Setup choice that helped Verstappen to pole is now derailing his British GP win chances
A filmmaker with a soft spot for Ronnie Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen and above all, Tazio Nuvolari and Ayrton Senna, is also a diehard Formula One fan since the age of 4 (mid-90's). An avid researcher of the past of Grand Prix Racing since before it was even named F1, and with a thirst for knowledge of the ins and outs of the actuality of the sport, as well as for the technical aspects that define it, is a member of GPblog since 2023, where he has put his love of racing to good use.
Max Verstappen managed to bag a scintillating pole on Saturday afternoon, however, the Dutchman could not hold on to the lead for long.
After the chaotic start to the race that saw several drivers, including George Russell and Charles Leclerc, take a trye gamble that by lap 11 it had become clear it was not going to pay off.
Earlier, though, on lap 8, after several laps of hunting Verstappen down, Oscar Piastri overtook the Dutchman and then never looked back.
Then the Dutchman complained to his box of a recurring issue in his RB21: its short tyre life span. As he struggled with his tyres, the Dutchman went off on the last corner of the Maggotts and Becketts section which then allowed Norris to get past him.
However, the Dutchman would regain his place at the pitstops, due to McLaren's execution being over three seconds too long.
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Heavy rain fall, Safety Car deployed
The rain, on lap 13, forced race direction to neutralise the on-track action with a full safety car, thus eliminating the advantage Oscar Piastri had managed to build on his chasers. Russell then managed to gain some positions back and placed P9 ahead of a disgruntled Fernando Alonso who fired back at his team of 'never getting it right' with him, as he lost places, whilst Lance Stroll sat pretty in P4.
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