F1 2020: Lewis Hamilton wins British Grand Prix

An incredible final few laps of the 2020 British Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton claim the seventh and possibly most dramatic Silverstone win of his career, despite his left-front tyre letting go with half a lap still to go.

 

Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas had been formation flying for 50 of the 52 laps at Silverstone until tyre drama struck. Second-placed man Bottas was the first to suffer as his tyre deflated on Lap 50, costing him second place, before, on the very last lap, Hamilton suffered his own issue.

However, with Max Verstappen having opted to pit a few laps from the end to try and claim the fastest lap, Hamilton had enough time in hand to just cross the line first, five seconds ahead of Verstappen and the third-placed Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. McLaren’s Carlos Sainz had been set to finish fourth, but his own last lap tyre issue saw him eventually come home P13, allowing Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo to claim fourth, following a late pass on the sister McLaren of Lando Norris.

 

Renault’s Esteban Ocon finished sixth, having enjoyed a race-long battle with the Racing Point of Lance Stroll, with Pierre Gasly having enjoyed a fine race to finish seventh for AlphaTauri. Alex Albon finished eighth for Red Bull, having recovered from a Lap 1 tussle with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen that saw him fall to last, while Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top 10, Vettel holding off a late charge form the recovering Mercedes of Bottas.

British MotoGP 2019: Alex Rins wins

Alex Rins snatched a dramatic victory on the line on his Suzuki to win the British Grand Prix ahead of MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez. Marquez appeared to have held off the younger Spaniard, only for Rins to produce a spectacular piece of riding for his second win of the season. But Marquez still extended his lead in the Championship to 78 points after second-placed Andrea Dovizioso of Italy suffered a bad crash on the first lap.

Britain's Cal Crutchlow was sixth. Marquez led virtually all the way round and was on course for his seventh win of the season, but he could not shrug off Rins. It looked like the 23-year-old from Barcelona was going to finish agonisingly close until he zoomed past Marquez with the last manoeuvre of the race. Another Spaniard, Maverick Vinales, was third, with MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi a place further back.

It was another disappointment for Marquez, who had begun on pole position, as the same thing happened to him last time out in Austria. But the Honda rider is still 78 points clear of nearest challenger Dovizioso in the riders' standings with only seven races remaining and on course for his sixth world title. Rins climbs to third following his victory, while Crutchlow remains ninth overall after picking up 10 points for finishing sixth.

The Championship fight took a huge turn though when Albert Arenas wiped out Aron Canet, who is second in the standings, in the early stages, allowing Lorenzo Dalla Porta, who was third, to move 14 points clear with a seventh podium of the season.

F1 2019: Lewis Hamilton wins British Grand Prix

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.

F1 2018: Sebastian Vettel wins British Grand Prix

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.