Right, so, a great afternoon for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. There is just a one-point gap between Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel at the top of the championship A tough one to take for Ferrari. “I think it could have been a little bit better but I don’t think it was a disaster,”Vettel says. Mercedes’ Toto Wolff can surely be forgiven for basking in Ferrari’s misfortune. “You need to find a good comprise between pushing performance but not going too far,” he says.
Wolff also has a final word on Hamilton, criticised for not turning up at the F1 event in midweek. “I cannot comprehend why you need to destroy the hero with nonsense, which is not even true,” he adds. “Some media have been hitting out on him and this is the consequence – he just comes out stronger.”
And lastly a positive update on Martin Brundle. Sky say he’s “on the mend” and “back up on his feet” after being taken ill just before the start of the race.
Thanks for your company. Bye!
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Raikkonen is interviewed by Jenson Button as Lewis Hamilton whacks out his mobile phone and duly takes selfie, and a video or two with the home crowd. “I am not happy but [third] is better than nothing,” Raikkonen says.
As for Hamilton. “I’m going over there to crowdsurf once I’m changed,” he warns a section of mad British fans.
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Up on the podium, the Mercedes drivers are having fun. “It feels amazing to be up here, I am so proud to see all these great flags everywhere,” Hamilton says. “Thank you so much for all the great support. It’s a perfect weekend for us.”
“Are you going to win the championship?” asks the actor Owen Wilson. “That’s the plan, that’s the plan,” he says, beaming.
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Karen Bradley, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport gives Hamilton his gold trophy. Raikkonen, meanwhile, still looks nonplussed, and deflated on the podium. He takes a big swig from the champagne bottle before standing, unmoved on the podium. Hamilton and Bottas, though, are having a great time.
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Huge cheers for Hamilton as he heads out onto the podium. He’s ecstatic. And here comes the national anthem.
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Hamilton asks Raikkonen about why he had to pit, and the Finn does not give him a lot back. He’s not best pleased. He’s slumped on the sofa, while Bottas and Hamilton exchange compliments. Lewis is playing with his hair, readying himself for the podium.
Kimi = 😞#BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/SfunW1tXWf
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 16, 2017
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Race classification!
1 Hamilton
2 Bottas
3 Raikkonen
4 Verstappen
5 Ricciardo
6 Hulkenberg
7 Vettel
8 Ocon
9 Perez
10 Massa
Supporters sing Hamilton’s name as he jumps into his team, high-fiving and hugging Valtteri Bottas and his race engineer along the way.
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Hamilton celebrates in the only way he knows how, by driving over onto the grass and close to the barriers, fist pumping as he goes, celebrating with the home crowd. They are absolutely loving this. “What can I say about these fans?” he says. “Thank you to everybody that turned up.”
The Silverstone crowd are whooping and celebrating as Vettel limps home. Max Verstappen finishes fourth, but he also had to pit towards the end, possibly also a puncture?
A fourth consectuive British GP win for Hamilton. “Fantastic job, guys,” he says down the team radio. “Fantastic job, great drive by Valtteri. I’m so happy for everyone – thank you.”
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Lewis Hamilton wins British Grand Prix!
Hamilton takes his fifth British GP! The perfect afternoon for Mercedes, with Bottas finishing in second.
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Lap 51/51: Vettel’s tyre is unravelling at an alarming rate. His car needs attention. Hamilton, meanwhile, is whizzing around for his final lap ... !
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Lap 50/51: What is happening? There are sparks, and now Vettel has a puncture, with Raikkonen actually bypassing his team-mate. His front left tyre has popped, and his Championship lead is going pear shaped here.
Lap 50/51: Raikkonen limps into the pits. Terrible news for Ferrari but pretty good for Mercedes, who look set for a one-two at Silverstone ...
Lap 49/51: “We have a problem, Nico, we have a problem,” Renault tell Hulkenberg re D rates. Not ideal. He’s told to keep pushing but it feels as though it’s getting away from him a bit. Meanwhile, awful news for Kimi Raikkonen: he is fuming ... the Finn has a puncture, as Bottas zooms in to take second!
Lap 48/51: Red Bull tell Ricciardo that he’s more than capable of catching Hulkenberg in sixth. Now he’s just got to do it? The yellow Renault is getting bigger and bigger in front of him ...
Lap 47/51: Raikkonen fumes down the team radio, with a few expletives. Bottas is closing on him with every corner, as the Mercedes sets another fastest lap. He is making great inroads and this could be a very good afternoon for Mercedes. It’s all hotting up with four laps left to go ...
Lap 46/51: Romain Grosjean is not a happy bunny – again. “It’s so stupid,” he says of Ericsson, who sends him painfully wide. I’m not sure the Sauber had too much room to play with there. Anyway, back out in front, Hamilton is lapping away and in cruise control.
