After a string of dominant wins and a strong sprint race, things were looking up for Red Bull Racing at the start of the British Grand Prix. Max Verstappen was on pole and his race pace looked good in practice. He just had to survive the first lap...
That didn't work out spectacularly. At last, it was a close call you could say. The battle between Lewis Hamilton and the Dutchman has been so intense all season that a collision was bound to happen sooner or later. This collision was therefore predictable, but it is nevertheless a bitter pill for Verstappen and Red Bull because in one blow they have lost their lead in both championships.
Hamilton may have been penalised by the FIA for his opportunistic overtaking of Verstappen, but he was the one who took full advantage of the situation. The British could celebrate a party anyway because Lando Norris also benefits from Red Bull's bad weekend. He is now third in the championship at the expense of Sergio Perez.
Drivers' standings | ||
1. | Max Verstappen | 185 |
2. | Lewis Hamilton | 177 |
3. | Lando Norris | 113 |
4. | Valtteri Bottas | 108 |
5. | Sergio Perez | 104 |
6. | Charles Leclerc | 80 |
7. | Carlos Sainz | 68 |
8. | Daniel Ricciardo | 50 |
9. | Pierre Gasly | 39 |
10. | Sebastian Vettel | 30 |
11. | Fernando Alonso | 26 |
12. | Lance Stroll | 18 |
13. | Esteban Ocon | 14 |
14. | Yuki Tsunoda | 10 |
15. | Kimi Raikkonen | 1 |
16. | Antonio Giovinazzi | 1 |
17. | George Russell | 0 |
18. | Mick Schumacher | 0 |
19. | Nicholas Latifi | 0 |
20. | Nikita Mazepin | 0 |