Hamilton Hobbles to Win Record Seventh British GP

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(Lewis Hamilton's front left punctured
Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

A dramatic final few laps of the British Grand Prix saw race leader Lewis Hamilton hobble his way to the chequered flag to claim his seventh British Grand Prix. Undoubtedly, the most bizarre win of his career at Silverstone, after a puncture to his left-front tyre with half a lap still to go. 

(Hamiton with his winning trophy at British Grand Prix 
Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

The Mercedes driver displayed yet another dominating performance in his home Grand Prix until his tyre burst just half a lap from victory. The Brit stretched his Formula One world championship lead to 30 points with his third win on the trot. 

(Valtteri Bottas with a punctured tyre
Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Mercedes were cruising in for yet another one-two finish up until Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas suffered a puncture of his own with just two laps to go, handing him a P11 finish. Even though Hamilton ended up winning the race, it was a disappointing outing for the Mercedes team.

(Max Verstappen during the British Grand Prix
Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

With Hamilton well clear, Max Verstappen went into the pit for a fresh set of tyres to try and get an extra championship point for the fastest lap. But that pit stop cost the Dutchman victory after Hamilton’s front left shredded in the final lap. Verstappen swallowed most of the 25-second gap but ran out of time to finish runner-up.

(Charles Leclerc Celebrating after securing P3
Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Ferrari, on the other hand, will be happy with Charles Leclerc finishing on the podium for the second time this season. Leclerc finished the race at P3. Sebastian Vettel who struggled throughout also managed to squeeze in a point with a P10 finish. Both the Ferrari’s benefited mainly because of Bottas’ puncture.

(Carlos Sainz with is front tyre punctured
Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Mclaren’s Carlos Sainz who looked on course to finish fourth also encountered a puncture on the final lap and fell to 13th. The sister Mclaren of Lando Norris on his home turf was impressive once more to seal P5.

(Renault's Daniel Ricciardo and Estenabn Ocon
Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Daniel Ricciardo of Renault took P4 after tyre issue of the Mclaren allowed him to overtake Sainz. Ricciardo’s teammate Esteban Ocon had good duel against his former Racing Point partner Lance Stroll but came up trumps finishing sixth. Stroll was not up to the mark in the Pink Mercedes (RP20) to grab a ninth place. 

(Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon during the British Grand Prix) 
Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Pierre Gasly enjoyed a brilliant race to end seventh for AlphaTauri. His friend Alex Albon of the Red Bull recovered remarkably to seal the eighth spot, after a first lap incident with Kevin Magnussen which made him fall to last. Another British driver George Russell started last in the grid to conclude at P12 for Williams. Antonio Giovinazzi, Nicholas Latifi and Kimi Raikkonen finished P14, P15 and P17. Haas’ Romain Grosjean received a Black and White flag for an unsportsmanlike move on Sainz, eventually slipping to P16. 

(Racing Point's replacement driver Nico Hulkenberg
Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Amongst all this drama, there was no fairy tale return for Nico Hulkenberg, who was left disappointed when he was unable to take the start due to a technical issue discovered on the RP20 that he had taken over from Sergio Perez on Friday. 

(Daniil Kvyat's crash during the British Grand Prix
Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

We also had two retirements in the race due to car crashes. First to go was Kevin Magnussen who crashed into the Red Bull of Alex Albon in the first lap. The second was Daniil Kvyat who had a scary moment when he spun wildly into the barriers, ripping the left-rear corner off his AlphaTauri. 

Next weekend, the F1 season continues with another race at Silverstone, the 70th Anniversary GP.
Location: Alibag, Maharashtra, India

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