Bottas took the start with self-confidence, although Hamilton tried his very best to challenge his Finnish teammate for the lead. Verstappen took a magnificent start on the hard tyres, making it past Hulkenberg's "pink Mercedes" immediately. Also Stroll gained a position at the start, as the Canadian managed to pass Renault's Ricciardo. Unfortunately the driver to face drama on the opening lap was Vettel, who had started to the race on the white-walled hard Pirellis. Going into the first corners, hitting a kerb, Sebastian peculiarly lost the rear of his SF1000, spinning and dropping down to the back of the pack. The circle of difficulties seemed endless for Sebastian! The start to the race wasn't easy for Charles, either. The Monegasque lost two positions at the start, dropping down to P10.
It was a bit surprising, how huge the tyre degradation turned out. Having completed six laps only, both Mercedes drivers complained about their overheated left-side tyres. Albon in his RB16 pitted on lap six already, opting for a fresh set of hard Pirellis. By lap 9 Verstappen had made it within 1.2 seconds from Hamilton. The team told Max to keep the distance to the Briton, but Max completely disagreed. He didn't want to "drive like a grandma", but to use every opportunity to challenge the Mercedes ace, who was in serious trouble with his blistered tyres.
The leading Mercedes drivers pitted on the sequential laps, with Bottas boxing first on lap 13. The Finn rejoined the track ahead of Charles in P6. Both drivers switched to the hard compound. Against all odds, Verstappen in the lead didn't have any issues with his tyres. He still hadn't pitted on lap 22, and unbelievable but true, his lap times were 1.5s faster than those of Valtteri, who was on much fresher tyres! Tyre management proved Max's secret weapon against the Mercedes drivers. Max had already opened a 16-second gap to Bottas in P2. Meanwhile, Sebastian pitted for the first time on lap 22. He switched to another set of hard tyres.
Verstappen pitted not until at the halfway point of the race, on lap 26. The "tyre whisperer" opted for a fresh set of medium Pirellis and rejoined the track right at Bottas' tail. However, overtaking didn't prove difficult for Max, who was absolutely flying on his fresh tyres. Verstappen inevitably snatched the lead from the Finn.
Further down in the midfield, Kimi had also pitted for the first and only time. The Iceman had started to the race on the hardest compound, and opted for the mediums for his second stint. Kimi did everything he could at the wheel of his Alfa Romeo, but after pitting, the Finn was in tame P13. Haas' Magnussen, on the other hand, was given a 5-second time penalty for rejoining the track in dangerous manner, which led into contact with Williams' Latifi.
Lap 32 saw both Verstappen and Bottas pitting for the second time. Both drivers' pit stops went smoothly, and only two seconds were separating the rivals, as they rejoined the track on hard Pirellis. Now it was all about battle for victory! Meanwhile, Hamilton stayed out, although his tyres were critically out-worn. It was amazing, how the Briton was still able to bang competitive lap times. Not until on lap 42, with ten laps to go, Hamilton pitted for the second time. He locked up his tyres when braking heavily at the pit entry. It almost seemed like speeding at the pit lane. The Briton had aimed for a one-stop strategy, but with the tyre degradation that Mercedes had, it proved mission impossible. Hamilton opted for another set of hard Pirellis. He rejoined the track four seconds behind Charles, who was confident to make one-stop strategy work.
However, Charles proved unable to match Hamilton's storming pace. In just three laps Hamilton had made it within DRS distance from the Ferrari ace. The speed difference at the straight was so remarkable, that in spite of a desperate defensive move, Charles had no chance to keep Hamilton behind. After passing Charles, the Briton smelled his teammate's blood. Both Mercedes aces were told on the team radio, that they were free to race, but they had to keep it clean. Tenth by tenth Hamilton closed the gap to Valtteri, who was struggling heavily with grip on his blistered hard tyres. With only two laps to go, Hamilton moved ahead of his teammate. Pole had turned into a bitter P3 for the Finn.
"Tyre whisperer" Max Verstappen was not only the hero of the day, but also the Driver of the Day -once again. He crossed the finish line as the race winner for the 9th time in his career. This was the first time, that Red Bull won at Silverstone since 2012! Max's margin to the runner-up Hamilton was impressive 11 seconds. Pole-sitter Bottas was cruelly left on the lowest step of the podium. Once again Charles managed to maximise his performance at the wheel of his pace-lacking SF1000, thanks to the Red Team's genius strategy. Albon, too finally delivered, crossing the finish line in fifth. The Thai driver was followed by the Racing Point duo of Stroll and Hulkenberg. The German ended up doing three pit stops in the race. The top ten was rounded out by Renault's Ocon, McLaren's Norris and AlphaTauri's Kvyat. Sad but true, Sebastian could only make it P12 in the end. It also broke my heart to see Kimi in P15.
By winning the race, Max jumped second in the drivers' championship standings. Hamilton has 107 points to Max's 77. Bottas was dropped down to third with 73 points. Charles is now in P4, but 28 points down on the Finn already. Sebastian still has 10 points only, which doesn't provide a truthful image of his talent and skills.
After reading a deep interview of Vettel at f1.com last weekend, many thoughts have crossed through my mind. Does Sebastian get any support from his fans this season, which is driven in front of empty grandstands? No fans are allowed to attend races, and Sebastian is the only driver on the grid, who doesn't have any social media. Meanwhile, other drivers get massive support on social media. I guess some drivers need it more than the others, but in my opinion everyone benefits from encouraging messages and words of support, especially in a challenging situation, like where Sebastian stands in right now. I wish there was a way, that us fans, could show how much we support him and cheer for him, no matter how many difficulties he faces on or off track! I wish he knew, that there are so many people, who believe in him from all their hearts!
It was a refreshing change to see Verstappen win the race! Hopefully going to Barcelona next week, will offer more refreshing winds of change!
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