Lewis Hamilton is widely regarded as one of the best qualifiers in Formula One history and has never finished lower than second at the British Grand Prix since the start of the sport’s hybrid V6 engine era, so when teammate Valtteri Bottas beat the Brit to pole position on his own turf by just 0.006 seconds, it was clear right away we were set for a great race.
As soon as the lights went out on Sunday, Hamilton was all over Bottas’s gearbox, possessed with a kind of fury we’ve rarely seen from him in recent years. Yet the Finn was ice cold, defending Hamilton’s attacks at every turn. At one stage of the 2019 British GP, Hamilton managed to slip by, but Bottas immediately retook the position, and it seemed that despite his best efforts, the five-time champion would once more be thwarted at his favorite track.
But fortune was on his side. When Antonio Giovinazzi spun off the track in his Alfa Romeo, the safety car gave Hamilton the chance to save a lot of time during his first and ultimately only pit stop, which his teammate had already performed under normal race conditions. This allowed him to come out ahead after changing tires, and from there he never relinquished the lead, eventually building the gap to an enormous 25 seconds at the checkered flag.
Pit Stop: The best place to changes tires and get ahead
As if to punctuate his command of the 2019 British GP, Hamilton put in the fastest lap of the race on the very last lap, even though at that point he had already wrung 32 laps out of his hard-compound tires (his effort was quicker than Williams’ fastest qualifying attempt on Saturday, which is simultaneously amazing and, for the former glory team, depressing).
The race for the final podium position was even more thrilling, with Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc battling relentlessly until that aforementioned safety car, which enabled Sebastian Vettel to get involved. The four-time German champion then made a mistake under braking, crashing into the back of Verstappen and ruining his own race while in the process insuring his teammate would get that third place without too much trouble.
Collision Center: Where to go after Sebastian Vettel crashes into you
The remaining points position were hard-fought as well, Daniil Kvyat being the most notable driver of the bunch, having made a good show of starting 17th and ultimately finishing ninth despite being set back by the safety car.
After a horribly boring 2019 French GP, the subsequent 2019 Austrian GP and 2019 British GP have certainly set a better standard for F1 entertainment. The next race takes place at Hockenheim in Germany, which is typically a good one as well. Perhaps F1 should try to include better circuits on its calendar, as this seems to have the biggest impact on whether the races are fun to watch.
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Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.