Liam Lawson was speaking to the media on Sunday when his attention was suddenly grabbed by a dramatic moment on track: Max Verstappen spinning during the Silverstone restart. The New Zealander barely managed to hide his surprise. For Lawson, the
British Grand Prix ended after just one lap, following contact with Esteban Ocon. While talking to media — including
GPblog — about the upcoming races in Belgium and Hungary, his eyes were drawn to the TV screens showing Verstappen’s spin.
Lawson dumbfounded by Verstappen's mistake
"I've never seen that in my life," he exclaimed in astonishment. ''I have never, ever seen Max spin a car,'' he then added.
Although
Verstappen immediately regained control and was able to continue, the
moment made an impression on Lawson: "He saved it, technically, he saved it. He's probably going to just win the race anyway," he added with a laugh.
In the end, victory was out of reach for Verstappen. He battled hard and clawed his way back to fifth place, despite a setup that didn’t perform well on a wet Silverstone.
The win went to Lando Norris, who inherited first place after McLaren teammate
Oscar Piastri received a hefty time penalty. Piastri was penalized for his braking behind the safety car, which forced Verstappen to take evasive action.
The moral winner of the race was Nico Hülkenberg. The Sauber driver finally broke his dubious record — the most
Formula 1 starts without a podium — and did so in impressive fashion. Starting from nineteenth on the grid, he held his own in a challenging race to claim third place.