A race of extremes as slippery Silverstone puts drivers to the test
Monday 11 July 2016 21:16, UK
"A hat-trick of victories, his fourth in total, it's beginning to feel like he owns the place."
Martin Brundle's succinct assessment of Lewis Hamilton's tour de force at Silverstone neatly summed up the world champion's performance this weekend - he was unstoppable. No wonder the crowd lifted him above their shoulders in the wild celebrations which gripped the pit straight afterwards.
Pundits: Hamilton in his prime years
With the Mercedes team-mates' evenly-matched practice times proving the weekend's ultimate misnomer, Hamilton claimed pole from Nico Rosberg by 0.3 seconds - despite having the discomfort of having his first Q3 time deleted for exceeding track limits. The pre-race downpour which made the Silverstone surface treacherous could have acted as a leveler, but Hamilton didn't allow it to - with his 3.7s lead at the end of the first lap of racing an isolated illustration of his Sunday dominance.
He wasn't quite faultless, courtesy of a brief off-course moment at the tricky Turn One, but on a day when a number of his leading peers threw it off the road, such a small error could be excused. Title deficit down to a solitary point, anyone not backing Hamilton for title number four now?
Rating out of ten: 10
The standing ovation Max Verstappen received from an adoring British crowd gives you an indication of the show the teenager put on. Unbelievably just six grands prix into his Red Bull career, this was perhaps his most complete race weekend.
Never before had Verstappen even out-qualified team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, let alone opening up a 0.3s advantage to the talented Australian in Saturday's shootout. If that was impressive, his race was incredible.
The RB12 takes to the intermediates like a duck to water, yes, but Verstappen was the quickest man on track despite the aquaplaning, quickly gaining on Nico Rosberg. The ease in which he dispatched the German through the Becketts sweeps was outstanding, daring, and by far the most skillful overtake of the day. You could argue it was the best of the season so far.
He followed that up with a superb defensive display against Rosberg, eventually giving way for the far superior Mercedes in the dry. The Dutchman seems in complete control at all times, perfectly placing that Red Bull despite the pressure. "His racecraft is spectacular," admitted a, most probably jealous Toto Wolff. Verstappen once again proved he has all the skills in his locker, and if anyone deserved to be bumped up a position - it was him.
Rating out of ten: 10
A race to forget for Nico Rosberg at the end of a week to forget. Two defeats to his team-mate, two Sundays hauled in front of the stewards, and the last remaining remnants of what was a 43-point lead of the championship reduced to a single point. Rosberg is a gritty competitor but these are tough times for the German for whom being booed on the podium was a low and undeserved blow. Hamilton later sympathised but the indignity of being spoken about in the third person when his team-mate and Verstappen discussed Nico's race in front of him must have rankled too.
The size of his Silverstone defeat was significant. Three tenths in qualifying and eight seconds - a comfortable buffer which Hamilton cruised to even before Rosberg's late gearbox glitch - on race day was an uncomfortably-large divide. In Nico's defence, this may have been as much a reflection of Hamilton's near-perfection - "this has been the best week of the year without doubt," said Lewis on Sunday evening - but the shift in momentum suddenly seems to have morphed into an unstoppable force.
You sense the summer break can't come quickly enough for Nico - problem is, there are still two more races between now and August.
Rating out of ten: 7
The Austria and Silverstone back-to-back will not live long in the memory of Daniel Ricciardo. He may have moved up to fourth in the Drivers' Championship courtesy of another solid points haul, but consecutive - and, more significantly, conclusive - race-day defeats to team-mate Verstappen will hurt.
At Silverstone, Ricciardo could not even fall back on a superior qualifying performance as the 18-year-old outpaced him in Q3 for the first time. While Sunday's Virtual Safety Car on lap seven worked for some, it certainly didn't for Ricciardo, who had pitted the lap before, and he lost position to Sergio Perez. It wasn't until lap 21 that the Red Bull got back ahead, by which time Verstappen was two places and 19 seconds up the road.
"Hard fought? I thought that was boring," said Ricciardo afterwards, whose five fourth-place finishes sum up a nearly-but-not-quite first half of 2016.
Rating out of ten: 6
While debates continues about the worthiness of Kimi Raikkonen's contract extension at Ferrari, one conversation-stopping statistic is now worth highlighting: Raikkonen now leads team-mate Sebastian Vettel at the halfway stage of the 2016 season.
A truly stand-out performance still evades him and when a driver crosses the line a minute behind the leader in a car expected to challenge in a grand prix which only consisted of 52 laps, five of which were spent behind the Safety Car, it's tough to acclaim. But, credit where it is due, this was another solid, efficient drive from a driver who has become a solid and efficient performer - and that's evidently good enough for Ferrari too.
Rating out of ten: 7.5
After another disappointing qualifying performance Sergio Perez got back to what he does best on a Sunday - scrapping for position with loftier machines than his Force India.
Yes, the Mexican was extremely fortunate to be bumped up from 10th to fourth early on, timing his pitstop to perfection during the Virtual Safety Car period, but all else considered this was another fine race display from a man in form. He couldn't quite hold off a much faster Ricciardo but his battle with Raikkonen was entertaining, and not just for the Ferrari-2017 story behind it. He fought as hard as he could but the Finn passed with just four laps remaining, with Perez possibly paying for flat-spotting his tyres thanks to an earlier spin at Turn One.
