Hamilton shines at British Grand Prix

A modern classic of motorsports took place over the weekend. Thrilling from lights out to the checkered flag. The British Grand Prix had a little of everything and a whole lot of edge of your seat moments.

Rivalries in full-force

Pole sitter Valteri Bottas got off to a great start, as did his team mate and championship rival Lewis Hamilton. The opening few laps were a racing fans dream as the two Silver Arrows went at it. Both pilots drove their cars to their limits. Always pushing. Several times the pair where side by side, wheel to wheel. Hamilton edged passed Bottas only to have the lead usurped again. Eventually Hamilton would take lead of the race and maintain it to the finish line, but the battle that took place was a glorious bit of driving.

That wasn’t the sole battle waged on the  tarmac as Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen resumed their rivalry. What is hopefully a prelude to future years, this duo went at each other with full force. Verstappen puts the bull in Red Bull as he charges around the track. However there are a lot of similarities in Leclerc’s driving. These two young men were born to rival one another, and their battles will do well for the sport going forward.

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Leclerc said post-race that he was aggressive for the British Grand Prix and that it was the most fun he has had during his time in the series. Hopefully that means we will see a much meaner Leclerc and more battles with Verstappen.

One on track battle won’t be highly regarded though, especially not by the Haas team. On the opening lap, team mates Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen collided. The shunt caused rear punctures to both cars and the eventual retirement of both vehicles. On a weekend where Haas almost lost its main sponsor, surely sparks must have flown around the Haas garage.

Vettel continues to struggle

It was another rough weekend for Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. The four-time world champion struggled in qualifying and was almost shut out of the final session. Mustering only a measly third row starting point. His race day wasn’t much better.  After being caught and surgically passed by Verstappen, the German attempted an ill-timed maneuver to retake his lost position and instead buried his front wing into the rear of the Red Bull. The bump sent Verstappen airborne. Somehow both cars were able to continue.

Vettel was served a ten second penalty and would end up finishing dead last. However the crash would cost Verstappen a podium spot on a day where he had more than deserved the accolade. To his credit, Vettel was seen apologizing to Verstappen at the conclusion of the course. Kind words won’t return the deserved position to Verstappen though.

Hamilton’s victory, his sixth on his home circuit, makes him the most victorious at Silverstone. It also increases his lead over  Bottas and yet another one-two Mercedes finish puts the team a country mile ahead in the constructors championship.