British Grand Prix – Race

I was busy shooting the Honda Indy Toronto all weekend, so I’m just catching up with Formula One now…

Rain made for some interesting Qualifying strategies; the provisional grid: MW, SV, FA, FM, JB, PD, PM, KK, NR, LH, AS, SP, MS, VP, RB, NH, HK, JA, SB, TG, JT, JD, VL, DR.

Race day weather: air 20°C; track 22°C; 61% humidity; it’s overcast but not raining (yet?)

BBC report that the track is wet on the far side of the circuit; expect everyone to start on intermediate tyres

MW leads everyone away on the formation lap
They’re clearly throwing up some spray but it will probably only be a handful of laps before they need to swap to dry tyres

01/52: SV gets a better start
FA all over the rear of MW
Lots of spray on the back of the circuit
JB P4
LH eases past PD

02: SV, MW, FA, JB, FM, LH
FM takes P4 from JB
LH squeezes past JB too
PD closing on JB!

03: SV, MW, FA, FM, LH, JB, PD, KK, MS, PM
HK in the garage – gearbox problems
DRS is still disabled because everyone’s on wet tyres

04: Pit-car from LH telling him he’s doing a great job 🙂
LH runs wide in Brooklands – locked up his front left – rejoins still just ahead of JB

05/52: Pit-car for MS saying dry tyres soon; MS says wait for 3 or 4 laps
Race control has enabled DRS now

06: SB takes P15 from VP
JA passes VP too

07: SP attacking NR for P11

08: BBC interview HK – confirms a gearbox problem
HK says he liked the weather conditions

09: McLaren preparing to put JB on dry tyres
Pit-car asking LH how soon to change to dry tyres
KK spins the Sauber in Brooklands – lost 2 places
FA right on the tail of MW
LH pressuring FM for P4

10/52: SV, MW, FA, FM, LH, JB, PD, AS, KK, MS
MS is the first to pit – new nose cone – did he hit KK?
Replay shows MS try to down the inside of KK and collected the Sauber

11: LH harrying FM
Incident involving 7 & 16 (MS & KK) under investigation

12: LH passes FM but outbrakes himself and FM re-takes the position
JB pits

13: MW and FA pit
LH pits too – Ferrari have to hold FA for a split second as LH passes their box
KK releases – avoids contact but collects Force India air guns!

14: SV pits from P1
FM pits too
Incident involving car 16 (KK) under investigation – unsafe release
10sec stop-go penalty for car 7 for causing collision
JB makes a move on FM – FM pushes JB off track but JB hangs on and makes the move stick

15/52: SV, MW, FA, LH, JB, FM, PD, AS, MS, NR
LH makes a very brave move on FA – his slick tyres kicking up spray as he enters Copse!
LH takes P3

16: SV and MW having to pick up their pace as the McLarens close in

17: MS serves his stop/go penalty

19: JA almost touching the gearbox of VP

20/52: SV, MW, LH, FA, JB, FM, PD, AS, NR, SP

23: MS reproduces LH’s move and takes P14 from VP
Pit-car asking MW if he needs more front wing; “a little”

24: FA has closed up on LH and is challenging him for P3
FA uses KERS and DRS to pass LH; the McLaren can’t fight back

25/52: SV, MW, FA, LH, JB, FM, PD, AS, NR, SP
LH pits from P4; another set of used soft tyres
KK pulls off track – his engine’s smoking

26: Confusion in the Force India pits – they had the wrong tyres – very long stop for PD
Now AS pits – should he have stopped before PD?

27: MW pits from P2
JB and FM pit too
SB and PD make contact; breaks PD’s front wing; shreds

28: SV pits – problem with left rear – slow stop
FA pits too – FA exits the pits ahead of SV

30/52: FA, LH, SV, MW, JB, FM, NR, SP, NH, JA; retirements: SB, KK, JT, HK

32: SV set to use his DRS but LH can use his too as he was about to lap PD

33: BBC suggest the teams don’t have to use both tyre compounds because they started on inters, but it wasn’t declared a wet race so I’m not sure about that
SV looks at making a move – LH changes his line – was that more than one change?
MW runs wide but gets the Red Bull back on track

34: SV dancing around behind LH, trying to distract him

35/52: FA, LH, SV, MW, JB, FM, NR, SP, AS, VP
Is SV trying to cool his slick tyres?

36: SV right on the gearbox of LH’s McLaren

37: SV pits – trying to find some clear air – rejoins in P6

38: LH pits – rejoins a long way behind SV

40: JB pits – front right wheel’s not secured! JB exits pit lane, realises it’s loose and parks off track 🙁
Replay shows the lollipop was raised even though the front right jack man was changing guns

41: FA, SV, LH, MW, FM, NR, SP, NH

42: FM pits
Pit-car for LH tells him he needs to conserve more fuel

43: MW closing on LH
Pit-car relaying LH’s message to MW
LH locks up but makes the corner

44: MW now 1.5sec behind LH and closing in

45/52: FA, SV, LH, MW, FM, NR, SP, NH
Pit-car for MW suggesting caution as LH “could be bluffing”!?

46: LH trying to make his car as wide as possible
MW sails past to take P3
LH cuts back a bit close to MW but no contact

47: Pit-car for FM relaying (and embellishing?) the news of LH’s fuel conservation

48: Pit-car from NR sounds flustered, asking about the age of the tyres of the car behind him (SP)

49: FM closing on LH at 2.5sec/lap – he should catch the McLaren before the end
LH demanding more information from his team – can he defend against FM without running out of fuel?

50/52: FA, SV, MW, LH, FM, NR, SP, NH, MS, JA; retirements: JB, SB, KK, JT, HK

51: MW closing on SV – makes a move on his teammate but has to back out

52 [final lap]: FA right on the tail of LH
Pit-car for MW – team orders instruct him to “maintain the gap”
FM attacking LH – FM past LH – contact – LH fights back – FM runs wide – LH crosses the line ahead of the Ferrari … but there’s bound to be a stewards’ investigation

Provisional result: FA, SV, MW, LH, FM, NR, SP, NH, MS, JA, AS, VP, RB, PM, PD, TG, JD, VL, DC; retirements: JB, SB, KK, JT, HK

BBC report:

Asked whether he thought he may have to visit the stewards following the incident, Hamilton joked: “I’ve got a platinum card for the stewards so I expect to be there.

Post-race updates:

The McLaren and Sauber teams have both been fined for unsafe pit-stop releases during Sunday’s race at Silverstone.

McLaren were fined €5,000 after a communication error led to Jenson Button leaving his box with no nut on his front-right wheel. The British driver was forced to pull over and retire at the end of the pit lane as a result.

Sauber were given a €20,000 fine after releasing Kamui Kobayashi into the path of a Williams. Stewards also handed Kobayashi a 10-second stop-go penalty during the race for the incident. He later retired with technical issues.

[source: FIA]

No other penalties were applied, so the final points positions were: FA, SV, MW, LH, FM, NR, SP, NH, MS, JA.