It’s the last race before F1 takes a three week break.
ANT is carrying a 3 grid place penalty for causing the lap 1 collision in Austria
Free Practice
- FP1: HAM (1:26.892), NOR, PIA, LEC, RUS
BOR spun in Copse but managed to resume
GAS also spun in Copse and resumed after a 360 - FP2: NOR (1:25.816), LEC, HAM, PIA, VER
SAI spun and almost caught the rear of HAM; apparently it was a gust of wind that caught out the Williams - FP3: LEC (1:25.498), PIA, VER, NOR, TSU
VER and LAW were annoyed at GAS for getting in the way of their run
BOR lost the rear, spun, broke the suspension, bounced through a small gravel trap but stopped just before the tyre wall; red flag
BEA was attacking the pit entry (under the red flag) when he locked up, hit the armco barrier and broke his Haas
VER was just behind BEA and laughed at the novice’s mistake; isn’t that nice?
Post-Practice Penalties
SAI received a warning for “Driving in a manner potentially dangerous to other drivers” in FP2
BEA was given a 10grid spot penalty and 4 penalty points for not following red flag instructions in FP3
Qualifying
Air temperature 19°C; track 25°C; humidity 77% – the wind is gusting, and there’s a threat of rain (FIA says 30%)
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
GAS reports there’s drizzle, and there are rain drops on the camera lens
BOR 1:27.475
HUL has a squirmy exit of Vale
STR 1:27.418
GAS 1:27.117
COL 1:27.060
ALB 1:26.392
VER 1:26.041
PIA 1:26.002
COL spins in the final turn, across the gravel, taps the tyre wall but then he gets himself back onto the track; the Alpine’s rear wing is wobbling badly; he parks off the track but it’s on the outside of a turn
Red flag with 6:49 remaining
COL’s car is removed
Looks like more rain drops on the cameras
Green flag; Q1 resumes
5mins left; bottom 5 are BOR, OCO, HUL, COL, GAS
Radio from HAM reporting that the track is more slippery
HUL P14, relegating TSU to P16
BOR P11, LAW P16
VER 1:25.886
TSU P7, HUL P16
BEA P3, ANT P16
ANT P8, STR P16
HAM (P11) pits, frustrated that he can’t go again because the team only fuelled the car for one flying lap
LEC P8, STR P16
LAW P14, SAI P16
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are SAI, STR, HUL, COL, GAS
SAI P8, BOR P16
GAS P15, LAW P16
Back of the grid: LAW, BOR, STR, HUL, COL
Qualifying session 2
VER 1:25.316
PIA sets exactly the same time as VER
NOR 1:25.231
Both RUS and ALO complain about ANT’s out lap
5mins left; bottom 5 are HAM, ANT, LEC, GAS, TSU
LEC 1:25.133
HAM 1:25.084
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are ALB, HAD, OCO, ANT, GAS
HAD P11
OCO P13
GAS P9, TSU P11
ALB P13
ANT P8, SAI P11
Middle of the grid: SAI, TSU, HAD, ALB, OCO
Top 10 shootout is between HAM, LEC, NOR, VER, PIA, BEA, ALO, ANT, RUS, GAS
Qualifying session 3
BEA 1:25.899
VER 1:25.267
ANT P3
PIA 1:24.995
NOR P2
RUS P4
LEC P4
HAM P2
ALO P7
GAS P10
Order after the first run: PIA, HAM, NOR, VER, LEC, RUS, ALO, BEA, ANT, GAS
3:30 remaining and they start to leave the garages
ANT P6
RUS P2
BEA P8
NOR P2
PIA P1 but doesn’t improve his time
Chequered flag; order is PIA, NOR, RUS, HAM, VER, LEC, ANT, BEA, ALO, GAS
LEC P4
HAM P4
ALO P9
GAS P10
VER 1:24.892
Front of the grid: VER, PIA, NOR, RUS, HAM, LEC, ANT, BEA, ALO, GAS
Provisional grid: VER, PIA, NOR, RUS, HAM, LEC, ANT*, BEA*, ALO, GAS, SAI, TSU, HAD, ALB, OCO, LAW, BOR, STR, HUL, COL
*BEA will drop 10 places for his penalty (to P18), and ANT will drop 3 places (to P10)
Race
There was heavy rain earlier today but it’s eased off and the forecast for the race calls for light showers
Pit lane is open; drivers can make their way to the grid
COL will start from the pit lane as Alpine made changes to the car while under parc ferme conditions
It’s just started raining again, so they’re all on intermediate tyres
Air temperature 18°C; track 24°C; humidity 78%
Radio for OCO telling him they expect heavier rain in about 5mins
The weather radar suggests there’s just one band of rain
It’s good to see the British celebs happy to talk to Martin Brundle – the Americans could learn a thing or two
But I think whoever’s singing the anthem could stop trying to warble like the yanks
Grid: VER, PIA, NOR, RUS, HAM, LEC, ALO, GAS, SAI, ANT, TSU, HAD, ALB, OCO, LAW, BOR, STR, BEA, HUL; COL will start from the pit lane
Race control: the formation lap will be behind the Safety Car ☹️
Berndt Maylander leads everyone (except COL) away on the formation lap
Everyone is on inters of course
