The very beginning took place in a combat atmosphere but fair, and none of the drivers suffered in the first corners. Lewis Hamilton moved a little weaker, but reaching the first turn was short enough not to have a chance for Bottas in the attack. Verstappen made a good move but had to defend himself against Leclerc through confusion.
While the start was clean, after one lap we announced a tie due to the accident between Magnussen and Albon. The Red Bull driver pressed Denmark on the inside, but left no inch of space, hitting Albon and flying to the bulkheads. Red Bull himself withstood the shock and persisted.
Behind the lead, the start has changed a bit. Sainz rose to fifth and Ricardo sixth. Instead, Norris fell to seventh and Stroll to eighth. After Albon was deactivated, he fell due to hard tires to try his hand in strategic combat.
Up until lap 13, the track battle was totally lazy and didn’t happen very often until Kwiat’s surprising and strange accident in Becketts’ arcs. The Russian lost control of the car and hit a wall very quickly. The car was almost completely destroyed, but nothing happened to the driver, and with the exception of his nerves, Kuyt was out of trouble.
In the first neutralization cycle, most of the risks were from new solid tires, and the second was for drivers who hadn’t done so before, with the exception of the Grosjean. They all put in solid tires and the only swap was between Ocon and Vettel, and the German jumped one spot.
After the draw, a fierce battle broke out between the players of Ricardo and McLaren. Renault McLaren once attacked, then had to defend itself. After a very nice fight, Ricardo had to give way to Norris, and Stroll stopped the striker at the same time. Another obstacle was Grogan, who had to change tires. After a few laps and a somewhat violent defense of the French, both McLaren dealt with Haas. Shortly thereafter, Ocon recovered from Vettel and put pressure on Stroll.
It wasn’t the race that made us nervous from start to finish. Not much happens in the following laps, except for Grosjean’s pit stop and Gasly’s attack on Vettel. Successful attack, after which the French jumped to tenth.
Horror in the last kilometers
The last episodes were a true horror movie. Bottas’ left front tire failed, which was just a harbinger of more problems with other riders. Finn withdrew from the top ten because he had to change flat tires. At that time, Ricardo dealt with Norris and tried to get Sainz, but the Spaniard also had a breakdown.
If that wasn’t enough, the tires on the last lap also ditched Hamilton. And Verstappen would have used it … if he hadn’t been called out earlier to change tires and try to fight for the fastest lap. The fight was successful, but thanks to this Max did not win the British Grand Prix, finishing less than six seconds behind the British.
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