Lap 45/51: Vettel bemoans his blistering tyres, and it’s been a difficult couple of laps for the Ferrari. As for Max Verstappen, he’s told not to give up the fight, like a Bob Marley classic. Can Verstappen seize upon Vettel’s tyre troubles?
Lap 43/51: Bottas comes back for more, for round two, and this time on Chapel he bypasses Sebastian Vettel. He relegates the Ferrari to fourth and that’s great news for the race leader. The home crowd go wild for Bottas. “Great job,” they tell Valtteri down the team radio. “Minimal talking,” he replies. Brilliant. He’s in the zone now. Can Bottas get to grips with Kimi Raikkonen?
Lap 42/51: And right on cue, Verstappen informs his team that he’s in a spot of bother, with his front left causing him difficulty. He has, though, at least got an extra stop in hand over Hulkenberg.
But there’s some real drama just in front of the Dutchman, with Bottas fighting Vettel for third place, with the Ferrari fending him off as both cars are forced wide.
Lap 41/51: Further behind, Ricciardo is on the tail of Hulkenberg, who is currently in sixth. Red Bull may finish the weekend a little disappointed but Ricciardo has had quite the afternoon. Max Verstappen, in fifth, is desperate to finish but he could get so much more.
Lap 40/51: Bottas is making nifty ground on Vettel, and Ferrari need to be careful they don’t take their eye off Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate. Elsewhere, Magnussen is a little aggressive on Lance Stroll after pitting. He’s down in 13th for now ...
Lap 39/51: What can Ferrari do here? Raikkonen and Vettel are way off endangering Hamilton here.
Lap 37/51: Hamilton may just have a hiccup. “These tyres are blistered,” he says. They look alright, but nevertheless Toto Wolff is bobbing up and down in the team paddock.
Lap 36/51: And just look at that, he zooms past Magnussen down Copse! He is just gobbling each driver up as he goes. Inside that Red Bull helmet, the Australian must have a big, beaming smile. Out in front, Hamilton still leads comfortably, more than 11secs in front of Raikkonen.
Lap 35/51: Ricciardo is ripping things up here, as he jets into eighth. His one-man band entertainment is worth the entrance fee alone. He is making this look really easy. “Magnussen next, Magnussen next,” they tell Ricciardo down the team radio.
Lap 34/51: “Can he move out of the way,” Verstappen asks of Pascal Wehrlein. Yes, is the answer. Meanwhile, Alonso struts back in the paddock, and that is the fourth time he has to retire this season. Great work again by Ricciardo, though, who storms past Perez and into ninth.
Lap 33/51: Fernando Alonso is forced to retire and that’s a real shame. He’s lost all power.
Lap 32/51: Bottas comes into pit, past the podium, with Raikkonen, Vettel and Verstappen rip-roaring around the track. But he comes out behind not only Raikkonen and Vettel but also behind Kvyat and Wehrlein as he comes out of the pits. It’s not easy, but he’s past the Sauber straight away, with a little help from DRS.
Lap 31/51: Remember Hamilton could be in extraordinary company by this evening. He’s trying to join Jim Clark and Alain Prost by winning his fifth British Grand Prix. He’s certainly well placed to do so. Further down the pack, Magnussen is in eighth, with Ocon in ninth and Perez in 10th.
Lap 30/51: A couple of low-key laps, but it’s all good stuff for Lewis Hamilton. Vettel is still attempting to rattle the cage of Raikkonen in third.
Lap 27/51: Raikkonen is uncomfortable in his Ferrari. He has a little moan down the team radio, and his hopes of toppling Hamilton – who he started alongside on the grid (that feels a long, long time ago) – are rapidly fading. Elsewhere, Ricciardo is up into sixth ahead of Hulkenberg. A super drive so far.
Lap 26/51: Hamilton pits, and it’s quick. He was in and out inside 2.3secs, and he comes roaring out of the pits to remain the race leader. He comes out just in front of Valtteri Bottas, who has been left for dead by Hamilton who has sped off and away. “I’ll pull him along with me,” Hamilton says. This is all too easy for him at the moment.
Lap 24/51: Bottas trumps that Hamilton lap, shaving off milliseconds off his team-mate’s latest effort. Meanwhile, Perez pits, with team-mate Ocon flying off into the next corner as he trudges out.
Lap 23/51: Hamilton sets another fastest lap: clocking a 1.32.190. Elsewhere, we have a couple more movers, with Verstappen bypassing Hulkenberg, so he’s hot on the tail of Vettel. That’s going to be good fun. And crikey, Ricciardo, is up to eighth.
Lap 22/51: Daniel Ricciardo is in ninth (NINTH!). A great race for the Australian – who started 19th – and is just simply eating up drivers as he goes this afternoon. Vandoorne will be his next target ...
