British GP: Lewis Hamilton wins dramatic home race after big Max Verstappen crash as title lead is cut
Lewis Hamilton took an extraordinary eighth British GP victory after overtaking long-time leader Charles Leclerc late on, as the Silverstone home favourite recovered from a time penalty for a huge first-lap crash with title rival Max Verstappen on a dramatic afternoon.
Hamilton was found at fault for a high-speed collision with Verstappen into the Copse corner, which both ignited an F1 rivalry that has been intense all season and ended the Red Bull driver’s race on Lap 1.
- Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton crash: The full details
Verstappen has been taken to hospital for further precautionary checks after the crash, which saw him shunted into the barriers at around 180mph after Hamilton attempted a move up the inside in his Mercedes.
Hamilton was on the comeback charge after the post red-flag race restart, and he fought back from a 10-second time penalty from stewards to charge up behind Leclerc, who was outstanding in leading nearly all the race for Ferrari.
The seven-time world champion then passed Leclerc – at the same Copse corner where he and Verstappen collided – on Lap 50 of 52, sending a capacity 140,000 Silverstone crowd into raptures.
Maximising on Verstappen’s point-less return, Hamilton has cut the Dutchman’s championship lead from 33 to just eight points.
Mercedes, meanwhile, who had Valtteri Bottas complete the podium, are now only four points behind Red Bull as the championship leaders finished the race with zero points, with Sergio Perez way down in 16th.
Red Bull angrily contested the degree of Hamilton’s penalty – which was the second mildest time penalty stewards could have inflicted – and insisted his move was “desperate” and “totally unnecessary”.
British GP race result
1) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
3) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
4) Lando Norris, McLaren
5) Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren
6) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
7) Fernando Alonso, Alpine
8) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
9) Esteban Ocon, Alpine
10) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
More to follow…
Source: Read Full Article