Hamilton wins action-packed British Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton is a race winner for the first time since 2021 after coming out on top in a thrilling battle at Silverstone.

The seven-time world champion mastered the changable conditions to secure his ninth win at Silverstone.

Max Verstappen crossed the line second, with McLaren’s Lando Norris completing the podium.

Pierre Gasly’s race was over before it started as he encountered a mechanical issue on the formation lap.

Norris struggled for pace in the opening few laps, allowing Verstappen to move ahead, while Alex Albon dropped down the order after contact with Fernando Alonso.

As Norris’s tyres came up to temperature, he managed to close the gap to Verstappen, was able to reclaim third place 16 laps into the race.

With mixed weather conditions around the track, a few raindrops started to fall and cause grip issues. Hamilton found grip where George Russell couldn’t, allowing him to ease past his teammate to take the lead.

Both Hamilton and Russell ran wide a few corners later though, allowing Norris to close in on the Mercedes duo before passing both. Hamilton tried to fight back, but the McLaren had more grip, with Oscar Piastri also finding a way past the Mercedes drivers to move up to second.

As the rain started to fall heavier, the leaders started to pit for intermediates, but with the two McLarens running closely on the track, Piastri had to do an extra lap while Norris pitted.

With the track continuing to get wetter, Piastri lost time as the rest of the front runners made the most of the inters, dropping him down to sixth when he stopped a lap later than those around him.

Russell’s hopes of back-to-back race wins came to an end when he was forced to retire the car with a water system issue.

As the track started to dry, Hamilton, Verstappen and Piastri all pitted for slicks, while Norris and Carlos Sainz continued at the front of the field.

Staying out cost the duo, as Hamilton was able to undercut Norris, while Piastri jumped up ahead of Sainz. Hamilton and Norris switched to the soft tyres, but Verstappen used the more durable hards.

With four laps to go, Verstappen caught up to Norris, putting the McLaren under pressure before comfortably passing the Briton. He tried to close in on Hamilton, but the Mercedes driver had too great a lead, ensuring he crossed the line first for the first time since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Provisional classification:

1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

3. Lando Norris (McLaren)

4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

6. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)

7. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

9. Alex Albon (Williams)

10. Yuki Tsunoda (VCARB)

11 Logan Sargeant (Williams)

12. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

13. Daniel Ricciardo (VCARB)

14. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

15. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)

16. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

17. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

18. Guanyu Zhou (Sauber)

DNF:

George Russell (Mercedes)

Pierre Gasly (Alpine)