“It has taken me a long time to get there, but I am so proud to be up there with the greats” (Hamilton)
 

Race Results:

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
3. Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari)
4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
5. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
6. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
7. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
8. Esteban Ocon (Force India)
9. Sergio Perez (Force India)
10. Felipe Massa (Williams)
More on the F1 teams of 2017
 
Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix for the 5th time, equalling the record for the most wins here with Alain Prost and Jim Clark. He also equalled the record for most pole positions here with Jim Clark = 5. It was Hamilton’s 4th victory this year and more importantly for this season, he is now just 1 point behind Vettel.
 
Silverstone put on quite a show this weekend, it was an electrifying Grand Prix with some wonderful highlights, that whipped the fans into something of a frenzy.
 
Hamilton revelled in his victory; crowd surfing, high-fiving fans, taking to the stage at the Fan Zone…
 
“it is almost impossible to describe how amazing it is… the reception from the crowd.”
 
Could this weekend’s incredible performance be answer enough for those who had criticised his decision earlier in the week to miss the F1 promotional event in London? This was an event that was attended by all the other 19 drivers.
 
“From Lewis’ side, if he wants a holiday he needs to take a holiday.. If it makes him faster, he should do that. But I think English fans would have liked to see him there. If I had done that in Holland, they would have shot me.” (Verstappen)
 
Instead Hamilton was relaxing in Greece and responded to the critics saying, “if you don’t know now that my preparation is mostly on point, then I guess you never will.”
 
Luck also played its part in the mid-season ‘pendulum swing’ in Hamilton’s favour – as Vettel suffered a late puncture, dropping him from 4th to 7th place. And now there is just one point that divides them in the championship.
 
Bottas, started in 9th, after being given a 5-place grid penalty – but managed to fight back and finish an impressive 2nd.
 
For the second race in a row Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat was seemingly reckless. He took out team mate Carlos Sainz Jr on the first lap. He was penalised with a stop-go penalty and 2 points on his licence. During the last race, he took 2 drivers out (Verstappen and Alonso) in one move…but doesn’t appear to have learned from it.
 
Jacque Villeneuve was far from impressed: “Normally drivers don’t even get a second chance – he’s had plenty and he doesn’t seem to learn.”
 
Kvyat eventually finished 15th.
 
After a hit and miss season so far, Verstappen had a return to form. He beat Vettel off the line to take 3rd place and then defended his position, in a manner that was well-judged and mature; eventually conceding one place to Raikkonen and finishing in 4th.
 
Ricciardo had a lot to do today as he started in 19th place, following a 15-place grid penalty and he gave an amazing performance to finish 5th.
 

Great turn out at Silverstone

 
Today Chase Carey witnessed his first British Grand Prix and could not have failed to notice the enormous following that the sport commands here; this weekend 345,000 fans came to watch. Last week, the owners of Silverstone (BRDC) activated a break clause, which means that unless a new contract is signed, then 2019 will be the final year that the event is held here. It is, of course, all to do with money and the growing cost to each circuit to take part in the Grand Prix. Following the takeover in January this year, Liberty Media had previously stated that it would do everything it could to protect the Grand Prix in situations such as this, particularly those venues popular with the fans. Watch this space…
 
The Hungarian Grand Prix is next…before the summer break. See you there.