Lap 21/51: “What happened there with the stop?” asks Verstappen down the team radio. An issue with the wheel nut, is the response. Esteban Ocon now comes into the pits. He’s in and out, if only the Red Bull could have managed that.
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Lap 20/51: Verstappen comes in to pit as Vettel flies through the chicane. It was a little sluggish, though, down in the paddock and Vettel is ahead of Verstappen. Lovely stuff. Ferrari will be delighted with that. “This is your chance Valtteri,” Mercedes tell Bottas. It’s all heating up on a muggy day at Silverstone.
Lap 19/51: Vettel comes out of the pits in front of the two Force Indias, Ocon and Perez, and into sixth. Bottas, for now then, is up into fourth with Hulkenberg in fifth. Hamilton’s looking pretty comfortable out in front.
Lap 18/51: Ricciardo tries to seize on Massa going a little wide but the Williams snuffs him out. And into the pits comes Sebastian Vettel, with Ferrari attempting an undercut. Out in front, Hamilton sets another fastest lap.
Lap 17/51: Vettel is 15 seconds behind the race leader. Kvyat, the back marker, meanwhile, is fuming down the team radio as he bemoans his torrid afternoon. And just look, is that a spot of rain out on track?
Lap 16/51: Hamilton leads from the front with a four-second advantage over Raikkonen. Verstappen, for now at least, is still in third. “Keep squeezing him [Hamilton],” Raikkonen is told down the team radio.
Lap 15/71: Vettel and Ricciardo both ended up off the track for a bit during that, er, interaction. Vettel tries to have another go at him on the outside, and those in the grandstand at Silverstone roar down on them. Just a little bit further behind, Bottas looks like he wants to join the party.
Lap 14/51: And Ricciardo charges past Stroll. The Australian is back on the move. Meanwhile, Vettel and Verstappen are all over each other, and somehow the Dutchman in the Red Bull clings onto third place. “He wants to play bumper cars or something,” Verstappen says of that mega move.
Lap 13/51: Hamilton’s just set another fastest lap of 1.32.895. He’s in control at the moment, with Raikkonen 3.5secs off the Mercedes.
Lap 12/51: Williams’ Paddy Lowe says a top-six finish might be a little bit too ambitious for Felipe Massa who is currently down in 10th. As for Lance Stroll, he’s in 12th, with Daniel Ricciardo breathing down his neck now after diving inside Fernando Alonso. In the paddock, Tim Peake’s looking on with a chirpy-looking Red Bull team.
This guy knows a thing or two about speed
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 16, 2017
Great to see @astro_timpeake at the #BritishGP 🚀🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/MJrU068060
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Lap 11/51: Hamilton is still belting around Silverstone. Elsewhere, Danil Kvyat, has just served a penalty for that earlier collision.
FASTEST LAP (LAP 8/51): @LewisHamilton P1 and 🚀 #BritishGP 🇬🇧 #F1 pic.twitter.com/zQ1OQY0J6u
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 16, 2017
Lap 8/51: Bottas is flying through the grid; he’s up into fifth after soaring past Hulkenberg. The Mercedes now has Sebastian Vettel in front of him in fourth. Meanwhile, Ricciardo is up into 14th after bypassing Wehrlein and Magnussen.
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Lap 7/51: Raikkonen trails Hamilton by 2.08secs. Ricciardo has got ahead of Ericcsson and Kvyat, and now he’s got to do it all again. His next challenge will be getting past Pascal Wehrlein.
Lap 6/51: Daniel Ricciardo had made a blistering start to this one. He’d climbed seven places but he ended up on the gravel as he went to go around one of the Haas’ and he’s the back marker once more. “I think it survived,” Ricciardo says, asked if the car’s OK.
Lap 5/51: Magnussen reports car damage, and Kvyat, unsurprisingly, has half of his floor missing. As the safety car departs, Hamilton speeds off with Raikkonen for company. After him it’s Verstappen, then Vettel, and then Hulkenberg in fifth.
Lap 4/51: The safety car is still out on track, with some debris being shafted away. The marshals are shoving all of that carbon away from danger.
Lap 2/51: Kvyat is down into 18th, then, as a result of that incident. Bottas is up into seventh. Hamilton leads Raikkonen out in front as Sainz’s car is lifted and then towed away. He’s all OK, though.
Lap 1/51: Sainz is off at Chapel, as a result of something with Danil Kvyat, so we have a yellow flag. The Toro Rossos don’t call him “the Torpedo” for nothing. Kvyat is blaming his team-mate. The Silverstone crowd are going bonkers for all of this. Anyway, the safety car has been deployed.
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Lights out!
Hamilton leads in to the first corner, with Raikkonen behind him. Sebastian Vettel has some early trouble, with flames coming out the rear of his brake drum, and Max Verstappen leaps into third.
