Explore the pivotal moments and key strategies that shaped the thrilling British Grand Prix, with a focus on standout performances and tactical plays.
Williams F1
At the British Grand Prix, Williams F1 and Alexander Albon secured a vital two points on home soil, with Albon finishing in 9th place after an impressive qualifying session that saw him make Q3.
Despite a troubling start where he dropped out of the top 10, Albon managed to make a commendable recovery, overtaking Yuki Tsunoda towards the race’s end.
Albon remarked, “There was contact at Turn 3 and again at Turn 4, and part of the front wing was lost, so I was quite concerned initially. However, everything eventually fell into place, and I was pleased.” He added, “I knew the rain would offer a second chance, so I needed to stay patient and seize any opportunities. We chose the right tyres at the right times. Despite some time lost during pit stops, and considering the damage, I believe we could have scored more points, but I’m still satisfied.”
“This weekend was crucial for the team, and achieving this result at our home Grand Prix made it even more special,” Albon concluded.
Logan Sargeant, just shy of the points in 11th, had his best performance of the season. “Since the struggles in the long runs from FP2, we significantly improved the car’s positioning, and it showed. We had a strong pace, especially on slick tyres, although I struggled a bit on a drying track with intermediates,” Sargeant explained. He acknowledged some tactical missteps, noting, “In hindsight, pitting a lap or two earlier could have made the difference for scoring points. Overall, I’m pleased with my driving this weekend.”
Williams F1’s Sporting Director, Sven Smeets, expressed satisfaction as the team doubled its points tally in a single race, with rival Alpine F1 now only five points ahead in the constructors’ standings. “The car performed well today under mixed and rather cool conditions. Alex managed to avoid a major collision after some early contact, demonstrating great skill. Both cars had a good rhythm in the early part of the race,” Smeets said.
“As the first rain shower hit, both drivers did an excellent job keeping on the slicks, as timing the switch to intermediates was challenging. Once the rain had passed, we timely switched back to slicks, and both Logan and Alex showed good pace on the drying track. Logan managed to overtake Kevin Magnussen for 11th place, and Alex executed a fine manoeuvre on Tsunoda to clinch 9th, securing two crucial points for the team. Overall, it was a strong weekend for us following a couple of challenging ones.”
Haas F1
Nico Hülkenberg and Haas F1 delivered a stellar performance at Silverstone, securing another impressive 6th place finish. His teammate, Kevin Magnussen, finished 12th, driving an older specification car.
It was undoubtedly one of Hülkenberg’s finest weekends in Formula One. Starting 6th, he crossed the finish line in the same position, despite losing three places at the start. Hülkenberg then executed a flawless race to earn an additional eight points. With these points, Haas F1 has significantly closed the gap to Alpine F1 and is now just four points behind RB F1.
“I’m very pleased for the team; eight more points are very precious,” Hülkenberg beamed on Sunday evening. He added, “Most importantly, the performance upgrades are proving effective, which makes me optimistic for the rest of the season. We are genuinely competing to be the fifth fastest team, which is positively surprising and very encouraging.”
“The race was challenging, especially with the early rain not quite enough for intermediates. Navigating the high-speed corners with such grip was risky, but we managed to stay clean and recover from the initial setback.”
Kevin Magnussen’s weekend was less successful than his teammate’s. The Dane finished 12th: a commendable climb but paling in comparison to Hülkenberg’s achievements, especially given Magnussen was in the older car spec. “We pitted a lap too early, I think. We were somewhat close to Albon, who stayed out a lap longer and significantly increased his lead. The pace wasn’t great on the soft tyres; I experienced immediate graining and couldn’t deliver a strong stint,” Magnussen explained.
“It’s fantastic for Nico to secure eight points today. It’s been two very good weekends for the team, which is extremely important. I would have liked to contribute more, but just didn’t have the chance at the end,” he added.
Ayao Komatsu, the team director, was thrilled: “If the updates perform at the Hungaroring as they did at Silverstone, Haas could very well overtake RB F1 in the constructors’ standings. It’s been an excellent day, though it’s a pity we couldn’t score points with both cars. If Kevin hadn’t suffered from graining on the softs in his last stint, he would have been close to scoring. Securing 6th in two consecutive races, what more could I ask for? The upgrades worked again, Nico felt it immediately on Friday, his qualifying on Saturday showed it, and his race pace today confirmed it.”
“Kevin, with the older spec, was content, but I think he sustained some damage in FP2, so overall, today’s results are something we can be proud of. The race wasn’t easy; conditions were variable, and it’s easy to say just choose the right tyres at the right time, but it’s much harder to execute. Yet, we managed it. It’s a huge team effort, and I am very proud of them.”
RB F1
RB F1’s Yuki Tsunoda secured a surprising point at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone, a welcome result for the team in less than ideal conditions. Despite not generally favoring wet races, Tsunoda found the rain to his advantage this time, managing to maintain and even close the gap with the cars ahead.
“It was a good race, and I’m happy with it. I knew it would be tough in the dry, and the rain helped me this time,” Tsunoda remarked.
Given the car’s pace in practice, Tsunoda had set modest expectations: “Based on our pace in free practice, we didn’t think scoring points would be possible here. We’ve scored a point, so we’ll take it and look forward to better races. With a mix of fast and slow corners coming up, we hope to showcase our strengths.”
Daniel Ricciardo, however, finished outside the points and acknowledged the difficulties faced: “I don’t want to sound like ‘poor us’, but the race had mixed conditions with opportunities, yet we lacked the pace to capitalize. It was tricky, and the race was long.”
“Whenever the weather changed, I hoped it would be our moment to shine, but it wasn’t a competitive day for us. The race is long, and you know when you’re off the pace. We struggled more than we should have, so we need to understand why,” Ricciardo added.
