TopGear South Africa

Hamilton wins a wet and wild home race.

The UK is known for its less-than-impressive weather, and racing at the famous Silverstone circuit is challenging even in the best conditions. Fortunately, for the local drivers, the weather provided familiar territory throughout the weekend, with an abundance of local support.

Qualifying proved challenging for Perez, as rain ahead of Q1 added a curveball to the mix. In Q1, the Red Bull driver strayed from the drying racing line, leaving him stranded in the gravel. As the day continued, the track became increasingly faster, allowing the Brits to flex their local knowledge and secure a British pole for George Russell, second for Lewis Hamilton, and third for Lando Norris, the latter of whom has been showing exceptional race pace lately.

The race day began much like the qualifying day prior, with the sky covered in menacing clouds, threatening a downpour at a moment's notice. The rain had yet to fall as the cars lined up on the grid. Max Verstappen, frustrated with his fourth position, started behind both Mercedes cars and the McLaren of Norris, with Piastri on his tail in fifth. Needless to say, the Dutchman applied pressure from the get-go.

By the fourth corner on the opening lap, Max had pulled around the outside of Norris and moved himself into the podium positions early on, with his sights now set on Hamilton in second. Due to the fast nature of the first corner, there is a high likelihood of drama early in the race. Unfortunately, this befell Alex Albon, who made contact with Alonso in the first turn. Luckily, though, the light contact allowed both drivers to continue.

Norris has challenged the reigning champ in recent weekends, so it wasn’t long before he had both the speed and confidence to fight back against the dominant Red Bull. On lap 15, with DRS assistance, he made his move up the inside and into third. Piastri, clearly eager to join the fight up ahead, soon had his chance at Max, taking him under DRS two laps later.

The rain was a threatening reality for the British GP, and it made its first appearance on lap 17. Hamilton saw his teammate's slowing pace and used DRS to his advantage, overtaking Russell in the braking area. As the rain began to cause concern, the field started taking a more cautious approach to corners, with traction becoming an issue.

Lap 19 proved sobering for the two Mercedes drivers as they both understeered off the road in the first corner, allowing Norris a brilliant opportunity to close the gap and pass Russell through the following corner. Norris, an exceptional wet-weather driver, capitalised on all the cars still on slicks, inching ever closer to the lead. Towards the end of the 19th lap, Norris overtook Hamilton into the start/finish straight.

Oscar Piastri followed, overtaking George early on the 20th lap in a chair-gripping move that almost sent his car into a spin. Later, on the same lap, Piastri overtook Hamilton and found himself in second behind his teammate. The McLarens demonstrated their ability to manage slicks in wet conditions, yet the shifting weather conditions would soon complicate matters.

As we have seen in the past, the weather changes the game, shifting the focus from track pace to pit timing. If you choose intermediate tyres too early, you will lose time on the track and overheat your tyres. If you stay out on slicks while the rain worsens, you will drastically lose time and risk crashing.

On lap 27, Verstappen was the first to pit, which could have been a lap too soon as the majority of the field pulled in for fresh rubber on lap 28. Mercedes had a well-executed double stack, and Norris also swapped in for intermediates. Surprisingly, Piastri stayed out to avoid losing time on a double stack, which was a risky move due to the worsening track conditions.

Although Norris started gaining ground on Hamilton, the early pit stop strategy paid off. Piastri, on the other hand, lost ground as his race pace on slick tyres decreased. Due to Max's early pit stop, he found himself in third place between the two Mercedes drivers.

Only a few laps after the pit stop, drivers were battling the slippery surface as Hulkenberg had a close call, finding himself on the curb, which kicked out his rear end. Strangely, Russell's Mercedes had to return to the pits for retirement.

Only ten laps later, on lap 39, the track began to dry as cars dove back into the pit lane for a tyre swap to finish the race at speed in the hopes of securing the fastest lap. Unfortunately, Lando Norris, the leader, stayed out a lap longer than the rest, resulting in a slow stop. This opened the door for Hamilton to take the lead. Norris couldn’t find his rhythm and was swiftly hunted down by Verstappen, and on lap 48, he lost second place.

The British GP was an exciting occasion, with many events at play. But it was special to see just how much this home race win meant for Hamilton—his first win in almost 1,000 days. It was wet, it was entertaining, and it was a great weekend of racing.

Race Results: