6th win in a row for Verstappen

British drivers Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton on the podium at their home race

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 09: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 leads Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL60 Mercedes during the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone Circuit on July 09, 2023 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202307090283 // Usage for editorial use only //

Max Verstappen made it six wins in a row as he took victory at the British Grand Prix.

The reigning champion was joined on the podium by Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton at their home race.

There was a huge cheer from the home crowd as Norris got ahead of the pole sitter heading into turn one, but once DRS was enabled Verstappen soon closed up to the back of the McLaren, retaking the lead.

Sergio Perez made quick progress through the field after a disappointing qualifying, but contact with Nico Hulkenberg forced the Haas driver into the pits for an early stop after damaging his front wing, while Esteban Ocon was the first driver to retire, with his Alpine having suffered a hydraulic leak early on.

Charles Leclerc was the first of the front running cars to stop, having held off George Russell through the early laps of the race. It initially looked like Russell would jump ahead of the Ferrari after coming in 10 laps later, but a slow pitstop from the Mercedes crew ensured Leclerc stayed ahead.

The virtual safety car was needed a few laps later, quickly followed by a full safety car when Kevin Magnussen’s Haas suffered an engine issue, with flames coming out the back of the car.

It meant the majority of the cars towards the front of the field made their pitstops under the safety car, with Leclerc making a second trip into the pits. With Piastri having stopped under the virtual safety car, Hamilton was able to jump up to third.

Most of the leaders switched onto soft tyres, but McLaren put both of their drivers on hards, but despite the Mercedes pair both being on quicker tyres, Norris and Piastri kept Hamilton and Russell behind at the restart.

Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll were battling just outside the points positions towards the end of the race, with the Alpine driver seemingly getting ahead as Stroll ran wide, but the Aston Martin rejoined the track and banged wheels with Gasly, leaving the Frenchman with too much damage to continue, earning the Canadian a five-second time penalty.

Alex Albon held off late pressure from Leclerc to hold on to seventh, while Logan Sargeant narrowly missed out on picking up his first points in F1 after finishing 11th.

Provisional classification:

1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

2. Lando Norris (McLaren)

3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

5. George Russell (Mercedes)

6. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

8. Alex Albon (Williams)

9. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

10. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

11. Logan Sargeant (Williams)

12. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)

13. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)

14. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)*

15. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo)

16. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)

17. Nyck DeVries (AlphaTauri)

DNF:

Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

*Stroll crossed the line 11th, but received a five-second time penalty

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