5 things we learned from the British Grand Prix

06 July 2015 11:16

Lewis Hamilton moved 17 points clear of Nico Rosberg in the race for this season’s Formula One world championship after winning Sunday’s British Grand Prix.

Formula One writer Phil Duncan looks back at what we learned from the incident-packed race.

1. There’s life in Formula One yet.

It turns out F1 is not boring. Much of the discourse swirling around the Silverstone paddock had been negative. We were told that the sport, in its current guise, is a turn-off for fans – that the action is tepid and the results predictable. But F1 took centre stage on Sunday and delivered in spectacular fashion.

While it was a familiar result – indeed it was the sixth race that Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel have occupied the podium together this season – the outcome had been far from predictable. Yes, the inclement weather played its part, and so too did Hamilton’s sluggish start – but this was proof, if needed, that Formula One can still deliver on the grandest of stages.

2. The fans still love it.

Lewis Hamilton shows off the British Grand Prix trophy to fans
(Martin Rickett/PA)

The Austrian Grand Prix, the race prior to Silverstone, reported a 40 per cent fall in the number of fans attending compared to the previous year. The German Grand Prix, originally scribed into the calendar in a fortnight, has been scrapped. The money is not there, nor is the interest.

Yet Silverstone bucked what has become a rather depressing theme this term with a bumper 140,000 crowd on race day, and a record 335,000 across the whole weekend. If F1 really is in crisis, try telling the British fans that. Of course it helps that Hamilton is dominating the sport, but we fancy even if he was not, the numbers would still be equally impressive.

3. Lewis Hamilton just keeps on breaking records.

Lewis Hamilton sprays teammate Nico Rosberg with champagne
(Martin Rickett/PA)

Hamilton fought back the tears to claim his third British Grand Prix victory. He joins Michael Schumacher and Nigel Mansell to seal a hat-trick of wins at Silverstone. His pole was the 46th of his career to leave him third on the all-time list. Only Schumacher (68) and Senna (65) have more, while the Briton also broke Sir Jackie Stewart’s 45-year record of leading 17 consecutive races.

We have to go back to the 2014 German Grand Prix, staged on July 20, for the last time Hamilton did not lead at least one lap. Stewart, sporting his traditional tartan trousers and flat cap, was in the Silverstone paddock to witness yet another Hamilton milestone.

4. Points don’t mean prizes for McLaren.

McLaren driver Fernando Alonso
(David Davies/PA)

Fernando Alonso scored his first point for McLaren at his eighth attempt. A landmark in his second McLaren career, but nothing more. McLaren were woefully off the pace again, and their future looks as bleak now as it did at the season opener in Australia.

It is worth mentioning that Alonso finished ahead of only three other cars and ended the race a lap down on Hamilton. Afterwards, the Spaniard was asked if he was looking forward to the three-week break before the Hungarian Grand Prix. “It will be nice to have a break until next year,” he replied.

5. Williams will be kicking themselves today.

Felipe Massa leads the British Grand Prix
(Rui Vieira/AP)

While Hamilton is bathing in the plaudits after winning at Silverstone, should Williams be celebrating their first home home victory in 18 years this morning? Valtteri Bottas appeared significantly faster than Felipe Massa in the opening phase of the grand prix, but the Finn was ordered not to challenge his team-mate for the lead.

Williams reversed that decision, but should they have asked Massa to make way for his quicker team-mate? The decision may have forced Hamilton to be more aggressive, but with Massa holding up the leading quartet, and the top three covered by only one second, Hamilton could take control of the race once he pitted first.

To add insult to injury, neither Massa or Bottas finished on the podium. A chance missed by Williams.

Source: SNAPPA