After multiple safety cars, countless pit stops, and classic British weather chaos, Lando Norris finally lifted the trophy at the end of 52 laps that felt like years.
Home Race Glory
Starting behind team-mate Oscar Piastri in P3, Norris managed to maintain his position in the top 5 throughout the whole race, despite the chaotic conditions. In the last few laps of the race, the team gave no team orders, allowing both McLaren drivers to battle it out for the lead. Unfortunately, as Norris extended his lead to over 5 seconds, Piastri’s mistake of going wide marked a turning point for both drivers. Finding more pace towards the end, Norris crossed the chequered flag and grabbed his first win at his home Grand Prix.
Reacting to his win, he gave a shout-out to the fans, who gave him that extra push and uplifted his motivation to win,
“It is beautiful. Apart from a Championship, this is as good as it gets in terms of feelings. Incredible race, stressful as always but the support from the fans made the difference so I have to thank them.”
“these are memories I’ll have forever.”
He then proceeded to talk about the overall race, addressing the intense conditions, and also gave credit to Piastri.
“As far as being a stressful race, it’s as stressful as it gets. A round of applause for Oscar as he put in a good race, he was fast. Credit to him and of course McLaren, to win at home is pretty amazing.”
Podium Shadowed by Disappointment
He may have finished P2, but Piastri’s reaction told a different story. Oscar started the race in P2, just behind pole-sitter Max Verstappen. Although his reaction time was faster, Verstappen took advantage of the wider line. Throughout the race, he faced multiple challenges. He was hit with a 10 second penalty for braking behind the safety car, which he did not agree with.
When asked about the race overall, he responded with,
“I’m not going to say much, I’ll get myself in trouble. Congrats to Nico, that’s the story.”
Clearly, he was highly frustrated with the penalty and refused to give much reaction regarding the incident.
“Apparently you can’t brake behind the Safety Car anymore, I had done it for five laps before but I’m not going to say more, I’m going to get myself in trouble.
“I still like Silverstone even if I don’t like it today.”
Hülkenberg’s Maiden F1 Podium
The heading explains itself. Who would’ve thought, or predicted that Sauber driver, Nico Hülkenberg would appear on the podium?
After 239 races, Nico can finally say he has achieved a podium finish in Formula One. He started from P19 and kept his Sauber running till the end, despite the chaos that unfolded almost every lap, to finish P3.
Expressing his joy, he mentioned how “no mistakes” were made.
“It’s been a long time coming hasn’t it?! What a race, coming from virtually last, doing it all again like last weekend. Crazy conditions, survival mode all race. We were really on it, no mistakes.”
He dodged the harsh and intense conditions, keeping his cool throughout.
“The pressure was there, intense race but we didn’t crack.”
Referring to home-hero Lewis Hamilton, who was following the Sauber driver from P4, he cheekily stated,
“I was thinking he was going to give it all in front of his home crowd but sorry guys, it is also my day!”