Verstappen let down again by Red Bull issue after a masterclass drive

Before the British Grand Prix, Verstappen was anything but confident about his start. The tests leading up to the race hadn’t gone well either, so the Dutchman had little faith. Probably to his own surprise as well, both he and Isack Hadjar got away relatively well at the start.

That decent launch immediately carried Verstappen past Lando Norris, who barely got going in the second phase of the start. From behind, Verstappen did come under attack from Arvid Lindblad, but the Briton was pushed off the track by Verstappen at turn three.

Running P6, Verstappen then saw his teammate Hadjar close in on George Russell but fail to make the decisive move. After a few laps Verstappen had seen enough and surprised his teammate on the inside of turn 4. Hadjar made a half-hearted attempt to come back, but ultimately let Verstappen go.

By attacking his teammate, the connection to Russell—and thus the top four—seemed lost, but Russell never really pulled away. The Brit then complained about his gearbox—something Verstappen would also do not much later—and Verstappen even got within a second of him, while Russell’s teammate at the same time had passed Lewis Hamilton for second place.

Lap after lap Verstappen closed in on Russell, clearly looking for room to put the Brit under pressure. On lap 17 Verstappen launched his attack at Copse and managed to get ahead on the long straight that followed. Instead of extending the lead, Verstappen dived straight into the pits.

A week after Verstappen and Red Bull were beaten by Russell and Mercedes on an undercut, it was now Red Bull who pulled the trigger first. Verstappen switched to the hard tyre and, after a good pit stop, rejoined just ahead of Liam Lawson, with a ten-second gap to Lando Norris ahead. A direct response from Mercedes a lap later did not come.

Six laps later, on lap 23, both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell came in. Hamilton wasn’t happy about being called in; in his view his tyres were still good enough. In addition, Hamilton had a five-second penalty to serve in the pit lane for a false start, allowing Russell to pass him in the pits. Both were overtaken by Verstappen, who, as they exited, held a six-second lead—but on tyres six laps older.

Although Verstappen had undercut Hamilton and Russell, it soon became clear his pace on the hard tyre wasn’t very competitive. After a few quick laps on the fresh rubber, he wasn’t much faster than Russell and Hamilton on their old mediums. When Hamilton and Russell switched to the hard tyre, they closed in rapidly on the rear wing of the Red Bull driver.

On lap 29 it looked as if it was all over for Verstappen when Russell got within a second of the four-time world champion, but there was a lifeline in the form of Hamilton. The seven-time world champion attacked Russell lap after lap, preventing either of them from truly attacking Verstappen.

On lap 34 Verstappen lost one of his two pursuers, when Russell had to pit with a slowly deflating tyre. With only Hamilton behind him, Verstappen no longer had two drivers fighting each other in his mirrors and immediately came under attack from the Ferrari driver.

It still wasn’t that easy for Hamilton to pass the Dutchman. Just like Russell, Hamilton struggled to find a moment when Verstappen left a gap. In the end, though, Verstappen couldn’t withstand the Ferrari’s speed, and he was overtaken on lap 38.

Right after Hamilton’s move, it was Nico Hülkenberg who stopped at the side of the track. Red Bull Racing reacted immediately by calling Verstappen in for a new set of medium tyres. Verstappen kept fourth place but was now on a brand-new set of mediums, 14 seconds behind Hamilton in third and five seconds ahead of Russell.

A few laps later, Verstappen was promoted to the podium without passing anyone on track. Once again there was a technical problem for Kimi Antonelli. He went off the track, had to pit, and even after that lost more pace. It gave Verstappen third place, and he was now in a fight with Hamilton for second in the race.

Yet all the strong work by Verstappen and Red Bull’s strategic team was again for nothing when, a few laps before the end of the race, Verstappen ended up in the gravel. At Stowe, Verstappen lost control of his car, and the Dutchman once again saw his race end without points. Verstappen’s radio said it all: he’s done with his car.