What a banger of a weekend ol’ chaps! From the start, the British Grand Prix was set to be a weekend unlike any other with the introduction of the F1 Sprint Race and the new 2022 cars. Fans had called for this sprint format for years to add some “spice” to the top tier of motorsport, and now that it was here, nobody was quite sure if it was going to be worth it. Not only would the weekend herald a new format, but as F1 returned home, so did the fans. For the first time in a full year, listening to the qualifying in my car as I traveled to a work function, hearing the roar of a crowd brought a small tear to my eye.
Qualifying
Shall we begin? There’s no better place to start than the qualifying session we were treated to on a hot Friday afternoon. The change in sprint race format means there was only one practice session before qualifying rather than three and teams rushed to figure out their setups for Saturday. If this session somehow doesn’t make it into the top three of all time minimum, I can’t wait to see what we’re in store for. After first practice we saw Redbull seemingly pulling away again from Mercedes by seven tenths of a second, much to the surprise of the defending world champion, who’ provided an absolute gem of a radio message detailing his shock.
Q1 felt the same old yawn waiting for the Haas’s, Latifi, then either some combo of Raikkonen, Stroll, Ocon, Alonso, or Giovinazzi to round out the bottom five. Q2 however, would provide an absolute spectacle. During the last run and seemingly out of nowhere George Russel found himself sitting P7 after crossing the line. For the second weekend in a row, George Russel has put that piece of shit Williams into Q3 on sheer pace. The kid is fucking good.
Mercedes took the opportunity to be out first in the top ten shootout, with Bottas towing Lewis across the line to set the time to beat. After nine out of ten drivers set an initial time, the British crowd rose to their feet. George Russel exited the pit lane the sole car on track, and proceeded to put on a clinic keeping the Williams in P7. Then it was time for Lewis and Max to trade one last flurry of blows. Lewis took the first shot turning the first two sectors purple on his flying lap. He looked to be setting a blistering pace when the back end gave up on him just a touch in the last few corners putting the British crowds hearts in their throat. Lewis crossed the line and….couldn’t improve, all eyes went to Verstappen rounding the final few corners, it was a hell of a lap, but it wasn’t enough. Lewis would start the sprint on Saturday in P1.
The Sprint “Qualifying”
New to the schedule is F1’s attempt to shake things up in the form of a sprint qualifying event that would set the grid for Sunday. Formula One was hesistant with calling this a race, but I have to agree with Martin Brundle, that was a race. Verstappen took the lead from the start while Lewis did everything he could to keep it close on the opening lap. It was not meant to be as Verstappen would clear the Mercedes and keep his foot firmly planted in the lead. Alonso shot up an obscene number of places on the grid setting himself up within the top 10, while Russel finished in P9! Only this race only awards the top three with extra points so the quest for his first points in a Williams continues. Somewhere in there Charles Leclerc ever so quietly stuck his bright red car into P4. There are some definite tweaks that need to be made, but if the next several are like this, we might be looking at a new weekend schedule.
The Race
If it’s not clear by reading my attempts at journalism or talking to me about F1 in person, I FUCKING LOVE THIS SPORT! We had such a fantastic opening of the weekend, it was hard to believe the race would be able to add to the spectacle. The grid was set, the track was hot, and the lights went out. Verstappen got away but nowhere near what it looked like the day before. Hamilton was close and he wanted the lead. The first few corners were enough to make everyone clench their butt cheeks and take a deep breath as the two came within millimeters of each other on several occasions. Then as the pair dueled into Cobb’s corner, it happened, the championship leaders came together with Verstappen taking a 51 g-force impact into the tire barrier and completely out of this race. As cutthroat as this sport is, everyone waited on baited breath to see what the settling dust would reveal. Sighs of relief blew across the stadium as Verstappen was able to exit the vehicle. He would later be sent to a hospital to be “checked out”.
Up until this point Lewis and Max have been scrappy, but respectful. The two have given each other room on many occasions but not on this day. Flying into the corner Lewis stuck his car on the inside line as Verstappen moved inwards, catching Lewis’s front left tire and went careening off the track at top speed. This will be debated for weeks to come as bloodshed in the Driver’s Championship has finally been drawn. Suddenly after the fray, Charles Leclerc found himself in the long missed position of P1.
Red flags were flown signaling the the stoppage of the race as the drivers pulled into the pit lane. Replay after replay of the incident between the title rivals flooded television screens and commentators debated who was at fault. In hindsight, the red flag probably saved Lewis’s race as his mechanics slapped some duct tape on any damaged parts and pieces in desperate fashion to keep Lewis in the hunt. Then the decisions was handed forth from the stewards, Lewis would get a ten second time penalty to be served during his pit stop.
For the second time in only 3 laps, the cars lined the grid and five red lights went out once more. Leclerc had a brilliant start keeping Lewis around two seconds back during the opening stint. The Ferrari driver battled his engine cutting out on several occasions and still managed to keep the reigning champ in his rearview mirrors. Lewis would hit the pitlane and come to an agonizing halt for the British fans as the timer counted down from ten. Wheel guns sprang to life and the Mercedes left the pitlane on a set of brand new hard tires.
At this point Ferrari would be sitting in P1 and P2 but a mishap with a sheelgun would extend Carlos Sainz’s time in the pits and cripple his race. Leclerc would pit right behind Sainz as the collective of the tifosi simply stopped breathing in fear. Jacks released and the red car stormed back onto the track on it’s own new set of hard tires with Hamilton battling his way back from somewhere around P5. Seven times now we have watched Lewis win a world title and today was a prime example of how and why he can continue to do it.
“Arise Sir Lewis,” David Coulthard said interviewing Lewis on Friday after qualifying to the screaming crowd of three hundred fifty six thousand, and on Sunday arise he fucking did. On lap forty one the AWS graphic came up, Lewis would need nine laps to catch Leclerc with ten laps to go. The champion cut seconds after seconds lap after lap out of the leading Ferrari until finally, with the crowd on their feet urging Lewis on through sheer force of will, the silver arrow dove down the inside of the prancing pony….into Cobb’s Corner. In almost similar fashion to his go at Verstappen, Lewis stuck his car on the inside line and whether Charles couldn’t defend or said I’ve seen this before and gave the champ too much room, the Ferrari went wide catching a curb and cementing Leclerc to finish the race in P2.
Bottas would round out the podium with his largest contribution being following team orders to let Lewis by once again. Almost always the bridesmaid, rarely the bride. There were a few other things that happened but honestly I’m exhausted after watching that race and writing about it. As our friends across the pond would say, this weekend was absolutely smashing.