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So, we have an extra formation lap with Palmer’s car in a tricky position. Once that’s sorted, we will now have a 51-lap race.
Silverstone is dry for now, although it seems a certainty we will have a few drops of rain at some point during the race. Jolyon Palmer, at his home GP, says he has a hydraulic problem and he duly pulls over to allow other cars to pass on the formation lap. A real shame for the Renault, who is stationary out on track.
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Minutes to go before #BritishGP and @LewisHamilton on pole as his @MercedesAMGF1 takes last minute prep. #F1 pic.twitter.com/aEC29Pnilw
— Giles Richards (@Giles_Richards) July 16, 2017
The grid!
1 Hamilton 2 Raikkonen
3 Vettel 4 Verstappen
5 Hulkenberg 6 Perez
7 Ocon 8 Vandoorne
9 Grosjean 10 Palmer
11 Kvyat 12 Alonso
13 Sainz 14 Massa
15 Stroll 16 Magnussen
17 Wehrlein 18 Ericsson
19 Ricciardo 20 Alonso
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We have just the national anthem and other formalities (including the Red Arrows) to get out of the way before we get started at Silverstone. As for those in attendance today, there’s a real mixed bag: from Mark Cavendish to George North to Owen Wilson, and Dynamo, the magician. Plus, Frank Bruno and Rupert Grint.
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Some more grid chat. “It will be a long race again, but I really can hope we can repeat what we did in the last race,” Felipe Massa says. Meanwhile, Christian Horner, the Red Bull chief, says he expects a “fascinating race” between Hamilton and Vettel. He adds it’s going to be “juicy”. Lovely stuff.
Mercedes’ chief Toto Wolff speaks. “Mood is good, obviously Lewis has had a bit of rough time this week but he’s in a good space,” he says. “Valtteri [Bottas] knows it’s about damage limitation.”
Martin Brundle’s been “taken ill” at Silverstone, say Sky Sports during their live coverage – including a wonderful montage of grid walks – just a few moments ago. Hopefully he’s alright.
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Away from Mercedes, one driver is hoping just to complete the race after five retirements in the last seven races. Max Verstappen will start from fourth this afternoon but the Red Bull driver is keeping his feet firmly on the track.
“I want to be realistic and not dream so I’m hoping my luck has changed and I can have a good, fun race tomorrow and bring the car home,” he said, ahead of his 50th race start, yesterday. “I am not talking about podiums or winning for now. If something happens to the cars in front then we can challenge for a better result.”
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Hamilton’s been speaking and answering a couple of fans’ questions.
How do you get so fast? “A lot of practice, a lot practice. I have just always wanted to go faster. This year we are working more as a unit than ever and the workmanship has been better than it’s ever been.”
Why did you not turn up in London on Wednesday? “It means a lot what he said, I respect his opinion, everybody has the right to their opinion but ultimately I had to get myself ready for the British Grand Prix.
“It requires perfection every single weekend, more so than any other season in my whole career. You could say it was a missed opportunity but I don’t feel like [missing] one day is going to dictate the rest of my life.”
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Preamble
Refreshed from a two-day jolly in Mykonos, Lewis Hamilton got straight back into things to land pole in front of a home crowd at Silverstone on Saturday. It was not any old pole, though – a fifth here and the 67th time he’s been in driving seat in his career. In layman’s terms, he is just one short of Michael Schumachers’s total. After soaking up the sun in Greece, Hamilton – who grew up in Stevenage but moved to Monaco and now calls a ranch in Colorado home – reverted to type in Northamptonshire. He did, at least, escape the Kaiser Chiefs’ performance in Trafalgar Square on Wednesday. Just as well, then, he said he “grew up in wet and chilly conditions” after celebrating pole.
Kimi Raikkonen will start alongside Hamilton on the grid while Sebastian Vettel begins from third. Hamilton’s Mercedes’ team-mate Valtteri Bottas will start from ninth. “I obviously have nothing to lose so we try to make a good race for the team and catch up on the podium,” Raikkonen said. As for those weather conditions, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso is predicting they will be “chaotic” today. The Spaniard is hoping it may work in his favour. “Hopefully it’ll stay like this tomorrow, weather-wise. I think we saw today with mixed conditions we can be fast, we can take extra risks because we are not in the points at the start, so let see.”
Lights out: 1pm BST
Ben will be here soon enough. Until then, read Richard Williams on Silverstone’s rich history:
A lot of tears will be shed this weekend over the potential demise of Silverstone as a grand prix venue in two years’ time, but they will not be universal. To some, the old second world war bomber base has outlived its era, ruined not so much by outdated facilities as by cack-handed attempts at modernisation. A glass pyramid might not have spoiled the Louvre courtyard, but the addition of the monstrous pits and hospitality complex called The Wing six years ago symbolises Silverstone’s failure to integrate past, present and future.