“The last three weekends have been tough. We had a good race last week, but in the battle of developments with our competitors, we’ve fallen a bit short. It’s not enough; the car wasn’t comfortable enough to overcome its weaknesses.”
Aston Martin F1
Aston Martin F1 earned solid points at their home race in Silverstone, placing both cars in the points, directly behind Nico Hülkenberg.
Lance Stroll once again finished ahead of his teammate, securing 7th place. “It was a challenging race today, but we managed it well and gathered quite a few points for the team. I had a good start and managed to overtake Hülkenberg. Then, a few laps later, the rain began to fall and we pitted for intermediates,” Stroll explained.
“It’s always a challenge to judge how long you can last on the dry compound without pitting too late and ending up in the barriers, but I think we made the right call. It’s great to end this triple-header with a more competitive weekend; it’s a significant boost for the team and we look forward to carrying this momentum into Hungary,” he added.
Fernando Alonso finished 8th, commenting, “We achieved a good result today, with both cars scoring points in the top 10. I felt more competitive this weekend, and it seemed we were in our natural position, which is more encouraging than in the previous races.”
“It was a difficult race to read, with question marks over when to switch to wet or dry tyres at certain stages of the race. I think we waited a lap too late to switch to intermediates, but there’s always a bit of luck involved in these decisions. It’s up to us to continue to improve and find more performance in the car for the upcoming races.”
Ferrari
At the British Grand Prix, Ferrari faced another challenging weekend, outpaced by Mercedes F1, McLaren F1, and Max Verstappen. Carlos Sainz finished fifth, acknowledging his inability to challenge for a higher position, particularly after George Russell’s retirement.
“Honestly, we were not close to McLaren; they were faster. We managed to stay in contention thanks to good decisions and having the right tyres at the right times, at least we achieved that,” admitted the Spaniard.
However, the performance of the Scuderia is concerning: “Whether it was very wet or very dry, we had no chance of competing against them. But I’m at least happy that we could stay in the fight.”
“Ending this weekend with 11 points is a positive for the team, considering McLaren’s strong comeback and the potential for Mercedes to have scored heavily if they had two cars at the finish,” Sainz reflected.
“It was tough to make the right calls; we tried to understand from Friday and Saturday the intensity of the rain and which tyres to use when, and it paid off. Unfortunately, we did everything right during a weekend where we were simply not fast enough, but we managed to compete for something.”
Sainz acknowledged that it’s a difficult period for Ferrari, which has reverted to its Imola package after abandoning the Barcelona upgrades: “Definitely. It would be a lie to say we are in a good period. It’s been tough for a while.”
“The fact that we are still using the Imola spec shows that in F1, if you are not moving forward, Red Bull, Mercedes, and McLaren will overtake you. We need to understand where we went wrong and find performance in the car after losing ground in the last two races. We have work to do.”
Charles Leclerc finished 14th after a race compromised by an aggressive strategy decision to switch to intermediates at the first hint of rain: “It started to rain, not enough for those tyres, but the radio message was that more rain was coming the next lap, so we tried an aggressive strategy that didn’t work out.”
When asked about his reflections on the weekend and if he sees how far behind Ferrari is falling compared to other teams, he was clear about the lack of pace: “We weren’t fast.”
Regarding the victory of his future teammate Lewis Hamilton, Leclerc found it hard to share in the enthusiasm: “It’s always special to win at home, congratulations to Lewis, but it’s a really tough time for the team. However, I’m happy for Lewis.”
Alpine F1
Esteban Ocon finished a disappointing 16th at the British Grand Prix, following a series of missteps by Alpine F1.
Ocon’s race was compromised early on when he pitted for intermediates during the first shower, only to be called in again for mediums, and then switched back to intermediates. The French driver lamented the poor result due to a cascade of poor decisions throughout the weekend.
“Simply put, it was the wrong choice from start to finish. This weekend was filled with poor decisions; we didn’t make a single good call, making it very complicated. There’s nothing to take from this weekend, we need to turn the page and focus on the next race,” Ocon told Canal+.
When asked whether a week’s break before a double-header might help Alpine regroup, Ocon seemed in agreement: “I think the team needs it, yes. I’m fine, ready for any situation, ready to race tomorrow if needed, but this weekend was challenging.”
Pierre Gasly didn’t even start the race, as his car suffered a gearbox failure during the formation lap: “We suspect a gearbox issue prevented us from starting. We need to analyse to understand it better.”
“Unfortunately, it was compromised from the beginning with the battery and engine change, but a race is a race, especially with the rain expected. It’s unfortunate, but I hope we can put this behind us and focus on the rest of the season.”
Mercedes F1 George Russell
George Russell shared his experience after being forced to retire from the British Grand Prix, where he was contending for victory.
He revealed a coolant leak in his W15’s cooling system and acknowledged foreseeing his withdrawal from the race.
“Yes, I knew about 10 laps before I had to retire. I saw temperature alarms going off on my steering wheel and a sort of failure in the water cooling system.”
“I’m not really sure what to say. The car was performing very well.”
“I knew it would be a long race. I struggled a bit in the wet areas, but it was quite demanding.”
“I’m delighted for the team, thrilled for Lewis. We clinch a victory in front of our home crowd, which is fantastic.”
- You may also like>Pérez Faces ‘Total Disaster’ at Harrowing Silverstone
- Following us on>Facebook and>Twitter
F1 Race’s Insights: Key Takeaways from British GP. f1 2024 F1 Race’s Insights: Key Takeaways from British GP. F1 Race’s Insights: Key Takeaways from British GP 2024. F1 Race’s Insights: Key Takeaways from British GP. formula 1 F1 Race’s Insights: Key Takeaways from British GP. formula F1 Race’s Insights: Key Takeaways from British GP
