Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of a record
sixth British Grand Prix looked to be in tatters after Kimi Raikkonen pitched
him into a spin at the start. The Mercedes driver recovered to second in spectacular
fashion but it was title rival Sebastian Vettel who took the ultimate spoils
with a superbly measured performance.
Mercedes gave themselves a chance
of snatching back the win by leaving Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas out when the
Safety Car was called into action late in the race, while Ferrari and Red Bull
pitted for fresh tyres. And for a few laps, it looked like it may work as
Bottas held off Vettel, with Hamilton to third. But ultimately, Vettel had too
much pace on the softer tyres and after eyeing his prey for a few laps,
brilliantly snatched the lead from Bottas. Hamilton also moved past the Finn,
but he didn’t have the performance to attack Vettel and had to settle for second
with Raikkonen third.
It was Vettel’s 51st victory,
moving him level with four-time world champion Alain Prost in third in the
all-time list. The German extends his championship lead over Hamilton to eight
points heading to his home race at Hockenheim. It’s the first time it’s been
more than a point ahead since the Chinese Grand Prix.
Raikkonen
made short work of the Mercedes for the final podium place, with Bottas
managing to hold onto fourth. Daniel Ricciardo was fifth, with Red Bull team
mate Max Verstappen on course to beat him, only to be told to retire the car
with a suspected gearbox issue, the Dutchman having moments earlier spun at the
penultimate corner. Nico Hulkenberg was sixth, ahead of Esteban Ocon with
Fernando Alonso making into the points for the second successive race and
Pierre Gasly completing the top 10 and scoring points for the third time this
year - albeit under investigation for a late-race clash with Sergio Perez.
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