Battle for Bronze: Who’s on top after the British Grand Prix?
Column
- Toby McLuskie
All the drama from yesterday’s British Grand Prix involved the front runners at the start and end of the race, however, the midfield pack had a strong showing behind those in front. It was Charles Leclerc who had a driver of the day performance and finished behind only, race winner, Lewis Hamilton. However, many believe that the Ferrari driver should’ve won the race after Hamilton was only minorly penalised for taking out Max Verstappen in the opening lap. The Monegasque’s second-place finish was, somewhat, neutralised by a strong showing by the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo.
McLaren were on top last week with a podium coming their way in Austria once again thanks to Norris. 21 points were secured for the British team with Ricciardo finishing in the top 10 and helped McLaren extend their lead over rivals Ferrari. Despite losing some points to McLaren, Ferrari had a superb weekend with Carlos Sainz and Leclerc racing a superb Austrian Grand Prix. AlphaTauri’s rookie Yuki Tsunoda struggled and the Italian team relied on Pierre Gasly to secure any points once again. Aston Martin scored zero points for the fourth time this season and ended the race with Sebastian Vettel being spun around by Kimi Raikkonen. Alpine’s veteran Fernando Alonso was the scorer for the French team and helped them close the gap to their British rivals.
As our weekend in Britain has now ended, which team is leading the way?
McLaren
McLaren lost out on a potential podium place, due to a slow stop in the pits, which resulted in the team scoring fewer points than their Italian rivals, Ferrari. However, this was neutralised thanks to a fourth and fifth-place finish from Norris and Ricciardo. The young Brit was running in second, at one point, in the race but lost the battle with Bottas due to a pit stop error. This didn’t stop the 21-year-old from putting on a show in front of his home crowd, however, as he is now third in the Drivers' Standings, overtaking Sergio Perez. Ricciardo secured his best finish of the season with a fantastic drive, as he held off Sainz for the final top-five place. Despite losing four points to the Scuderia, the British team will see their performance yesterday as a success in front of 140,000 cheering fans.
Ferrari
What a day for the Prancing Horses. A podium finish for Leclerc and a fantastic drive to sixth from Sainz secured 26 points for the Italian team, their best haul this season. Leclerc was leading the race from the start but had to give way to Hamilton at Copse corner on Lap 50. I think many believe that he wasn’t going to risk a battle into the same corner that Verstappen flew into the barrier at with Hamilton next to him. Despite not winning the race, the second-place finish for Leclerc will only bring confidence for him. A four-point gain on McLaren at the British Grand Prix is something that’ll keep the spirits high in the Ferrari garage.
AlphaTauri
It was a surprise day for AlphaTauri on Sunday, but maybe not as exciting as would be expected. Gasly struggled throughout the whole race and was shown the black and white flag in the early stages. This resulted in the Frenchman being careful in his driving and meant he could only best an 11th place finish. However, it wasn’t a point-less weekend for the Italian team, as Yuki Tsunoda stormed to a tenth-place finish. The rookie qualified in 16th and gained six places throughout the race. On the other hand, Aston Martin closed the gap to only one point and we could see AlphaTauri being overtaken by their British rivals at the Hungaroring.
Aston Martin
The most action for Aston Martin at the British Grand Prix was Vettel spinning in the middle stages of the race. The German was following Raikkonen, lost the rear of his car and was sent spinning into the old pit lane. Vettel was able to carry on but had to retire late in the race. Stroll, on the other hand, had a quiet race and secured his sixth points finish of the season. His eighth-place finish tied his top finish of the year and closed the gap to only one behind AlphaTauri. After the race, Vettel helped clean the grandstands and this morning, cycled down to Silverstone to see how the cleanup operation went. Chapeau Seb!
Alpine
Alpine are now only eight points behind Aston Martin, as both drivers secured a top 10 finish yesterday at Silverstone. Alonso’s eighth-place finish and Ocon’s ninth-place finish helped the French team close the gap by four points to their British rivals. This was Ocon’s first points finish since Monaco and could potentially be the turning point in the Frenchman and his team’s season.
Which team had the best weekend at the Silverstone? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!