And McLaren finally remembered it's an F1 team.
Max Verstappen claimed yet another win at the British Grand Prix this weekend, but it's one of the least interesting things that happened at Silverstone.
The big surprise, or rather not so much after his performance at the Austrian Grand Prix, was Lando Norris claiming second place. The updated McLaren MCL60 is an absolute rocket, blasting Norris to second and Piastri to fourth. The battle for second, third, and fourth in the Constructors' Championship is ramping up. Norris and McLaren have much catching up to do, but there are 12 races left in the 2023 season.
Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz are wildly inconsistent, while Aston Martin is still in contention thanks to a great start to the season. We hope the green team has some upgrades up its sleeve because the car is starting to slip back a bit.
The good news is that McLaren is not done with updates yet, with another “25%” improvement package to come later in the season. At Silverstone, McLaren was in contention the whole time and nearly beat Max Verstappen to pole in qualifying with Norris behind the wheel.
The Top 10
Norris captured the lead at the start before dropping back to his starting position of 2nd and holding it until the end. Piastri started 3rd and pitted right before the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series safety car was deployed, which cost the rookie driver his first F1 podium, letting Sir Lewis Hamilton slip through to clinch 3rd.
Russell finished behind him, with Sergio Perez finishing in 6th after starting in 15th, followed by Alonso in 7th. Alex Albon dragged his Williams to 8th, beating Leclerc and Sainz in 9th and 10th. It wasn't a fluke, however. Logan Sargeant put his Williams in 11th place.
There are no significant changes to the 2023 driver standings apart from Lando Norris sneaking into the top 10. He's currently 9th with 42 points, two behind Lance Stroll. Sergio Perez remains firmly in 2nd place with 156 points, 16 ahead of Alonso in 3rd. Hamilton is 4th with 121 points, with Sainz down in 5th on only 83.
Max Verstappen is so far ahead he can win the Championship by finishing every remaining race in 2nd, with enough points to lead the Constructors' Championship on his own. Red Bull has more than double the points of its closest rival, Mercedes.
Race Highlights
Silverstone had it all. Norris humbled Max Verstappen at the start of the race, but Hamilton went a bit too hard into the first corner and went off track before a great recovery. Norris held Verstappen back for five glorious laps until he did his normal SuperMax thing and opened up a nine-second lead.
Kevin Magnussen's Haas blew up spectacularly on Lap 33, giving most of the field a free tire change. Most of the teams went for the soft compound, but McLaren put Norris on the hard compound. At the race restart, Norris showed his racecraft and McLaren's newfound pace by holding off Hamilton on the softer compound before Hamilton cooked his tires and backed off.
Another highlight was Alex Albon whooping both Ferraris. Albon is ready to jump to a top-tier team, which wouldn't be the first time. He used to be Max Verstappen's teammate, but RBR let him go because he just didn't have the fire. He has it now and needs a better seat.
Movie Stars On Track
Silverstone is always packed with celebrities, and this year was even worse as the unnamed Brad Pitt project finally made its debut on track. If you're wondering why you didn't see them, it's because the production asked the cameras not to film the cars. The media were also asked not to take pictures of the car, though a few leaked over the weekend. At least Brad Pitt gave more insight into the project, stating that the fictional APEXGP team is actually a sucky team.
Cara Delevingne received a lot of bad publicity after refusing to speak to the legendary Martin Brundle, leading to former F1 driver Karun Chandhok calling for celebrity passes to be removed from people who don't care about the sport. We couldn't agree more. While we get while celebrities are on the grid, eject the idiots who are only there for the party and replace them with fans who would get so much more out of the experience.
The bad press Delevingne received spilled over to Florence Pugh, who waved the chequered flag, leading to hate for the latter actress on social media despite her being more than qualified for the privilege.
Pugh is a big fan of racing but did not attend to simply wave the flag. She signed up as the ambassador for Race Against Dementia, a foundation started by Sir Jackie Stewart three years ago. F1 has signed on as a backer, and Stewart chose Pugh as the face of the charity that funds research to prevent and cure dementia. Also, Pugh is one of us (a gearhead); unlike most celebrities who roll electric, Pugh gets around in an Aston Martin Vantage during the week and owns an Audi R8 for the weekends.
All this got lost in translation after the Delevingne incident and Damian Lewis butchering the British national anthem.
Actress Florence Pugh, a new ambassador for @racingdementia, meets the legendary Sir Jackie Stewart at Silverstone
F1 announced a partnership with Race Against Dementia earlier this year, a charity that funds research into the prevention and cure of dementia#BritishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/iayJ32oRE0
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 9, 2023
Keyword: Verstappen Equals Record Hamilton Couldn't At 2023 Silverstone F1 GP