First corner mayhem brought out a red flag at the Silverstone Circuit where Zhou went barreling into the barriers in a frightening accident. Fortunately, the Chinese driver was confirmed ok and once the proceedings were underway again it was polesitter Carlos Sainz who crossed the chequered flag for maximum points.
The opening lap at the British Grand Prix was one to forget for Zhou who had the misfortune of being involved in a first corner tangle where the Alfa Romeo driver was tapped at the end of the high speed straight and flipped onto his underside before barrelling into the catchment fence and finally coming to rest on in a precarious position.
With a red flag immediately waved before the pack had completed the first sector and the carnage had finally come to a rest, it was Zhou, Albon and Russell who retired from damage. The field eventually reconvened in the original starting order and it was first-time polesitter Sainz who managed to convert his Saturday efforts into his maiden win after more drama. The deployment of the Aston Martin safety car late in the race was done after Alpine’s Esteban Ocon grinded to a halt on the back straight with a suspected fuel pump issue.
Charles Leclerc, who at that point was leading the race on hard compound tyres, was the only driver in contention for the win who could not react quickly enough to the safety car and pit for fresh tyres. Those preceding him in the restart being teammate Sainz, Hamilton and Perez who were all equally as competitive as each other, dived into the pit boxes for unused soft compound tyres. Lewis Hamilton managed a fantastic drive in front of an adoring home crowd and has now scored a podium position at the past 13 Formula 1 grand prix races at the Silverstone Circuit. The formerly troubled Silver Arrows, now seemingly rid of the porpoising aerodynamic phenomenon after a technical directive was issued by the FIA, has seemed to find some more competitive form – particularly in race trim.
It was the adverse for current championship leader and reigning world champion Max Verstappen who suffered floor damage after riding the curbs and only managed to stave Mick Schumacher off for 7th position after some expectedly abysmal pace. The rookie and son of 7-time world champion Michael has now managed to score his first career points after fighting the Dutchman to the chequered flag and teammate Magnussen enabled Haas to celebrate a double points finish. View the full results here.
While the Silverstone Circuit provided dramatic entertainment for the fans in attendance, it is with gratitude that Zhou was deemed medically fit after the horrific first lap incident. In 7 days time, the paddock will enter the famed Red Bull Ring in Austria for the constructor leaders’ home race.