F1 British Grand Prix 2020: Lewis Hamilton secures victory at Silverstone with tyre puncture
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, made a impressive recovery in the first British Grand Prix of the 2020 season as he limped his car over the line, with a puncture, to win the race.
Daniil Kvyat, Alpha Tauri, had a horrible meeting with the barrier at turn 10, on the exit of Maggots, after he suffered a rear right puncture which saw him sliding across the gravel trap.
Nico Hulkenberg, Racing Point, who was brought in to replace Sergio Perez, wasn’t able to start the race, as an issue with the power unit meant the German couldn’t make it out to the grid or start the race from the pit lane.
It was a good start of the 19 drivers on the grid, as Charles Leclerc, Ferrari moved up from fourth as he overtook Max Verstappen, Red Bull, at turn three. However, down the Wellington straight, Verstappen had better traction on the exit of turn five and this allowed the Dutch driver to regain third place over the Monegasque.
Kevin Magnussen, Haas, crashed out at the exit of Club (turn 18) after he made contact with Alexander Albon, Red Bull, at the end of the first lap. This sent him towards the wall on the start/finish straight, which ripped off his front left tyre. As a result, the first safety car was deployed.
On the restart, Hamilton, managed to catch out the trailing drivers, as he was the pace-setter as the safety car sped off back to the pit lane, but his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, was able to react quickly to the restart. However, Albon was the first driver to pit for fresh tyres as he swapped his soft compound tyres for the hard compounds.
Kvyat, had a nasty crash at Maggots as he spun out on the exit of turn 10, due to a right rear puncture, and slid across the gravel towards the barrier. This deployed the second safety car of the race, including the medical car. Luckily the Russian driver was seen standing beside his car after the crash.
After the restart, on lap 18, Hamilton seemed to edge away from the pack as the race got back underway. Furthermore, Lando Norris, McLaren, fought for seventh against Daniel Ricciardo, Renault, who held it at the time. However, the McLaren driver driver wasn’t able to secure the position down the Wellington straight but he managed to get it done on the outside of Luffield (Turn 7).
Shortly after, Albon was given a five second timed penalty for causing a collision for the incident with Magnussen on lap one.
Romain Grosjean, Haas, was given a black and white flag for unsportsmanlike behaviour, on lap 26, after Carlos Saniz, McLaren, reported the French driver changed direction in the braking zone as they went towards Stowe (turn 15).
“I’ll use the overtake when I feel I have an opportunity, you don’t have to remind me about the overtake”
Nicholas Latifi to Williams pit wall
On lap 36, Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo, was given a five second timed penalty after a race control decided the Italian driver committed a safety car infringement.
In the last laps of the British Grand Prix, there was a battle for eighth between Esteban Ocon, Renault, and Lance Stroll, Racing Point, which the Canadian successfully blocked off the young Renault driver. However, on lap 47 the Racing Point lost the position, around Luffield, to Ocon after he received a black and white flag – likely down to unsportsmanlike behaviour.
There was intense drama in the last laps as Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Remo, suffered wing failure as he trundled through Maggots and Becketts. However, the intensity shot up as both Bottas (lap 50) and Sainz (lap 51) suffered with tyre punctures.
Futhermore, as Hamilton flew around on the final lap of the British GP, he also had a gained a puncture halfway around Silverstone. Luckily the six-time, British, world champion was able to limp his car around the track to cross the finish line as he had a 30-second gap between himself and Verstappen.
Podium:
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
