2024 British GP race report: Hamilton takes ninth victory in Silverstone epic

A battle for the ages at Silverstone saw the trio of Brits – Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris – and Max Verstappen go head-to-head for the 2024 British Grand Prix victory, but in the end, it was Hamilton who claimed a record-breaking ninth victory at a single circuit.

As it had done all weekend, the threat of rain still lingered on the final day of the 2024 British Grand Prix and affected much of the on-track running, including the headline F1 race.

The FIA Formula 2 Feature Race was unaffected by the weather, but no less intriguing as a result, with the championship lead changing hands at the end of 29 laps.

Rain also caused chaos in the early morning FIA Formula 3 Feature Race but at the end of a hugely eventful race, Silverstone was treated to its first British of the day.

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F1 

2024 British Grand Prix

With Pierre Gasly out with a gearbox issue after the formation lap and Sergio Perez starting in the pitlane, 18 cars took the start for the 2024 British Grand Prix.

As the lights went out, it was pole-sitter George Russell who led them into Abbey ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, but Max Verstappen quickly seized third from the McLaren driver at The Loop.

In the early phases of the race, Charles Leclerc and Perez made significant gains with the former taking three positions on the opening lap and Lance Stroll on Lap 14 to move up to seventh while the latter got past Zhou Guanyu, Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon.

By Lap 15, the prophesied rain arrived and with it, a renewed motivation for Norris to get back past Verstappen. He did just that, retaking the position at Stowe with his team-mate replicating the move two laps later.

With the intensity of rain increasing over the coming laps, Russell began to struggle, and Hamilton spied an opportunity. On Lap 18, he seized the lead on the way into Stowe to the roar of the British crowd. Only a few corners later, though, both Mercedes ran out of grip at Abbey and took to the run-off enabling Norris to close in.

The Mclaren driver was shrewd in his approach, taking second from Russell at The Loop and the lead from Hamilton into Abbey on Lap 20. Piastri followed in his team-mate’s footsteps not long after to make it a McLaren 1-2.

With the top six separated by under 10 seconds and rain continuing to fall, the pressure was mounting. Verstappen was the first of the front runners to pit for inters on Lap 27 in what proved to be an inspired strategy call.

Norris, Hamilton and Russell all filed into the pits a lap after the Red Bull, but Verstappen had already dispatched Russell by the time he left the pits. And the heartbreak was not over for the pole sitter, as he had to retire his Mercedes on Lap 34 with a water system problem.

The brief 11-lap stint was enough for Hamilton to close in on race leader Norris, and when he pitted a lap earlier than the McLaren on Lap 39, his moment arrived. A quick out lap on the Soft tyre ensured that when Norris pitted a lap later, Hamilton had done enough to secure the race lead.

Norris was unable to close the gap to his compatriot when he rejoined on the Softs, and then had to worry about his Austrian Grand Prix rival Verstappen. The Dutchman utilised the superior longevity of his Hard tyres to good effect and overtook Norris on the Hangar Straight.

Hamilton though, would not be beaten, refusing to concede ground to Verstappen who was unable to make the necessary inroads to overhaul the seven-time champion.

After one of the most memorable races of the modern era, it was Hamilton who stood atop the podium for a record ninth time at a single circuit, in front of an adoring British crowd. Verstappen maximised his result with second and a dejected Norris brought home third.

RESULTS: 2024 British Grand Prix results

F2 

Feature Race

It was a dry race start for the FIA Formula 2 Feature Race but as ever this weekend, rain could not be counted out. With Isack Hadjar and Victor Martins sharing the front row, it was a race that promised a thrilling battle in prospect.

As the lights went out, it was Martins who got the better start and was ahead into Turn 1, but Oliver Bearman was the man on the move vaulting from fifth to second and pressured Martins on the Wellington Straight.

Austria Feature Race winner Gabriel Bortoleto was also making progress with a sensational move around the outside of Zane Maloney at Copse.

At the end of the first lap, the Safety Car was deployed to recover the stranded Kimi Antonelli, who was stationary in the first sector after contact with Kush Maini.

