With the happenings of both last year and this year in mind, Silverstone is very quickly becoming the track known for freak accidents, and that whilst the track itself isn’t particularly controversial when layout is considered (bar the sausage curbs which could really do with being removed).
Thankfully, with health and safety being paramount in motorsport in the last decade or so, the drivers got away largely unscathed. Which means that those not involved had the rest of the afternoon to entertain us, and entertain they did.
Here are the top of the class contenders and struggle bus riders from Silverstone:
Top of the class
Carlos Sainz – Qualifying: 1st | Race: 1st
When purely looking at the results, one would assume that Carlos had an easy weekend, but nothing is as it seems when it comes to Formula 1. During the wet qualifying on Saturday the Spaniard took his time to build up pace, lagging behind initially, which left fans to suspect that pole would be a coin toss between Max and Charles, with the coin very much falling in the Dutchman’s favour. Carlos wasn’t about to be counted out, however, and kept quietly chipping away at his lap time. Thanks to a convenient yellow sector and a stellar lap from Carlos, he earned his first ever pole position.
On Sunday, his first getaway was slow, which meant an easy overtake for Verstappen. But due to the red flag happening early on in the lap, the original grid positions got reinstated, meaning Carlos could start from pole once more. The practice must have helped, because this time around he kept Max behind. He did end up losing the lead later in the race after running wide on the exit of Becketts, but with Verstappen picking up debris and Leclerc’s race being ruined due to bad strategy, the Spaniard was able to get ahead.
By crossing the finish line first, he becomes the second Spanish driver to ever to do so, not a bad way to round out your 150th race weekend.
Mick Schumacher – Qualifying: 19th | Race: 8th
Due to a poor qualifying in the wet, with a steering issue to boot, prospects were not looking good for Mick Schumacher this weekend. His first points in F1 seemed miles away. Staying out of trouble at the first start certainly helped, but what really earned him his first points was his tyre management. The German stayed on top of it whilst slowly but steadily elbowing his way into points.
In the last few laps, it even looked like he would be able to catch the reigning world champion. Verstappen had a damaged car, sure, but Mick really got stuck into the battle. Not giving the Dutchman an inch of breathing space all the way to the finish, which certainly deserves some praise.
It will be a relief to have these first points in the bag. Now the first hurdle has been crossed and the pressure is off, more points will follow.
Sebastian Vettel – Qualifying: 18th | Race: 9th
Sebastian Vettel treated himself to a hell of a birthday weekend. First, he got to drive Nigel Mansell’s FW14B car (which he now owns) around track using carbon neutral fuel. Secondly, he managed to gradually work his way up through the pecking order to take home some points. Meaning that he got to score points three times in the last four races.
Seb may have been lucky to avoid terminal damage and even a penalty after shunting into the rear of Alex Albon in the lap 1 carnage, but he yet again proved to be the lead driver at Aston Martin.
Golden oldies
Alright, perhaps not the most flattering name, but it rings true. Experience proved to be key this weekend, so it’s not a surprise that both Hamilton and Alonso got their chance to shine.
First up; Sir Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes might not have a car good enough to truly fight for the championship, but they have become experts at capitalising on the misfortune of others, proving that you can never count them out. Lewis was on top of his game, pouncing on anyone who showed a smidge of weakness.
Then for Fernando Alonso; the Spaniard didn’t quite manage to drive his Alpine to the podium, but he certainly looked close. He was always lurking, keeping the pressure on just like Hamilton did. Alonso ultimately crossed the finish line 5th, and in doing so he also broke Kimi’s record for most kilometres driven in Formula 1.
Then for honourable mentions…
The first honourable mention goes to Sergio Pérez. After contact with Charles Leclerc in the opening stages he found himself down in 18th, but a brilliant recovery drive with stellar pace meant he got to stand on the second step of the podium by the end of it.
The second honourable mention goes to Zhou Guanyu. Things just don’t seem to be going his way, as this was yet another race ruined by something beyond his control. But after that accident, he’s most likely just counting his blessings for coming out relatively unscathed. Thanks to the many safety measures in place, Zhou won’t have to wait long for his shot at redemption. As he sustained no serious injuries and will be back in action next race. Guanyu gets extra kudos though, for his qualifying. He got into Q3 for a second race in a row, outqualifying his teammate Valtteri Bottas.
