British Grand Prix as it happened - Lewis Hamilton revives championship hopes with win at Silverstone
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Updated 18/07/2021 at 16:23 GMT
Follow the action from the British Grand Prix as it happened as Lewis Hamilton passed Charles Leclerc just two laps from the end of the race. This was after Hamilton was handed a 10-second time penalty for his role in an opening lap crash with Max Verstappen. Graham Ruthven brought you all the action.
Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton (L) and Ferrari's Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc (R) drive during the Formula One British Grand Prix motor race at Silverstone motor racing circuit in Silverstone, central England on July 18, 2021.
Image credit: Getty Images
HAMILTON WINS THE BRITISH GP!
Hamilton takes the chequered flag! He wins the British GP for a record eighth time! That's a victory that revives Hamilton's championship chances with just seven points between the defending world champion and Verstappen. He had to work hard for that one! Leclerc in second and Bottas in third with Norris in fourth.
52/52 - Last lap!
What an incredible effort by Hamilton, who will close the gap in the drivers' championship to just seven points with this victory. What a thrilling race this has been. The Silverstone crowd have been treated!
51/52 - HAMILTON IS THROUGH!
Hamilton into P1! With just two laps remaining, Hamilton has taken the lead! It was Hamilton up the inside of Copses, but this time Leclerc backs out and runs wide that allowed the Mercedes to pass through! What drama!
50/52 - 0.8 seconds!
This sums things up...
49/52 - 1.2 seconds!
This is going to be close. However, Hamilton struggled in the turbulent air earlier in the race. That might be Leclerc's best chance of keeping hold of P1 until the chequered flag!
47/52 - Raikkonen spins!
Raikkonen spins! The Alfa Romeo gives Leclerc a bit of a problem by re-joining the race just ahead of the Ferrari, but he gets through traffic pretty quickly. Hamilton is still closing the gap!
46/52 - Hamilton confidence!
It's fair to say that Hamilton, and everyone at Silverstone, senses that something special might be about to happen...
45/52 - This will be close!
Just four seconds behind! Hamilton is eating into Leclerc with every single lap and it's projected that the Mercedes will be within striking distance of the Ferrari by the 49th lap! Incredible pace from Hamilton at the moment!
43/52 - Hamilton catching Leclerc
There's half a chance for Hamilton here to win this race. He has just set the fastest lap of the race and is just over six seconds behind the Ferrari. Can Hamilton keep up this pace without blistering his tyres?
41/52 - Mercedes invert drivers!
Hamilton into P2! Indeed, there's the team orders on the Mercedes team radio for Bottas to let Hamilton past and he complies. Hamilton is into second place and will now do all he can to close the gap on Leclerc.
40/52 - Bottas losing pace
Hamilton is now just one second behind Bottas with the Finn losing pace, so at what point will Mercedes give the team orders to invert the drivers?
39/52 - Perez pits
Perez had been on a charge there to get back up into the points, but the Mexican sriver has to stop for a fresh set of tyres. Keep in mind he's on a different strategy to everyone else having started on the hards.
38/52 - Verstappen off to hospital
Another update on Verstappen after that opening lap crash...
37/52 - Bottas concern
"With this pace it's hard to make it to the end," says Bottas on the team radio. That suggests he might have to manage his tyres until the end of the race. Leclerc still has a nine-second lead here.
35/52 - Now everyone's stopped...
1) Leclerc 2) Bottas 3) Hamilton 4) Norris 5) Ricciardo 6) Sainz 7) Alonso 8) Stroll 9) Perez 10) Gasly
34/52 - Leclerc going well
Leclerc has done such a good job of stretching his advantage at the head of the pack despite struggling with software issues. Ferrari are asking Leclerc to do a lot of work with the buttons on his steering wheel. No pressure.
32/52 - Hamilton into P3!
Hamilton takes Norris! The defending world champion just had too much grip for Norris who couldn't do much to defend his position and Hamilton is back up into P3!
31/52 - Much better for Leclerc!
Leclerc in and out quickly! The nerves in the Ferrari garage must have been jangling after that terrible 12-second Sainz stop, but it's a 2-second stop for Leclerc and he's back out as the race leader!
30/52 - Sainz comes in first
Leclerc has such race pace on these tyres that Ferrari are quite content to leave him out there for the time being. Meanwhile, it's a terrible stop for Sainz. Oh dear!
29/51 - Hamilton pits!
Hamilton into the pits! The world champion was stationary for over 14 seconds as he serves his time penalty and Hamilton is back out in P5, behind Norris, but ahead of Gasly.
27/62 - Halfway point
1) Leclerc 2) Hamilton 3) Sainz 4) Bottas 5) Norris 6) Gasly 7) Ricciardo 8) Tsunoda 9) Alonso 10) Stroll
26/52 - 'Problem!'
Alonso seems to have some sort of problem, although it's not entirely clear what that problem is. One to keep an eye on...
25/52 - Lando past Alonso!
Norris up into P5! Alonso has yet to stop and had the potential to hold up Norris, who will have hopes of passing Bottas again, but the McLaren does well to get past the former world champion.
23/52 - Bottas response
Bottas is now pitting to take advantage of the slow McLaren pit stop just a lap ago and that is a good response from the world champions! Bottas emerges in P5... ahead of Norris!
22/52 - Norris pits!
Slow pit stop! It's a six-second pit stop for Norris and that's not good enough for the McLaren to truly push for a race victory. It was the front right tyre.
21/52 - Ricciardo pits!
While a lot of the focus has been on his McLaren teammate, Ricciardo is running well this afternoon and pits to emerge in P9. That's a good place for the Australian to be to pick up some good points.
