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Formula OneLando Norris delighted his home crowd by winning the 2025 British Grand Prix in another wet-weather extravaganza that rivalled last year's rollercoaster race for excitement. The British summer hit the Silverstone circuit in force on Sunday afternoon that led to unpredictability, crashes, and a captivating 52 laps. However, Norris’ maiden home soil F1 win came with a caveat, as a penalty for teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri handed the victory to the Briton.. Nonetheless, the feel-good factor was palpable at the Northamptonshire track, especially with German Nico Hülkenberg ending his career-long podium drought after moving from P19 on the grid.
Drama began even before lights out. A downpour ahead of the race meant all 20 drivers chose Pirelli's Intermediate tyre for the maximum grip in the wet, but a slowly-drying track saw six drivers peel into the pit lane after the formation lap finished. Gambling on the ambient heat to make slick-tyre driving the best option, high-profile names like George Russell and Charles Leclerc sacrificed track position in the hope of faster lap times. That gamble immediately failed Franco Colapinto, whose Alpine car got stuck in second gear in his pit box and left the Argentinian as the race's first retirement.
Back on the grid, pole sitter Max Verstappen kept Piastri at bay through the opening corners. The Australian had a better launch, but wasn't far enough alongside the four-time champion to take the lead and settled for P2 instead. With Norris slotting into P3 just behind, the stage was set for the three title hopefuls to fight it out on track. A collision between Esteban Ocon and Liam Lawson exiting The Loop put the fight on hold, though. Lawson's broken Racing Bulls car triggered a Lap 1 Virtual Safety Car, and a second one soon followed after Gabriel Bortoleto spun off the damp track on his slick tyres.
Green flag racing eventually came after the two clean-up operations concluded, and Piastri wasted no time in attacking Verstappen. The Red Bull had used a low-downforce configuration of the rear wing to excel in Qualifying at the high-speed track. That did not help the Dutchman on the low-grip track in the race, though, and he struggled for traction through the high-speed corners, and Piastri closed in as they approached the Hangar Straight. A simple pass with DRS clinched Piastri the lead, and Verstappen soon dropped to P3 when Norris attacked and his Red Bull slid onto the run-off area.
Pit stops for all came as rain approached the track with the Intermediate Pirelli rubber wearing down on the mostly-dry surface. Those who pitted for slicks on the formation lap didn't make their roll of the dice work and needed Intermediates, while a second set was required for those who ran the opening laps on the green-ringed rubber. A slow stop for Norris let Verstappen back through to P2, though, and the home hopeful had to wait to attack with a Safety Car coming out to control the pace as conditions worsened.
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Similar to the earlier VSC, a second Safety Car slowdown was required as soon as the race resumed. Isack Hadjar smashed into the barriers after hitting Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Piastri was following the orange-coloured Mercedes-AMG GT at reduced speeds once more. This second restart had race-altering repercussions, though. A late call to end the Safety Car period had Piastri slamming on his brakes to build a gap for his restart. The Australian's rapid slowdown had Verstappen briefly passing him after being caught out by the speed change, and the reigning champion soon complained over the radio about the erratic driving.
Verstappen's frustration soon got worse, too. With Piastri leading the field around Stowe, the Red Bull's low-downforce rear wing combined with low tyre temperatures, causing Verstappen to spin and drop to P10. Norris took P2, with Lance Stroll and Hulkenberg slotting into P3 and P4 after jumping up the order with well-timed pit stops earlier in the race. Any concerns Verstappen might've had about passing Piastri under Safety Car conditions disappeared, though, with the stewards hitting the Australian with a 10-second time penalty for erratic driving. With Norris running close to his rear wing, Piastri needed to open up a large gap if he wanted to win this race against the man in equal machinery.
While the McLarens fought for the win via fast laps, wheel-to-wheel battles for the final step of the podium happened further back. Lewis Hamilton, so often a master at Silverstone, was on a charge from P6 and had passed Pierre Gasly to begin chasing down Hulkenberg's P4 position. Stroll, who sat in P3 was well off the pace, proved the one hurdle between Hulkenberg reaching his first F1 podium. A pass down the Hangar Straight came in the nick of time for the German, with Hamilton rapidly closing in on his rear wing. Hamilton soon passed the Canadian, too, but Hulkenberg's speed kept him in P3 as the final laps approached.
Dry Pirelli tyres eventually came for the entire field over the final ten laps, but the wet track was still a challenge for the remaining drivers. Piastri served his 10-second penalty in the pit lane and dropped behind Norris, who pitted one lap later and slid off the track in his hunt to regain the lead. Hamilton, too, struggled on his slick tyres and went wide to let Hulkenberg breathe easy in the closing stages. And after all of the drama, Norris crossed the line in P1 to score his first F1 victory on home soil and close the championship gap to eight points with his first back-to-back wins. One more European doubleheader event awaits before the summer break, with the Belgian and Hungarian rounds coming up in three weekends with everything to play for at the top.
