This was the 2019 British Grand Prix!
What a thrilling British Grand Prix! Epic racing all over the grid with Lewis Hamilton wining for the sixth time on home soil.
Weekend attendance: 351,000 people
Race day attendance: 140,000 people
FP1:
Things started as expected with both Mercedes drivers setting fastest times, with Valtteri Bottas ahead of Lewis Hamilton when it started raining with just over 23 minutes to the end of the practice session. After a very fast shower, lasting just under 10 minutes, track action started again. At the end, it was Piere Gasly who set the fastest lap, ahead of Bottas, and Verstappen.
FP2:
Trouble at Williams as George Russell's FW43 had gearbox issues, and Bottas' Mercedes had a faulty spark plug, it took around 15 minutes to change, meanwhile, and with around 15 minutes to go, Ricciardo grinds to a halt temporarily bringing out the VSC for a few minutes; his session was over.
FP3:
Saturday was a bit colder and grayer then Friday. Williams' George Russell was the only driver on track for the first 10 minutes of the session. With forty-five minutes left, Leclerc and Ricciardo turned to the track on green intermediate tires, did just one lap and no time was set. After a few minutes with no track action, both Mercedes came out, also on intermediates. So did both Williams cars and Vettel. Track dried and cars went faster than at the same session in 2018, at the end it was Charles Leclerc setting the fastest lap, and with teammate Sebastian Vettel, the only drivers under the 1:26 minute lap.
Qualifying:
Q1:
Track was fast and saw Lewis Hamilton setting a blistering 1:25.513 lap, a new track record at the time. Out were Magnussen, Kvyat, Stroll, Russell, and Kubica.
Q2:
Drivers came out early as dark clouds loomed up above. Leclerc setting the fastest lap, a 1:25.546, followed by Bottas, Hamilton, and Verstappen. Vettel couldn't be better than fifth. Out were Giovinazzi, Raikkonen, Sainz, Grosjean, and Perez.
Q3:
Ten driver fighting for pole position at iconic Silverstone. Somehow track evolution did not improve as much as expected, although Valtteri Bottas did set a new track record with his 1:25.093, 0.006 faster than teammate Lewis Hamilton in second. Charles Leclerc was third, just 0.079 behind Bottas. Then came Verstappen, Gasly, Vettel, Ricciardo, Norris, Albon, and Hulkenberg.
British Grand Prix:
The race started with Vettel passing Gasly for fifth and the two Haas touching each other, both entered the pits to change tires, a lap later Magnussen retired. By lap 12, Gasly passed Vettel for fifth, but pitted a lap later, coming out on the harder compound tires (whites). On lap 14, both Leclerc, then third and Verstappen from fourth came into the pits, both put medium tires (yellow). Red Bull mechanics did a blistering 1.96 second pitstop on Verstappen’s RB15, and he passed Leclerc in the pit’s exit, but Leclerc reclaimed third place a few corners after. Fantastic racing between the young guns!
On lap 20, Antonio Giovinazzi went off the track bringing in a safety car. Hamilton pitted for whites and so did Vettel. Then came in Verstappen for whites also.
The order after 21 laps was Hamilton, Bottas, Vettel. Leclerc pitted but a bit late and lost places to Gasly and Verstappen. And after a few minutes of solace with the safety car, the thrilling race came back. Great racing, but on lap 28, Verstappen passed Gasly (under team orders), calming things down. Meanwhile, Hamilton did lap record after lap record to keep Bottas behind. On lap 36, Charles Leclerc passed Gasly who tried to comeback but could not. Epic driving! On lap 38, Verstappen passed Vettel, but trying to retake the place Vettel misjudge the braking and touched Verstappen taking both cars off the track. Both recovered albeit with heavy damage on both cars. Vettel came into the pits to change the front wing and tires but came out last on track. Amazingly, Verstappen's car did not suffered any damage. Vettel was given a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision. On lap 46, Bottas pitted for reds, maintaining his second place. At the end, it was Lewis Hamilton wining his sixth British Grand Prix and did it with the fastest lap of the race, a record 1:27.369. Teammate Bottas finished second and Charles Leclerc completed the podium.