20/52 - '100% pace'
Ok, that's the message now been given to Norris who has now been told to press. He had been managing his tyres until now. Norris will now attempt to close the gap on Hamilton in P2 before pitting, presumably.
19/52 - Leclerc recovering
It appears Leclerc has full power again and that has seen the Ferrari open up a gap of over a second again. Are the problems now over for Leclerc? What was that all about?
17/52 - Hamilton catching Leclerc!
Yet more power unit problems for Leclerc and Hamilton is now within 0.5 seconds of the Ferrari. All the while, Norris is just hanging back while sticking close to the front two, if that makes sense. That's something to keep an eye on!
16/52 - Leclerc power problems!
Power unit problems! Oh dear! An issue for Leclerc whose engine lost power going through a couple corners! That has allowed Hamilton to close up the gap on the Ferrari. Hamilton is now close to being in DRS range!
15/52 - Hamilton concern
Hamilton has been on the Mercedes team radio worrying about the degradation of his rear tyres. Meanwhile, Leclerc still has a lead of over a second on the chasing pack behind him.
14/52 - Bottas strategy
Indeed, Bottas has now been told to extend this current stint by a further four laps as the teams adapt their strategies after the red flag and restart. Interesting to see how this one pans out, now.
13/52 - Tyre management
There is a lot of tyre management going on out there at the moment which would explain why there isn't a great deal of action right now. There is still a belief at Mercedes that Hamilton could end up winning this race despite his penalty.
10/52 - Update on Vettel
After spinning in the first lap after the restart, Vettel is down in P17 which is where he doesn't want to be. The former world champion has work ahead of him to make his way back through the pack.
9/52 - Verstappen update!
An update from Red Bull on the health of Verstappen whose race ended before the end of the first lap...
8/52 - Lando well-placed
Norris is well-placed in P3 at the moment. With Hamilton ahead of him set to serve a 10-second time penalty and Leclerc, the race leader, in a Ferrarri car that has struggled to maintain race pace over the course of the season so far, this could be a real opportunity for the McLaren!
7/52 - No reaction
Hamilton is told of his 10-second time penalty over the Mercedes team radio, but there's very little reaction from the defending world champion.
5/52 - Hamilton time penalty!
10-second time penalty! The stewards have handed out their time punishment to Hamilton for his role in the Verstappen collision and it's a 10-second time penalty for the world champion!
4/52 - Leclerc leads
Leclerc has done very well to get around the first lap since the restart with his lead intact. Ferrari didn't believe they were competitive for the win here, but Leclerc obviously believes he can take this!
3/52 - Restart!
Racing again! Leclerc gets away well from the start with Hamilton behind the Mercedes and Norris in third place. Bottas is in fourth having been passed by the McLaren. Much cleaner first lap... oh wait, no! Vettell has spun!
15:15 - Investigation!
Hamilton/Verstappen investigation! Indeed, there's an investigation ongoing into the opening lap crash. Christian Horner has made his point that he believes Hamilton is at fault for what happened. Meanwhile, they're still repairing the barrier.
2/52 - RED FLAG!
Race is stopped! The stewards have decided to fly the red flags to clear up the debris of that incident. Verstappen is out of his car and looks to be ok. That's a relief. That was a big impact.
1/52 - LIGHTS OUT!
Hamilton on Verstappen! Big impact! Hamilton and Verstappen stick with each other through the first few corners of the opening lap and there's contact between the two! Verstappen is into the tyre wall at high speed! That's a massive crash!
14:00 - Formation lap
All 19 cars on the grid are starting on the medium compound tyres. Meanwhile, Perez, who will start from the pit lane, is on the hards. Formation lap is under way!
13:55 - Not long to go!
We are just five minutes away from the formation lap. There's a great deal of anticipation ahead of this British Grand Prix. What sort of race should we expect?
13:50 - Silverstone conditions
It's a very warm afternoon at the home of motorsport! Could that be of benefit to Mercedes who have been able to find better race pace in the warmer conditions at Silverstone?
Hamilton hasn't taken the chequered flag in FIVE races! Mercedes need a good showing this afternoon to prove 2021 isn't going to be a Red Bull procession!
13:45 - Grid walk!
Plenty of celebrities including Tom Cruise, Michael Douglas and Emma Raducanu on the grid for this afternoon's race. Nature is healing!
13:40 - Title duel
Hamilton was fired up on Friday after taking P1 in standard qualifying. You get the sense he feels he needs to win here to keep alive his chances of winning the world championship against an inspired driver in Verstappen.
The upgrades Mercedes have made for this weekend have worked to a certain extent. They have a car that is at least competitive with the Red Bulls today!
13:35 - Fans are back!
As already mentioned, there are 140,000 fans at Silverstone for this afternoon's race! What a sight it is to see the stands at the home of motorsport full again!
What sort of impact will they make on the race itself? They were roaring on Hamilton as he tried to take on Verstappen in the Sprint on Saturday. Lando Norris and George Russell will also get their support!
13:30 - British Grand Prix Sunday!
Good afternoon and welcome to Eurosport's LIVE coverage of the British Grand Prix! There's 140,000 motorsport fans at Silverstone for the first time in two years! Hopefully we'll get a race to match the spectacle!
Yesterday saw the first ever Sprint race in F1 history with Max Verstappen snatching pole from Lewis Hamilton after the seven-times world champion claimed P1 in Friday qualifying.
Grid - 1) Verstappen 2) Hamilton 3) Bottas 4) Leclerc 5) Norris 6) Ricciardo 7) Alonso 8) Vettel 9) Ocon 10) Sainz 11) Gasly 12) Russell 13) Raikkonen 14) Stroll 15) Giovinazzi 16) Tsunoda 17) Latifi 18) Schumacher 19) Mazepin 20) Perez
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