VER letting the SC get well ahead and then boots it to catch up
There’s clearly a dry line in many corners
SC into the pit lane; it’ll be a normal standing start
RUS, LEC, BOR, HAD all pit for dry tyres
01/52: VER leads through Turn 1
Yellow flag – LAW has gone off
HAM has a look inside NOR but NOR keeps P3
Looks like COL didn’t leave the pit lane at the start
02: VER, PIA, NOR, HAM, GAS, ALO, SAI, ANT, ALB, TSU, HUL, STR, OCO, RUS, LEC, HAD, BOR, BEA; out: LAW, COL
VSC deployed
Replay shows OCO was sandwiched by TSU and LAW, then OCO and LAW make contact
03[VSC]: ANT pits; hards go on; rejoins P13
ANT slides wide but recovers
Marshals are pushing LAW’s car to a gap in the barriers
04[VSC]: VSC ending
Radio for HAM, “Rain expected in 10 laps”
Yellow flag – BOR has hit the armco but he gets himself out of the gravel and rejoins the track – he’s wrecked his rear wing; bits are flying off so he should park it not try to get to the pits
05/52: VER, PIA, NOR, HAM, GAS, ALO, SAI, ALB, TSU, HUL, STR, OCO, ANT, RUS, LEC, HAD, BEA, BOR
Yellow flag – looks like it’s for BOR’s debris
VER struggling for grip as PIA sits on his tail
ANT is told to switch positions with RUS
06: VSC deployed again; BOR has parked his Sauber just off track
07[VSC]: STR pits; softs go on; rejoins P12
VSC ending
08: PIA is ~0.5sec behind VER so he’ll have DRS this lap
VER defending from the McLaren but runs a fraction wide
PIA takes P1 and they head toward the Norris stand
Radio from RUS reporting it’s raining
09: LEC takes P14 from ANT but ANT fights back and reclaims the place
10/52: PIA, VER, NOR, HAM, GAS, ALO, SAI, ALB, TSU, STR, HUL, OCO, RUS, ANT, LEC, HAD, BEA; out: BOR, LAW, COL
LEC takes P14 again
HUL pits from P11; inters go on; rejoins P15
ANT pits from P15; inters; P17
11: PIA has opened a 4sec lead over VER
Radio from VER saying if it rains he’ll need to box because his inters are bad
And with that, the rain is back
STR, RUS, LEC, HAD and BEA all pit for inters
NOR has caught VER
VER slides wide in Chapel; NOR takes P2
12: PIA, NOR, VER and all the front runners pit for fresh inters
PIA’s front left was slow, so VER comes out ahead
ALB is P2 because he didn’t pit but VER easily passes the Williams
NOR is held up worse than VER
13: Radio for PIA, “Expect the [rain] intensity to increase”
NOR is right on VER’s tail but he won’t have DRS in these conditions
14: Brief yellow flag – LEC ran wide across the grass but recovered
SC deployed – that’ll kill PIA’s 13sec lead
15/52[SC]: PIA, VER, NOR, STR, HUL, GAS, OCO, HAM, RUS, ALO, SAI, ALB, TSU, LEC, ANT, HAD, BEA; out: BOR, LAW, COL
16[SC]: The rain seems to have eased up
17[SC]: VER nearly steams past PIA, doing his usual intimidation tactic
SC in at the end of this lap
18: RUS takes P8 from HAM, but RUS is stuck behind OCO and HAM passes them both for P7
RUS and OCO bang wheels; RUS takes P8
Yellow flag – HAD has gone off in Copse after rear-ending ANT
19: SC deployed
OCO pits; new inters; P16
Replay shows HAD had zero visibility and ran into the back of ANT, then spun into the barriers
20/52[SC]: PIA, VER, NOR, STR, HUL, GAS, HAM, RUS, ALO, SAI, ALB, LEC, TSU, BEA, ANT, OCO; out: HAD, BOR, LAW, COL
Incident involving HAD and ANT will be investigated after the race
Radio from PIA pointing out there’s a puddle in Turn 2
21[SC]: ANT pits; more inters; P16
There’s a lot of damage to the right side of ANT’s floor and diffuser
SC in at the end of this lap
VER spins, recovers in P10
Red Bull will no doubt blame PIA for VER’s mistake
22: ALB past VER for 10 but VER reclaims it
Brief yellow flag as BEA spun and slides across the grass
Incident involving PIA “noted”… under investigation
23: Radio for ANT telling him to pit and retire the Mercedes
HAM closing on GAS
24: RUS is filling HAM’s mirrors
HAM runs wide and RUS steals P6
ANT pits, retires
25/52: PIA, NOR, STR, HUL, GAS, RUS, HAM, ALO, SAI, VER, ALB, LEC, OCO, TSU, BEA
PIA given 10-sec penalty; that’s effectively dropped him to P2
27: HAM takes P6 from RUS
TSU gets 10sec penalty for causing the collision with BEA on lap 22
29: HAM has a look at GAS but the Alpine defends P5
30/52: PIA*, NOR, STR, HUL, GAS, HAM, RUS, ALO, SAI, VER, ALB, LEC, OCO, BEA, TSU*; out: ANT, HAD, BOR, LAW, COL
*PIA and TSU each have 10-sec penalty to be applied
HAM dives past GAS to take P5
31: GAS now has RUS and ALO on his tail
HUL under 1sec behind STR but DRS hasn’t been re-enabled
32: The track is clearly drying; who will be the first to put dry tyres on?
