Red Bull Motorsports
F1
There was A LOT of last lap drama at the British Grand Prix
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing's runner-up Max Verstappen comes within a few corners of winning the British Grand Prix, as AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly claims 7th in a incident-packed race at Silverstone.
After qualifying in third, Verstappen fended off an early challenge from Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari to hold position in a podium place in what looked to be a lonely, but strong points-scoring British Grand Prix. That all changed however with a handful of laps of the race remaining, as second place man Valtteri Bottas succumbed to a puncture. On top of that, with one lap remaining, eventual winner Lewis Hamilton suffered the same fate and only just managed to hang onto victory from a hard-charging Verstappen at the flag.
Max Verstappen exits the pits at Silverstone on his way to second
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
The Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire is a place steeped in history and the 2020 British Formula One Grand Prix added another layer, as this year's championship continued under unprecedented circumstances. Traditionally, the British Grand Prix is a feast of flags, colour and an electric atmosphere, but like previous races this year, no fans were in attendance.
Silverstone was the venue for the first ever World Championship Grand Prix, hosted at the former World War Two airfield, on 13 May, 1950. The race carried the title of the European Grand Prix and was watched by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth – the first and only time a reigning monarch has attended a motor race in Britain – and 329km later Alfa Romeo's Giuseppe Farina took the win. The F1 World Championship as we know it was born.
With 14 Laps remaining, Gasly resumed his battle with the four-time F1 champion Vettel and made a great move on the exit of Stowe to pass and move his AlphaTauri up into the points. He was forced to fight for his position and managed to artfully fend-off Vettel for several corners before successfully securing 10th spot.
AlpaTauri's Pierre Gasly had a strong British Grand Prix and finished 7th
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
In the closing stages, Gasly caught the Racing Point of Lance Stroll and used all the power from his Honda engine to overhaul the Mercedes-powered rival machine and take ninth place. At the same time, drama struck the head of the field when Bottas, running second, suffering a front tyre puncture. This promoted Verstappen from his solitary third place up to second with just three laps remaining.
There was further drama on the final lap however, as race leader Hamilton was forced to crawl around most of the final circuit with a puncture as well, as Verstappen dramatically closed in. Unfortunately for Verstappen, he couldn't quite beat the Mercedes driver to the line and Hamilton managed to cling onto the win in what proved to be one of the most dramatic race finishes in recent history.