Still, eight points is the best the Mexican could have hoped for having qualified down in 11th - while he is making ground on Valtteri Bottas in the overall standings.
Rating out of ten: 8
Nico Hulkenberg was another frustrated driver after the race, even if seventh place was probably a welcome boost after the way his once-promising Austrian GP weekend unraveled.
Like Ricciardo, he lost ground by pitting before the VSC and dropped from eighth to 10th, whereas Force India team-mate Perez lucked in by staying out, jumping from 10th to fourth. Hulkenberg ended the race on the tail of Mexican and, having outqualfied him again, may well feel he deserves a little more fortune before F1 breaks for summer next month.
Rating out of ten: 8
The fact that Carlos Sainz is now a consistent points scorer is testament to the Spaniard's rapid rise in 2016. His qualifying display perhaps deserves more credit, ahead of both Force Indias and a Williams, but it was another solid race day for the youngster.
Sainz was another driver who enjoyed the damp conditions at the start and was matching Force India's pace throughout this stint, but fell away slightly when the Silverstone circuit dried out. He also came a cropper to Abbey, narrowly avoiding an early retirement and losing two places, but recovered well in eighth.
Beating a Ferrari is certainly something to celebrate, while he is already dominating his inter-team battle.
Rating out of ten: 8
Here's a thought about Sebastian Vettel: might he have been better off remaining at Red Bull even when the tough got going two years ago after all? What looked like being an astute career move last season when he was winning races and Red Bull were threatening to leave F1 has taken on a completely different perspective during the last six months as Ferrari have steadily fallen further and further adrift of Mercedes while the resurgent Bulls have closed in.
On the latest evidence, which team is the more likely to deliver a title-winning car next year when Formula 1's aerodynamics - always a Red Bull strength - are rewritten? Aye, my thoughts exactly. As for Sebastian's performance this weekend, the less said about it the better.
Rating out of ten: 5
Finally, a return to the points for Daniil Kvyat. Three retirements and a 12th place had followed the young Russian's first grand prix back in the Toro Rosso in Barcelona - so this was badly needed. Understandably still scarred from his Red Bull axing, particularly as the man who replaced him is now a regular podium-sitter, Kvyat deserves credit for his spirit on race day after a shocking Saturday.
Battling back from 15th, he just missed out on jumping ahead of Vettel, six seconds behind the German at the chequered flag. "I finally had a good day at a racing track and it's a long time since I felt this," he admitted.
Tenth is about level with where you'd expect a Toro Rosso to end up - perhaps his team-mate raises expectations - but Kvyat's qualifying displays certainly must improve.
Rating out of ten: 7
No race-leading heroics for Felipe Massa and Williams at Silverstone this year as the team depressingly missed out on points completely at their home race.
Recent struggles are not timely for Massa, out of contract at the end of the year, and his British weekend was compromised by another Q2 exit and then high tyre wear once on slicks in the race. That tyre trouble necessitated an extra pitstop and dropped him out of the points to 11th. At least he beat team-mate Bottas.
Rating out of ten: 6
Jenson Button's British GP weekend just never got going. A detached rear wing and a lack of time between Q1 and Q2 for the stewards to investigate Kevin Magnussen's infringement did for him in qualifying and the race was inevitably an uphill slog from there.
His defeat of Fernando Alonso, JB's third such success in as many races, was commendable consolation however.
Rating out of ten: 7
Another frustrating weekend for Fernando Alonso, especially after qualifying promised so much. Once again he made the Q3 shootout, and though his best time was erased after crossing track limits, 10th was a good place for the Spaniard to attack.
Attack he did in the early stages - and his battle with Massa was an enthralling one. But Alonso seemed to just push it too much, somehow avoiding the barriers after spinning into the Turn One gravel. That dropped him out of the points and he was never truly able to recover - while he was critical of McLaren's lack of ambition with their pit calls.
He was able to keep calm post-race, citing another "step forward" with upgrades, but you do wonder how long that front can last. He loses marks for the 'off' which consigned him to 13th.
Rating out of ten: 6.5
No sugar-coating from Valtteri Bottas after slumping to 14th from sixth on the grid, the Finn owning up to "mistakes I will have to learn from". His early spin out of ninth place at Vale was the most glaring of a forgettable afternoon.
Rating out of ten: 5
When Felipe Nasr dreamt of becoming an F1 driver, it surely wasn't for weekends - or seasons - like this. The Brazilian has picked up his game of late, however, and did another decent job in bringing home his Sauber in 15th. In the circumstances, and in that car, there wasn't much more he could have done.
Rating out of ten: 6.5
With all due respect, any driver or team who finishes more than 10 seconds behind a cash-strapped Sauber has had a Sunday to forget. His team-mate didn't even finish, and Esteban Gutierrez may as well have joined him on this occasion once he lost a lot of ground at a troubled first pit stop.
Haas threatened to lead the midfield earlier this season but are now very much propping up that pack and Gutierrez, who was another man critical of his team's strategy, still looks a long way away from just his second ever points return.
Rating out of ten: 5
Did not finish: Kevin Magnussen, Jolyon Palmer, Rio Haryanto, Romain Grosjean, Marcus Ericsson, Pascal Wehrlein
Don't miss Wednesday's F1 Report at 8.30pm as Sky F1's Ted Kravitz and 1981 Silverstone winner John Watson join Marc Priestley to review the British GP and Lewis Hamilton's latest triumph
