Max Verstappen stormed to a sixth consecutive victory in a British Grand Prix that was dominated by the action that took place behind the reigning World Champion.
But which drivers survived a weekend of thrills and spills at Silverstone to manage a positive result and who came up short?
Max Verstappen – 9
Qualified: P1, Race: P1
Verstappen had never previously won the British GP, but the Dutchman righted that this weekend with another sublime drive.
As his team-mate’s dismal qualifying run extended, Verstappen aced the final sector in Q3 to deny Lando Norris a shock pole position, breaking the home fans’ hearts in the process.
Despite getting beaten off the line by one McLaren driver and being pressured intensely by the other, Verstappen held onto second on the opening tour and bided his time before comfortably swooping back past Norris into the lead within five laps.
With the all-conquering Red Bull RB19 continuing to be the class of the field and Verstappen looking in imperious form, Sebastian Vettel’s record run of nine consecutive race wins from 2013 is now surely looking in grave danger.
Sergio Perez – 4.5
Qualified: P16 (Started: P15), Race: P6
For the fifth consecutive qualifying hour Sergio Perez failed to reach Q3, blaming low tyre temperatures and repeated struggles in mixed conditions for his shock Q1 exit.
The Mexican was unable to make the same fluid progress through the field as he had in Austria and subsequently could only recover nine places to sixth by the chequered flag.
Lando Norris – 9.5
Qualified: P2, Race: P2
Despite McLaren being a resurgent force in Austria with its upgraded car, nobody could have foreseen Norris popping it onto the front row on Saturday at Silverstone.
However, the Brit’s opening stint – in which he led for a handful of laps at the start – proved the Woking squad’s qualifying pace was no fluke as Norris ran a comfortable second up until the Safety Car intervened.
Even when it appeared his podium chance was at risk when McLaren opted to fit the Hard tyre at his only stop, Norris defended heroically from Hamilton behind on a two-step softer compound to claim his first-ever F1 podium on home soil.
A sparkling weekend performance from the 23-year-old, demonstrating precisely what he can be capable of when provided with the machinery to mix it at the very front.
Oscar Piastri – 9.5
Qualified: P3, Race: P4
Landing a career-best fourth place provided a bittersweet result for Piastri, who undoubtedly merited a maiden podium.
Piastri did everything perfectly this weekend: he qualified within 0.1s of his mightily quick team-mate who always flourishes around Silverstone, didn’t wilt under the pressure of racing at the front for the first time in F1 and lost a podium through no fault of his own.
Lewis Hamilton – 7
Qualified: P7, Race: P3
Whilst Hamilton registered a record 14th podium at Silverstone, this wasn’t one of the seven-time World Champion’s finest home displays by any stretch.
He was pipped in qualifying by his team-mate for the first time in five rounds and then lost three places at the start when he ran wide at the Village corner.
An unspectacular run to the flag looked in store until a fortunately timed Safety Car played into his favour, elevating him up to a third position and onto the podium rostrum.
George Russell – 7.5
Qualified: P6, Race: P5
Following a run of scruffy qualifying displays, Russell was satisfied to advance to Q3 at Silverstone and end the hour as the lead Mercedes, albeit only in sixth.
A strong start on the Soft tyre got him ahead of Carlos Sainz before he dispatched the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc shortly after making his sole pit stop of the race.
However, he was one of several drivers caught out by the Safety Car’s timing, dropping behind his team-mate and unable to challenge the cars ahead on the restart.
Fernando Alonso – 7
Qualified: P9, Race: P7
Despite Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack relaying confidence that the side’s dip in form in Austria was track-specific, the AMR23 was the slowest Mercedes-powered car over a flying lap on Saturday.
The British team didn’t fare much better on Sunday, Alonso running a subdued race before boxing under the Safety Car enabled him to prop up in a welcome seventh.
Lance Stroll – 3
Qualified: P12, Race: P14
With his superior team-mate only managing ninth in qualifying, it was therefore hardly a surprise Stroll, who has traditionally faltered over a single lap, failed to make the top 10.
However, the opportunity to steal a point from the flailing Ferrari of Sainz on worn Hard rubber went begging when he clumsily barged into the side of Pierre Gasly at the Vale chicane, rightfully earning him the wrath of the stewards and a five-second penalty.
