. The championship leader, Max Verstappen, managed to beat Lewis Hamilton off the line to take the lead and eventual win. But the star of Saturday was Fernando Alonso, who managed to climb from 11th to 5th position in the first lap. While he did drop places to the two McLaren drivers, that lap showed that he's still got it, and  7th was a great starting position for Sunday's Grand Prix.

Speaking of Sunday, explosive would probably be the best word. 

When the lights went out, the battle between the seasoned champion Hamilton and young star Verstappen was awesome. You felt like there was something in the air. Dicing and banging wheels, the crowd were roaring as the two went head to head. As they headed towards the high-speed Copse corner, Hamilton dummied left and pulled alongside Verstappen on the right. Verstappen squeezed Hamilton against the wall, nobody yielded, Verstappen turned in, and the result was inevitable. The cars collided. Verstappen flew into the tyre barrier, and Hamilton continued, albeit in second position as the incident allowed Charles Leclerc to seize the lead. 

Who was to blame? I believe that it was a racing incident. If nobody goes for a gap in a race, then no overtakes will happen. Neither driver pulled out. Therefore, they were both responsible. Max's crash was a big enough penalty, and so Hamilton received a ten-second penalty. Listen to more on that on the podcast.

Out came a red flag and a race restart beckoned. 

Charles Leclerc is arguably as good a driver as Max Verstappen. He showed it on Sunday in his less competitive Ferrari, controlling the race brilliantly, leading for fifty laps. 

Meanwhile, Hamilton dropped back to fourth position but had been pumping in scintillating laps to catch the Monegasque. The champion overtook Norris at Copse, was waved by Bottas. He threw it down the inside of Leclerc on the penultimate lap, snatching the lap to a roar on home soil. 

It was one of the drives of the season from Leclerc and heart-breaking for him not to have won for an Italian team in England - a rare occurrence.

Bottas followed Hamilton and Leclerc home for the podium, with the McLarens of Norris and Ricciardo scoring a solid fourth and fifth. Sadly Russell dropped back out of the points, but some great drives by Alonso, Tssanoda and Stroll also saw them in the points. 

Is the British Grand Prix the best race in the world? It's hard to argue otherwise.

Biggest Winner: The F1 title fight

While Lewis Hamilton is an obvious contender for this award, winning at his home track for the eighth time and catching Verstappen in the championship a significant amount, he is still behind. I believe that this race and that incident are crucial in bringing the two drivers closer together on points, heating the ferocious rivalry between them. Max is uncompromising, and Lewis will be smart but not bullied.

Biggest Loser: Christian Horner

I would say that those who racially abused Lewis Hamilton during and following the Grand Prix are the biggest losers, but that would be going easy on their vile behaviour. They can sod off, and social media companies must do better.

Christian Horner was the biggest loser this weekend. His emotional reaction to the crash showed the signs of a team that had just lost 25 points in their lead, had their car written off and driver involved in a 51 G accident. It was scary, and the most important thing is that Max is okay. Nevertheless, Red Bull’s defence of Max’s part in the crash became an attack on Lewis Hamilton’s sportsmanship or right to celebrate winning his home Grand Prix. Naturally, they were upset, but those people that know Formula One know that Lewis Hamilton has won in a fair way for almost 15 years. Unfortunately,  the word that Horner continued to use, ‘desperate’, was what he appeared on Sunday. As for his argument that you can’t overtake at Copse, Lewis Hamilton took the race lead at the same corner. The difference was that Charles Leclerc gave racing room to avoid an incident.

Moment of the Weekend: George Russell’s Friday night flyer

There were many stand out montes, and the incident between the two main championship protagonists was perhaps the moment of the year.  

A special moment was watching George Russell driving a lap in Q3 on his own around Silverstone being cheered the whole way around the lap. What was more was that he qualified in eighth - staggering given that he is in the ninth fastest car. The guy is undoubtedly a future world champion. Even I am beginning to think that his move to Mercedes will need to be this year, even if it will give Mercedes a big headache in the next couple of years.

Honourable Mention: Charles Leclerc

Charles has been on it all weekend, qualifying in P4 and finishing the sprint race in the same position. He took the opportunist move into the lead when the gap arrived following Hamilton and Verstappen’s clash, Allowing him to start from pole after the red flag. While many might have thought Hamilton would dash past, Leclerc held the lead and created a comfortable gap. He led 50 out of 52 laps and showed his composure and racecraft to be up there with the best. Is Charles better than Max? Not yet, but I believe he can be and will be when Ferrari create a proper challenger.

AJontheLine Line of the Week: “I won’t be bullied”

I loved Toto Wolf’s request to Michael Masi that the F1 race director checked his emails as Mercedes had sent him something of interest. But the line of the week has to be from Lewis Hamilton, who said that he wouldn’t let Max bully him. Lewis winning this battle against Max, who tends to get his way due to his aggressive reputation, is what caused such anger at Red Bull. Still, it could change the way that Max sees racing with Lewis. F1 is a fascinating mental game, and I love it.

So, next up, Budapest. I believe that Red Bull and Ferrari will be better suited to the track than Mercedes but is Lewis in Max’s head? Follow the action in 2 weeks to find out.