One lap later, the Safety Car was in, and the top spots remained unchanged; further back, there was yet more drama as championship leader Paul Aron and Joshua Durksen collided at Woodcote, sending the latter into the gravel and bringing out another Safety Car.

Martins aced the second restart, just like the first. It was Bearman, in fact, who was coming under pressure from a feisty Hadjar. On the Hangar Straight, Hadjar made his move to claim third before they both headed for the pits.

A lap later, race leader Martins pitted along with Jack Crawford and Zane Maloney. Crucially, Crawford was released from his pit box into the path of Maloney earning himself a five-second penalty.

Around the outside of Stowe, Franco Colapinto made a crucial move on Juan Manuel Correa to take the lead of the alternate strategy runners, which turned into the overall lead as Dennis Hauger pitted.

Hadjar then set about pressuring Martins and, after the pair of them took to the run-off as they went side by side, he finally got the job done. Crawford was lurking behind, though, and seized the initiative to claim the lead for his own.

At the end of Lap 22, Colapinto finally headed for the pits and rejoined the circuit in eighth on the Soft tyres. Once he got temperature into those tyres, he was the fastest driver on the circuit and made light work of Martins on the Wellington Straight. His pace quickly fizzled out though, as the leaders upped the ante to defend.

Try as he might, Crawford was unable to open the gap necessary to keep first, or even second position. Ultimately it was Hadjar who took the win and the championship lead with it. Maloney finished a well-deserved second and Crawford took third. Bearman was the highest-placed Brit in seventh.

F3 

Feature Race

Drama unfolded before the lights had even gone out in the FIA Formula 3 Feature Race. Yesterday’s Sprint Race winner Arvid Lindblad and several others pitted at the end of the formation lap to move onto slick tyres, joining Callum Voisin – starting eighth – and Piotr Wisnicki – last on the grid – as the only drivers on the dry compound.

Championship leader and pole sitter Luke Browning got an excellent launch to hold the lead from Max Esterson while further back Wisnicki had vaulted from 30th to 13th highlighting the slick tyre runners held the early advantage.

With the Safety Car deployed at the end of the first lap, Alexander Dunne and Charlie Wurz also headed for the pits to take on slicks. It was a brief, one-lap pause to proceedings and with blue skies peeking through the clouds on the restart, it looked like momentum would swing further in the direction of the slick runners.

Voisin was fired up on the restart and utilised his blistering pace to get past Esterton at Village – a move he made by taking to the run-off – Leonardo Fornaroli on the Wellington Straight and then Browning for the lead of the race into Woodcote.

Meanwhile, further down the field, Lindblad was scything his way through the field, making light work of those on the wet tyres, but another pause in proceedings would soon halt his progress.

An incident caused by Dunne erratically rejoining the track on the Wellington Straight ended with Sophia Floersch in the barriers. That brought out another Safety Car, and with rain falling once again, many drivers opted to pit for new wet tyres.

The fresh rainfall handed the advantage back to those on wets, and at the restart, Browning retook the lead from Voisin heading into Abbey. Voisin’s woes compounded when he was handed a 10-second time penalty for his earlier move on Esterton.

The slick tyre runners were struggling, with Voisin dropping from the lead to 20th after just one lap. Lindblad and Mini suffered the same fate and occupied 21st and 22nd respectively.

A race-ending incident for Sebastián Montoya, Dunne and Joshua Dufek brought out yet another Safety Car, but this one would last much longer and dry the track out considerably, generating another pace swing towards the slick tyre runners.

With 13 minutes left to run in the race, the clock was quite literally ticking for the dry runners.

Remarkably, Voisin made his way from 20th to second in the space of two laps and then made his way past Browning for the lead of the race on the exit of Chapel. Lindblad and Mini followed suit at Stowe with five minutes of race time remaining.

The trio of Voisin, Lindblad and Mini were all within DRS range of each other with two minutes to go, but none were able to make a move stick.

Eventually, it was Voisin who took the chequered flag first on the road, but after his penalty was applied the win went to Lindblad – securing the first F3 double victory at Silverstone and thrusting himself firmly into championship contention – with Mini taking the lead of the championship in second and Voisin ending up third.

Wisnicki put in a spectacular drive to go from 30th on the grid to fifth at the flag while Browning dropped to eighth.