The highlights of the British Grand Prix

Listed on the Formula 1 calendar since 1950, the year of the sport’s creation, the British Grand Prix has seen 73 editions. We look back at three memorable editions from the hybrid era.

2021, the most controversial

The year 2021 as a whole was controversial due to the intense and regular battles between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

During this British Grand Prix, tension reached an incredible first peak. It is the major event from which the numerous incidents at the end of the season unfolded, leading to the dubious finale in Abu Dhabi.

For this race weekend, F1 is bringing something new by testing a new qualifying format: the sprint qualifying. A 100km race that determines the starting order for Sunday’s traditional race. This means that the first battle takes place on Saturday afternoon, and it’s Max Verstappen who comes out on top, overtaking Lewis Hamilton with a superb maneuver during the race.

On Sunday, tension is at its peak. Max Verstappen has the opportunity to extend his lead in the championship, while Lewis Hamilton, greatly pushed by his crowd, wants to close the gap that is already over a race’s worth.

This is how we experienced one of the most fiercely contested beginnings of a race in many years. The battle between the two protagonists is titanic, and Max Verstappen is doing everything he can to resist the repeated attacks from his rival. It’s intense, spectacular at every turn, but at Copse, which is a very fast corner, there’s a collision. Lewis Hamilton on the inside sends the Dutch driver into the gravel trap. The latter collided with the tire wall from the rear laterally at over 51Gs. Even though he managed to get out of his survival cell, he needs to undergo examinations.

Finally, with three laps to go, Lewis Hamilton manages to regain the lead from Charles Leclerc. The Englishman had been penalized with a 10-second penalty during the race, as he was deemed responsible for the accident.

2020, a story of tires

We are in the midst of the Covid year, so the start of the season was delayed until the summer of 2020. That’s how Silverstone hosted two races in 7 days. The British Grand Prix took place at the beginning of August, and while Mercedes is clearly dominating with their car painted in black, it is a racing incident that had already occurred a few years earlier that will create a somewhat artificial and dangerous suspense towards the end of the Grand Prix.

On the 50th lap out of 52, Valtteri Bottas experienced a front left tire blowout at the beginning of that lap. Right in front of the pit lane, in fact. He had to cover nearly 6km on three wheels in order to reach the Mercedes pit box and get a tire change.

In the same lap, it’s Carlos Sainz who suffers the same problem. This prompts Max Verstappen, who is in second place, to decide to make a pit stop for fresh tires. He has enough time to come out in second place again, so it’s a free stop for him, and this strategy would also allow him to go for the fastest lap point in the race.

But in the final lap of his home race, it is Lewis Hamilton’s turn to suffer a puncture on his left front tire. The six-time world champion must manage the remainder of the lap on three wheels, while also controlling his lead over Max Verstappen. He manages to do so brilliantly, but not without the fear of the driver with number 33 catching up to him. Does the latter regret changing tires in the 51st lap?

2018, one of only two editions that Lewis Hamilton misses

2018 is the first year since 2014 and Mercedes’ domination where they are facing real external competition. Ferrari has returned to a good level and Sebastian Vettel feels like he’s gaining wings again, just like in the good old Red Bull days.

The free practice sessions are quite close, one moment in favor of the German driver, one moment in favor of the English driver Lewis Hamilton.

But it is indeed the latter who manages to secure the pole position at home, by only 44 milliseconds!

In the race, an excellent start allows Vettel to overtake Hamilton, who completely messes up by making his Mercedes spin. The reigning world champion is also overtaken by his teammate Bottas, but most importantly, he gets torpedoed by Kimi Räikkönen’s Ferrari, sending him into a spin. The latter is given a 10-second penalty during the race.

These two cars being head and shoulders above the rest, Sebastian Vettel emerged as the winner, but only just, with a fierce Lewis Hamilton hot on his heels, finishing just 2 seconds behind the German. Räikkönen secured the final spot on the podium despite his penalty.

A team effort at Ferrari? Definitely not studied in terms of strategy, but it allowed Sebastian Vettel to consolidate his first place in the world championship with an 8-point lead over Hamilton.

Sebastian Vettel, happy with his victory on English soil, explains his joy during his victory lap: “Ahahah, we won on their turf”.

He may have spoken a little too quickly given the blunder he made at his home a few weeks later in Hockenheim, handing the victory and likely the title to his rival…