Once again, a huge crowd turned out for the
British Grand Prix at Silverstone and once again, they were treated to a thriller.
Pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas looked to have done everything right as he led from
the front and fought off teammate Lewis Hamilton, but a safety car
intervention gifted his Mercedes teammate a free pit stop, allowing him to leapfrog
the Finn and ultimately a record sixth home win.
Behind the Silver Arrows, there was
wheel-to-wheel action galore, as the Ferraris and Red Bulls, engaged in a tense
battle for third. It was eventually won by Charles Leclerc, but only after Max
Verstappen had been dramatically punted out of the position by the other
Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.
Bottas led away from pole
position and held off a spirited attack from Hamilton in the early laps, before
the Briton wriggled through at Luffield to the delight of a packed house at
Silverstone. But Bottas wasn’t having any of it, tucking into the slipstream
before catapulting his Mercedes up to the inside at Copse to retake the lead in
sensational fashion.
Championship leader Hamilton dived into the
pits, as did Vettel, and re-joined in the lead before taking the chequered flag
for his seventh victory in 10 races in 2019, with Bottas finishing second.
Hamilton hammered home his pace with the fastest lap on the final lap of the
Grand Prix, on 30-lap old tires, usurping Bottas, who pitted late on for fresh
rubber.
Red Bull had to settle for fourth and fifth with
Pierre Gasly and a recovering Verstappen, while Carlos Sainz, who like Hamilton
had a free stop when he pitted under the Safety Car, took sixth, ahead of
Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen. Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat was
ninth with Nico Hulkenberg snatching the final point from Alexander Albon on
the final lap.
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