British glory for Norris as Hulkenberg tastes success at Silverstone

Lando Norris claimed an emotional first British Grand Prix win on home soil as teammate Oscar Piastri was left fuming over a costly penalty, while much of the attention turned to Nico Hulkenberg, who ended a 15-year wait for his maiden Formula 1 podium in spectacular fashion.

Kick-starting an afternoon of pure chaos, tyre deliberations dominated the formation lap, with all 10 teams starting on intermediates despite the track mostly being suited to slicks.

As a result, five drivers, including George Russell and Charles Leclerc, opted to dive into the pits at the end of the lap for a switch of compounds, leaving a thinned out grid readying for a slippery standing start.

The action ignited at Silverstone beneath a rare patch of blue sky, but with the track still damp from an earlier downpour, it was a tentative start from pole-sitter Max Verstappen, who led the thinned field through the opening sector.

His former teammate, Liam Lawson’s race ended just moments after it began, with the Kiwi clashing with Esteban Ocon at Turn 5 and damaging his VCARB 02 after failing to spot the Haas in his mirrors, moving to shut the door onto the Wellington Straight before retiring to the side of the track.

While yellow flags waved in Sector 2, Lewis Hamilton formed an attack on Lando Norris, however, conditions were soon upgraded to a Virtual Safety Car, with the debate regarding slick vs wet tyres still playing out in the pitlane.

The race restarted on Lap 4, however, it was only short-lived when Gabriel Bortoleto crashed into the barriers at Turn 2 to bring out a second VSC, with his cautious approach proving pointless when he was left with a shattered rear wing, forcing the Sauber rookie to retire to the run-off area. 

The race reignited on Lap 7, with Oscar Piastri trailing the race leader by four-tenths.

Without DRS, the gap between the pair remained just a few car lengths, setting the stage for a thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle which ended when Piastri pulled off a clean move on the Dutchman through Stowe, claiming P1 as the threat of rain soon became a reality.

Having pushed on a drying circuit for the first ten laps, the overworked intermediate tyre struggled to fulfil its duty when the heavy downpour hit the circuit, with Verstappen one of many drivers unable to manage the changeable conditions in his tussle with Lando Norris, allowing the crowd favourite to dispose of the Red Bull driver down the Hangar Straight. 

The rain continued to pelt down at Silverstone, eventually reaching a level deemed too dangerous to race, prompting Race Control to deploy the Safety Car as the worst of the weather swept over the circuit — a choice which stripped Piastri of his 15-second lead, while Lance Stroll, Nico Hulkenberg, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon’s charge for best of the rest was paused. 

Piastri led the field away at the Lap 17 restart, but green flag conditions were short-lived as the Safety Car was deployed almost immediately following a collision between Isack Hadjar and Kimi Antonelli.

With spray becoming unmanageable in the crowded field, Hadjar lost sight of his fellow rookie and before he knew it, he was ramming into the rear of the #12 Mercedes and spinning into the barriers at Turn 9.

Hadjar retired then and there, with the track marshals working quickly to remove a second VCARB 02 from the track, while Antonelli continued to compete around Silverstone before damage to his diffuser left the Mercedes pit wall with no choice but to retire.

On Lap 22, the race restarted once again, however, it wasn’t without controversy.

In the process of managing the restart, Piastri was judged to have driven erratically behind the Safety Car, slowing unexpectedly and catching Verstappen off-guard, which contributed to the Dutchman spinning and losing several positions just metres later. 

After reviewing positioning and marshalling data, video footage, telemetry, team radio, and in-car camera evidence, the stewards issued Piastri a 10-second time penalty for erratic braking when the Safety Car lights went out. 

Piastri declined to discuss the penalty in detail after the race but made it clear he felt the punishment was undeserved, saying over team radio on his in-lap: “I think I’ll get myself banned if I say anything here”.

With Verstappen tumbling down the order and engaging in a battle with the Williams duo on the border of the points following his spin out of Stowe, the McLaren teammates were left on their lonesome in P1 and P2, separated by just three seconds as they fell into a steady rhythm.

Fully committed to becoming the 13th British driver to win the British Grand Prix, Norris put his foot to the floor as he started to carve into his teammate’s vulnerable lead, though it was the battle for the final podium position that had the crowd on edge. 

In amongst the wet weather chaos, Aston Martin’s fortunate strategy rewarded Lance Stroll with genuine positioning in P3, with Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton hot on his tail as the race ticked over the halfway mark. 

Catching a whiff of a potential maiden podium finish in Formula 1 — albeit 15 years after he made his debut — Hulkenberg clawed his way to within a second of the Canadian, managing rising track temperatures as he upped the pace in his P3 charge.

Propelled by the added pressure of a seven-time world champion in his mirrors, the Sauber driver halved the margin to Stroll across the next two laps, before Race Control’s decision to enable DRS on Lap 34 gave Hulkenberg a critical advantage on the Hangar Straight, allowing him to complete a clean overtake for the bronze position.

Hamilton followed Hulkenberg’s example, overtaking the Aston Martin driver before the home team’s second-running driver, Fernando Alonso, made the risky call to switch to slick tyres on Lap 38.

Alonso struggled to build temperature into his medium compound tyres, instantly being picked off by Yuki Tsunoda, however, that was a moment Mercedes failed to pay attention to when the team called George Russell to box for the same strategy. 

Rejoining the race, Russell had a scary moment when he spun through the high-speed Maggotts and Becketts sequence, though he avoided causing any major disruptions which could have impacted the battle for the lead.

With a dry line starting to form, half of the field made the choice to pit for slick tyres, with Hamilton the highest runner to do so from P4.

Watching and waiting, Hulkenberg followed suit shortly after, remaining ahead of the Ferrari driver as he set off, twitching through the pit exit as he started on a critical out-lap.

The Sauber driver had impressive pace on the C3 tyre, temporarily setting the fastest lap of the race as he extended his margin over Hamilton to a secure seven seconds.

Feeling as if it was too good to be true, the 37-year-old kept his mind on the task at hand before his first podium finish after 239 Grand Prix starts was locked in.

Nico Hulkenberg’s miraculous journey from 19th on the grid to third place rewarded the long-standing team with its first piece of hardware since 2012, with the paddock lending an unprepared Sauber some celebratory champagne as the party kicked off.

Recording fastest lap after fastest lap, Norris continued to make gains on the race leader, even after Piastri was told not to let the #4 come within DRS range ahead of his Lap 43 pitstop for slick medium tyres.  

Serving his 10-second penalty, it was no surprise to see Norris as the lead McLaren once he completed his final stop a few moments later, emerging from the pitlane six seconds ahead of Piastri.

The Australian’s attempt to recover the lead was impacted by an off through Maggotts and Becketts, with Piastri’s pleas for the pit wall to revert the order due to what he felt was an unfair penalty also being denied.

As a result, the only man who could steal the dream home victory from Norris was himself, and with a steady head on his shoulders for the remaining few laps, self-sabotage wasn’t on the cards at Silverstone.

Having to restrain himself from waving at his personal grandstand during the final lap of the British Grand Prix, Lando Norris could barely contain his excitement when he crossed the line in first place, recording the 25th win by a British driver on home soil at Silverstone. 

The victory brings Norris within eight points of Piastri in the Drivers’ Championship, adding to the Australian’s frustration as the paddock heads into a two-week break from racing.

Piastri’s next opportunity to redeem himself will come with even more points on the table, as the Belgian Grand Prix hosts a Sprint weekend from July 25 to 27.

Image: Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

2025 British Grand Prix Results:

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