SILVERSTONE, England — Lando Norris secured victory in a dramatic and rain-affected British Grand Prix. His McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, finished second but saw his chance for victory affected by a 10-second penalty for an infringement under the safety car.
Despite the penalty, Piastri still managed to claim second place. Norris`s home win, his first at the Silverstone circuit and fourth of the current season, brings the British driver within just eight points of his teammate in the championship standings.
Norris described the win as the pinnacle of achievement.
“It`s beautiful. Everything I dreamed of, I guess,” he commented after the race. “Everything I`ve ever wanted to achieve. Apart from a championship, I think this is as good as it gets in terms of feelings and in terms of achievement, being proud, all of it.”
“This is where it all started for me, and now thankfully I`ve been able to have my go.”
Nico Hulkenberg achieved the first podium finish of his extensive 239-race career, finally ending his record as the driver with the most starts without a top-three finish.
Piastri, who had overtaken Max Verstappen for the lead on Lap 8 in wet conditions, was handed a 10-second penalty for erratic driving ahead of a safety car restart on Lap 21.
The McLaren driver appeared to brake abruptly on the Hangar Straight, causing Verstappen, who was right behind him, to take evasive action and be overtaken as a result.
“Article 55.15 of the FIA Sporting Regulations required Car 81 [Piastri] to proceed at a pace which involved no erratic braking nor any other manoeuvre which is likely to endanger other drivers from the point at which the lights on the safety car are turned off,” a stewards` statement explained. “What Car 81 did was clearly a breach of that article. In accordance with the penalty guidelines, we imposed a 10-second time penalty to Car 81.”
Piastri expressed his frustration cautiously in his post-race remarks, stating: “I`m not going to say much. I`ll get myself in trouble. Well done to Nico. I think that`s the highlight of the day.”
“Apparently you can`t brake behind the safety car any more. I did it for five laps before that.”
As the cars exited Stowe corner just before the restart, Verstappen spun off the track and dropped from second place to 10th when the race resumed.
Verstappen`s incident elevated Norris to second place, meaning the British driver only needed to stay within 10 seconds of his teammate to take the lead once Piastri served his penalty during a pit stop on Lap 43.
The final sequence of pit stops saw teams switch from intermediate wet tyres to slicks. Piastri had a dramatic moment on his outlap, nearly losing control as he ran wide at Maggots.
The Australian driver, clearly believing the penalty was unjust, radioed his team to request a position swap before the finish line. However, with five laps remaining, he was informed that no team orders would be issued for this purpose.
Norris went on to win the race by six seconds over Piastri. Hulkenberg secured third place for Sauber, finishing 21 seconds behind the winner and five seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton`s Ferrari in fourth.
Hulkenberg`s impressive result hinged on an early decision to switch to a second set of intermediate tyres just before the safety car deployment due to heavy rain. It also required a tenacious drive to secure and defend his third position.
“It`s been a long time coming, hasn`t it?” Hulkenberg commented afterward. “But I always knew we have it in us, I have it in me, somewhere.”
“What a race. Coming from virtually last… It`s pretty surreal, to be honest. I`m not sure how it all happened, but obviously crazy, mixed conditions. It was a survival fight for a lot of the race. I think we just were really on it with the right calls, the right tires in the right moment, made no mistakes — quite incredible.”
Hamilton`s fourth-place finish ended his streak of consecutive podiums at the British Grand Prix, which had lasted since 2014.
Verstappen recovered to finish fifth, but his championship aspirations, significantly impacted by retiring from the previous weekend`s Austrian Grand Prix, now appear even more challenging with a 69-point deficit to Piastri.
Pierre Gasly finished sixth for Alpine, ahead of Lance Stroll`s Aston Martin, which had run as high as third place earlier in the race.
Alex Albon secured eighth place for Williams, followed by Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and George Russell, who was the highest-placed Mercedes driver in tenth.
Rupert Caldwell 
Tristan Blackwood