The last honourable mention of the day goes to George Russell. After the incident on the first lap, it initially seemed like George was simply out of the race due to damage suffered from the ordeal. As it later turned out, the Mercedes would still have been relatively fine to drive, but George got out to check in on Zhou. Rushing over to the crash site to see if there was anything he could help with. When he returned to his car, he was unable to restart it, meaning that it had to be picked up and he was no longer allowed to start. So nil points for Russell at his home grand prix, but 10 points for gentlemanly behaviour.
The struggle bus:
Ferrari’s strategists
With Verstappen having suffered damage, it should have been Charles Leclerc crossing the finish line first. That is, if Ferrari want to keep their dreams of winning a WDC in 2022 alive, but it is very much looking like they don’t. Wrong strategy calls on Leclerc’s side of the garage are happening embarrassingly often, to the point where one starts to wonder whether it perhaps is intentional…
Whilst Ferrari are mostly to blame here, Charles could perhaps start taking matter in his own hand. If the prancing horses aren’t stepping up, banging his fist on the table and making a call himself might bring him the results he is looking for.
Williams
Alex Albon – Qualifying: 16th | Race: DNF
Nicholas Latifi – Qualifying: 10th | Race: 12th
The Wantage-based team didn’t exactly get the home-race they were hoping for. With an upgraded package, they certainly were aiming for some points, but that plan failed quite catastrophically.
It is hard to say whether the upgrades Williams have brought along to Silverstone actually paid off, because they were only equipped on Alex Albon’s car. With a wet qualifying and with Alex falling victim to another turn 1 incident, they didn’t really have a chance to test out the new package.
The most important thing is that Alex Albon is ok. Whilst Guanyu’s incident looked worse, Albon was the one who ended up being airlifted to hospital for precautionary check after contact with the pitwall, Ocon and Tsunda. Thankfully the trip remained just that, a precaution.
Latifi had an incredible Saturday, progressing to Q3 for the first time in his F1 career. Unfortunately, that did not translate to the Sunday. As he ended up running wide at Turn 9, damaging his floor and dropping out of the top 10. However there were some positive signs for Latifi this weekend so all is not lost.
AlphaTauri
Pierre Gasly – Qualifying: 11th | Race: DNF
Yuki Tsunoda – Qualifying: 13th | Race: 14th
Another team keen to forget this weekend is AlphaTauri. Whilst Pierre is the one who didn’t finish the race, Yuki will be the one who might want to lay low for a few days. Because whilst Pierre was initially involved in the incident at the first corner, it is Yuki’s attempt to pass his teammate later in the race which ultimately forced Gasly to retire.
This is made extra painful by the fact that they were running seventh and eighth, but the ill-executed move from Tsunoda didn’t just end Gasly’s race but cost him his points too, as he ended up crossing the finish line last. Also worth mentioning is that the debris from their little incident was the same debris which damaged Verstappen’s car, bit awkward considering Red Bull is AlphaTauri’s big sister.
Then for dishonourable mentions…
The first of the dishonourable mentions is for Max Verstappen, because seventh is not anywhere near where the reigning championship would like to finish. But ultimately his misfortune was out of his hands, and considering the damage suffered to the floor was quite extensive, it’s quite impressive that he managed to finish at all.
The next two dishonourable mentions go to Bottas and Ocon, who both suffered with more reliability gremlins on Sunday that ended their races. Bottas suffered a gearbox issue and Ocon retired due to a fuel pump issue, but this is hardly something you can blame the drivers for.
Luckily for those who found themselves back on the bottom half of the list, they don’t have to wait long for a shot at redemption with back-to-back races. The paddock will be heading to the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix, arguably the prettiest track on the calendar.
We also get to see the return of the Sprint Weekend with the Saturday session kicking off at 3:30pm, setting the grid for lights on Sunday at 2pm UK time.
