Silverstone delivers double home podium to record crowds

The consensus from fans up and down the paddock was one of resounding success for the 2023 Aramco British Grand Prix weekend. Although Max Verstappen took his sixth win in succession, he didn’t have it all his own way and the British fans had plenty to cheer about as all three local drivers played key roles in the race. George Russell produced magical overtaking manoeuvres whilst Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton fought it out for the runner-up honours. 

Formula 1 British Grand Prix resultsThe British drivers were well-placed to cause an upset after Saturday's qualifying session for the British Grand Prix. Norris occupied the second slot on the front row whilst Russell and Hamilton started sixth and seventh respectively. Superior reaction times meant that the McLaren driver didn’t disappoint as the lights went out, snaching the lead from Verstappen before they’d reached the first corner at Abbey. With the crowd’s deafening cheers willing him round the track, Norris held back Verstappen’s advances for three thrilling laps before he was overhauled by the Red Bull. Further down the field, Russell pressured Charles Leclerc as his soft tyres came into their own. 

As the first stops loomed, the scarlet Ferrari of Leclerc was the first to pit for fresh rubber, opting for the harder compound for the second half of the race. Shortly after, his team mate, Carlos Sainz did the same and the Ferrari duo re-emerged to battle with Lance Stroll. After an incredibly long stint on the soft tyres, Russell finally pitted – after some of the medium runners – and came out two seconds behind Leclerc, with much fresher tyres. By Lap 32, he had caught the Monegasque driver and made a spectacular move around the outside of Luffield, elevating him to eighth. Oscar Piastri, meanwhile, was the first of the front runners to pit. 

Lap 33 would see the deployment of a Virtual Safety Car, swiftly followed up by a full Safety Car whilst the Haas of Kevin Magnussen that was engulfed with flames at the side of the Wellington Straight was recovered. This timing was opportune for this who were yet to stop which included the top three of Verstappen, Norris and Hamilton, leaving them in the same positions when the Safety Car headed for the pits.. Verstappen aced the restart and quickly gapped the two Brits behind. Having selected the hard tyres, it was expected that Norris’ McLaren would come under threat from Hamilton on the softs behind, but the 23-year-old held his composure to fend off the seven-time World Champion

In the closing stages, Sainz was the big loser dropping three places in as many corners. Perez on the other hand continued his climb up the order, taking several positions in the final laps to eventually finish sixth. In the end, Verstappen took the race victory but the biggest cheers went to the home heroes, Norris and Hamilton who completed the podium with a British two-three finish. Piastri followed them home in fourth and Russell finished fifth after a day that promised much more. 

Formula 2Feature Race results It was Victor Martins who started the Formula 2 Feature Race from pole, and the Frenchman’s launch by anyone’s standards, was a good one. Ayumu Iwasa’s start, however, was a stellar one as he translated third on the grid to going side-by-side with Martins into Village. Ultimately, Martins held his nerve round the outside and into the loop, running all four wheels over the white line in the process – a move which would later earn him a penalty. The sole British driver in the field, Oliver Bearman also made a fantastic getaway, moving from fifth to third. Similarly, Bearman’s team mate, and championship leader Frederik Vesti made progress from P10 to seventh in the opening lap.  

With the Safety Car deployed, all of the front-running cars headed for the pit lane leaving Isack Hadjar and Arthur Leclerc as the highest place drivers on the alternate strategy. Martins emerged from the pits ahead of Clement Novalak, Juan Manuel Correa and Ralph Boschung, none of who had pitted, handing him a sizeable gap to Iwasa, Bearman and Zane Maloney as the next highest cars to have pitted. As the race restarted, Vesti, Dennis Hauger and Roman Stanek came to blows as the field concertinaed together, eventually resulting in a DNF for Vesti, bringing out the Safety Car once again. Before it was deployed though, Bearman ran wide at Turn 1 and dropped to P11. 

Under the second Safety Car period, Martins learned of his five-second penalty, and was told to open up a gap to Maloney who was now in second. He did just that, and by the flag he held enough of a margin to take his maiden Formula 2 victory. Theo Pourchaire, meanwhile, made his way through the field and up to third, capitalising on his title rival’s misfortune to close within six points of his championship lead. Bearman recovered to sixth in the final classification at his home event. 

Formula 3 Feature Race resultsLeonardo Fornaroli, Oliver Goethe and Pepe Marti started first, second and third respectively and would set the tone for the rest of the race, as the trio continued to battle it out for the podium places for the duration. Luke Browning had high hopes of rising through the order at his home event starting in eighth, but contact with Hugh Barter at Club on Lap 1 signalled the end of his race and brought out the Safety Car. Compatriot Jonny Edgar suffered similar misfortune on the opening lap. 

On Lap 6 of 22, the Safety car came in and on the first lap following the restart, Zak O’Sullivan in P16 attempted a move on the outside of Luffield, eventually getting run out of road into the gravel. On Lap 15, a sub-optimal first sector would see Goethe close on his Trident Racing team mate, and utilise DRS to snach the lead. A lap later, rain started to fall and Roberto Faria became the latest driver to go off at Luffield after a collision with Tommy Smith, bringing out another Safety Car. As the Safety Car peeled in, there was just two tours remaining and the drivers tentatively made their way round. The top three remained the same with Goethe winning from pole-sitter Fornaroli and Marti.  

Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup RaceDorian Boccolacci started from pole for the Porsche Supercup race , with Larry ten Voorde and Harry King not far behind in second and third respectively. In a dramatic turn of events, all three drivers collided at Village on the first lap, which put an end to hopes of a home victory for Harry King. From then on, it was the trio of Alexander Fach (first), Robert de Haan (second) and Alessandro Ghiretti (third) who took control at the head of the field. Despite pressuring one another for the entirety of the race, they held those positions to the flag.