33: Radio from PIA, “still not close to slicks”
GAS moving around, trying to find some water to cool his tyres
34: DRS enabled
HUL uses DRS to take P3 from STR
35/52: PIA*, NOR, HUL, STR, HAM, GAS, RUS, ALO, SAI, VER, ALB, LEC, BEA, OCO, TSU*
HAM takes P4 from STR
VER inside SAI to take P9
36: LEC past ALB for P11
37: RUS has DRS behind GAS
38: HAM now has DRS behind HUL
ALO pits from P8; mediums go on; rejoins P14
39: RUS pits from P7; hards; P13
TSU closes on ALO (struggling with the dry tyres) and blasts past for P13
40/52: PIA*, NOR, HUL, HAM, STR, GAS, VER, LEC, SAI, ALB
RUS spins across the grass, recovers
Clearly it’s a bit early for dry tyres
41: VER harrying GAS and takes P6
42: HAM pits; softs; P4
STR, VER, GAS, SAI, BEA all pit
LEC easily passes teammate HAM for P4
43: HUL pits from P3; front left was slow; mediums; P3
Brief yellow flag
LEC pits; softs; P8
44: PIA pits; serves his 10sec penalty; mediums go on; rejoins P2
Yellow flag – BEA spun
Replay shows BEA was inside teammate OCO when they made contact
45/52: NOR, PIA, HUL, HAM, STR, VER, GAS, ALB, ALO, RUS, BEA, SAI, OCO, LEC, TSU; out: ANT, HAD, BOR, LAW, COL
NOR pits from P1; mediums; rejoins still P1, about 5sec ahead of PIA
LEC slides across the gravel but recovers
ALO takes P8 from ALB
PIA has a twitch, cuts a corner
46: Radio from PIA trying to convince his team to tell NOR to switch places
Radio for NOR telling him of PIA’s off and say “be careful”, but NOR says they need to tell him where
47: HAM setting fastest lap times and catching HUL
48: NOR maintaining his 5sec lead over PIA
HAM ran wide, cut across the grass, recovered
Radio for PIA telling him they won’t impose any team orders
49: BEA now has DRS behind RUS
GAS has DRS behind VER
50/52: NOR, PIA, HUL, HAM, STR, VER, GAS, ALO, ALB, RUS, BEA, SAI, OCO, LEC, TSU
51: NOR’s lead slowly increasing
VER has DRS behind STR and has pulled away from GAS
STR runs wide and VER takes P5
52/52: PIA puts in the fastest lap but he’s still over 6sec behind his teammate
GAS blasts past STR to take P6
NOR takes the chequered flag – his first British GP win
PIA P2
HUL P3 – his first podium after 239 race starts, and he get Driver of the Day by a landslide
Provisional result: NOR, PIA, HUL, HAM, VER, GAS, STR, ALB, ALO, RUS; BEA, SAI, OCO, LEC, TSU
DNF: ANT, HAD, BOR, LAW, COL
But before you move on… breaking news… “Britain’s representative on the FIA Senate has been removed by president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. […] He has been replaced by Azerbaijani Anar Alakbarov – known as a supporter and ally of Ben Sulayem.”
MBS is a sleazebag and has to go for the good of motorsport
When he makes Bernie Ecclestone looks good, you know he’s all kinds of despicable evil.
Post-race Penalties
HAD: causing a collision with ANT – No further action
OCO: causing a collision with BEA – No further action
BEA: causing a collision with OCO – No further action
[2025 calendar and driver line-up]
