The British Grand Prix isn’t one that needs much selling. After all, it’s where Formula 1 began 75 years ago—where legends have carved their names into history by mastering the great corners of Copse, Maggotts-Becketts, and Stowe. In 2025, Silverstone added yet another epic chapter, delivering a race for the ages.
Changeable weather conditions, with just the right amount of rain, made the track treacherous, as several drivers, including all the rookies bar Ollie Bearman, found out the hard way. It became a true survival of the fittest test. While Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s decision to trim downforce for qualifying paid off with pole position, things didn’t go quite to plan in the race. The reigning champion led early but was soon overtaken by Oscar Piastri in the McLaren, with Lando Norris following suit not long after.
Verstappen regained second after the first round of stops, helped by a problem with Norris’s left-front wheel gun, but the advantage was short-lived. Two Virtual Safety Cars and two full Safety Car periods shook up the order. It was during the second Safety Car that Piastri’s cheeky move backfired.
In a manoeuvre reminiscent of one he’d pulled off in Spain earlier this year, Piastri braked heavily just as the Safety Car pulled into the pits. Verstappen shot past and immediately complained over team radio that the Aussie had braked erratically. The stewards agreed. Piastri was handed a 10-second time penalty after telemetry showed he’d applied 60 psi of brake pressure and decelerated by over 100 kph in just a few metres. A similar incident involving George Russell in Canada earlier this season went unpenalised, but in that case, the brake pressure had only been 30 psi. From the onboard footage, Piastri’s deceleration looked severe, and with poor visibility compounding the issue, the penalty was fair.
The restart proved disastrous for Verstappen, who spun out of second and dropped down to tenth, later calling his car undriveable. Meanwhile, a masterful strategy from Aston Martin propelled Lance Stroll into third, with Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg running fourth. Hülkenberg made his way passed Stroll and ,against all odds, held off Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages to secure his first-ever podium to finish third in his 239th race.
Hamilton, for his part, could manage only fourth, while Verstappen somehow clawed his way back to fifth, just ahead of an impressive Pierre Gasly in sixth. Stroll ultimately finished seventh, followed by Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso, and George Russell rounding out the points in eighth, ninth, and tenth respectively. Elsewhere, Charles Leclerc endured a miserable afternoon, crossing the line in fourteenth.
Some will say Norris lucked into the win because of Piastri’s penalty. They’d be wrong. Norris lost at least two seconds in his first pitstop and was well within that margin before the final round of stops. As much as people like to say winning is about having the fastest car, and that certainly helps, it’s also about staying calm under pressure, driving cleanly, and making the most of every opportunity. Piastri, though he’ll surely deny it, made a mistake. He’ll learn from it and no doubt be back fighting at the front at Spa in two weeks’ time.
But what a day it was for Lando Norris. To win your home Grand Prix—that’s a memory that lasts a lifetime. And it may well be the spark that propels him to even greater heights.
