I was going into the weekend of my home race, the British Grand Prix, with mixed feelings. With grandstands at full capacity at a circuit I know well, things seemed normal and well... like business as usual for F1. However, with the debut of F1 Sprint and Channel 4 having the rights to live broadcast, I was looking forward to something fresh.
FP1 itself was nothing special. Although there were signs of a competitive Ferrari and McLaren in Leclerc and Norris respectively, nothing got me on the edge of my seat. Yet, the mix-up of having an earlier parc fermé after only an hour of practice was certainly interesting.
Going into Friday's qualifying, as expected, Mercedes were looking the strongest with Red Bull gaining momentum closely behind. Q1 was a brilliant show, with Verstappen topping the timing sheets even with some time-costing mistakes. Along with this was an array of mistakes at Club corner. My favourite moments however were most certainly see Ocon reach some kind of redemption and Russell put in a steaming lap. On the other hand, I was less than impressed with Tsunoda's performance in the Alpha Tauri. Q2 was tight. For the British audiences especially. To see Norris make Q3 in P10 was nerve-wracking stuff. But Russell for the second time this season in consecutive races made Q3 in a Williams, really showing off his skill as a driver. Q3 was a less exciting affair, with Hamilton and Verstappen taking the front row predictably.
I was initially not a supporter of the sprint qualifying format, under the impression that it would make little difference to Sunday's standings. However, I absolutely LOVED watching it. It started with drama: Verstappen's front left brake disc was on FIRE and he shot off superbly to steal P1 from Hamilton. The contact between the two Haas cars and the incident between Russell and Sainz was great to watch. I really enjoyed seeing all the cars race at full pelt without any tyre politics or intricate strategy for half an hour. Needless to say, I reckon a few of the drivers found it refreshing too - Alonso especially. The Perez spin only added to the drama, giving him some damage that would resort him to the pit lane the next day. However, having Sainz and Russell under investigation soon put a slight damper on my mood. What was clearly a racing incident resulted in a 3-place grid penalty for Russell in yet another harsh decision by the Stewards.
It was on Sunday however, where the definition and limits of 'racing incidents' were truly tested. The political and heated rivalry between Red Bull and Mercedes finally exploded in lap 1 of the Grand Prix with an edgy move from Hamilton causing racing to turn into disaster for Verstappen. I was very happy to see 33 walk away from the crash after such a nasty shunt. However, I was not happy to see the way in which the team principals react. Both Horner and Woolf were relentlessly playing the blame game while everyone sat under red flag, waiting for racing to resume (in some cases sending 'diagrams' to Michael Masi as if he's refreshing his email during a race???). Even Bottas chimed in on team radio, emphasising the Mercedes party line that they were merely racing. This incident seemed to be simply racing, however both parties were punished, perhaps not equally though if that was the route the stewards were going down with the 10 second penalty. Yet, I do not condone the attitudes of either Horner or Verstappen's post-race social media post, as bitter as the blow may sting.
Lap 1 aside, there was even more excitement. Leclerc unpredictably coming out on top and managing to hold his ground for the extent that he did was incredible and refreshing to watch, seeing as his last win was in Monza 2019 - Ferrari were proving themselves as being competitive without any dispute of regulations. McLaren proved to be a formidable force on the field, with Ricciardo placing higher than he ever has with the team. Furthermore, the eventual and brilliant overtake by Hamilton on the very corner he earned his penalty was as cinematic as Mark Webber described - brilliant drives from both the silver arrow and the prancing horse.
All in all, I most certainly enjoyed this weekend, both experience and outcome. Silverstone will never fail to produce a good show, which shows what a track it truly is. However, now we are moving on to Hungary where pit stops will be the talk of the town and the battle for both championships will reach new intensity.
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