Alex Albon – 8.5
Qualified: P8, Race: P8
It speaks volumes of the vast progress Williams has made in recent months that Albon was hugely disappointed to only classify eighth in qualifying.
Despite not extracting the maximum from qualifying and losing places at the start, Albon recovered and opportunistically pounced on Sainz’s late dice with Perez to steal eighth and score four valuable points.
Logan Sargeant – 5.5
Qualified: P14, Race: P11
Sargeant may have made it into Q2 for the second time in his short F1 career, but the American newcomer still ended up a second adrift of team-mate Albon in qualifying.
Nevertheless, a composed drive to 11th in the race – his best result of the year to this point – will provide a huge confidence boost at a pivotal time in his Williams career.
Charles Leclerc – 7
Qualified: P4, Race: P9
Having missed the entirety of FP2 due to an electrical issue on his SF-23 car, Leclerc produced an impressive effort in qualifying to wound up narrowly ahead of his team-mate and arguably should have ended up on the front row if not for an error at Stowe.
But after two improved showings in race conditions in Canada and Austria, Ferrari’s Sunday struggles reappeared at Silverstone even before the Safety Car arrived.
An aggressive strategy to cover off Russell proved to be an ill-timed decision and then a second stop under the Safety Car exposed Ferrari’s troubles in dirty air, resigning Leclerc to trundling home a disappointing ninth.
Carlos Sainz – 6.5
Qualified: P5, Race: P10
Sainz lacked the pace of Leclerc early on but came on stronger once he switched to the Hard tyre for his second stint.
But the decision to stick with that compound and not change tyres when the Safety Car was deployed left him a sitting duck and he was fortunate to hold onto a solitary point.
Valtteri Bottas – 6
Qualified: DSQ, Race: P12
Bottas had the measure of Zhou on a circuit where he’s traditionally gone well, but the Finn’s Sunday prospects were hamstrung when he was disqualified for not being able to provide a fuel sample – an accurate portrayal of what transpired to be a dismal weekend for the entire Alfa Romeo team.
A solid recovery from the very back to 12th in the race was about the best Bottas could have achieved in challenging circumstances.
Zhou Guanyu – 5
Qualified: P18 (Started: P17), Race: P16
A weekend to forget for Zhou: he was unable to match Bottas and only lined up ahead on the grid due to his partner’s misfortune.
He may have been unfortunate to drop back behind the sister car when the Safety Car worked against him, but the variance in finishing positions was undoubtedly reflective of the two Alfa drivers’ speed.
Nico Hulkenberg – 5.5
Qualified: P11, Race: P13
Hulkenberg again excelled in qualifying to only marginally miss out on a place in Q3.
But with Haas’ severe tyre woes already likely to hinder its points-scoring chances, damaging his front wing when being passed by Sergio Perez was needless and an avoidable brush.
Kevin Magnussen – 5
Qualified: P20 (Started: P19), Race: DNF
A weekend blighted by technical trouble. Magnussen was not granted the chance to embark on a final flying run in Q1 – causing the red flag that delayed the session.
His race wasn’t going much better when he ground to a halt midway down the Wellington Straight on Lap 34 with flames emanating from the rear of his VF-23 machine.
Yuki Tsunoda – 6
Qualified: P17 (Started: P16), Race: P15
AlphaTauri unveiled a seismic upgrade at Silverstone, but Tsunoda’s initial Friday assessment made for concerning reading heading into the weekend itself.
The Japanese racer’s worse fears were realised as he never threatened the top 10.
Nyck De Vries – 3
Qualified: P19 (Started: P18), Race: P17
Time is running out for de Vries to prove to Dr Helmut Marko that he deserves to retain his seat for the remainder of the season.
Wounding up 0.5s behind Tsunoda in qualifying and finishing last of the classified runners was exactly the type of weekend he needed to avoid, especially with Daniel Ricciardo testing for Red Bull this week.
Esteban Ocon – 5
Qualified: P13, Race: DNF
Lagged behind Gasly in qualifying and he was denied the opportunity to make up ground in the race when a technical problem hit his A522 car only 10 laps in.
Pierre Gasly – 7
Qualified: P10, Race: DNF
Had the measure of his team-mate over a single lap to be the sole Alpine in Q3 and was cantering along nicely inside the points during the first stint of the race.
Just when he was lining up a pass on Sainz late on, however, Stroll spied an opening that resulted in contact; suspension damage curtailed the Frenchman’s afternoon.
