The teams are back in Britain this weekend for the FORMULA 1 PIRELLI BRITISH GRAND PRIX 2021, but first it was time to try something a little different. The Silverstone Circuit was the setting of F1’s first ever Saturday sprint race, which was ultimately won by Max Verstappen.
This is one of the races in 2021 that will try an experimental sprint race on Saturday to determine the starting position for Sunday. The drivers qualified for the sprint race starting grid on Friday afternoon and after a practice session Saturday morning, it was time for the 17 lap race where the top 3 would earn up to 3 points.
Lewis Hamilton had a poor start off the line from pole position, dropping behind Max Verstappen almost immediately. Valtteri Bottas behind put some pressure on his teammate, but was not able to make any real attempt to get by. Hamilton tried a few times on the opening lap of the race to get around Verstappen – including trying around the outside of Copse – but he was not able to get around and had to settle into P2.
George Russell and Carlos Sainz tangled on the first lap, with the Ferrari being forced to take a detour off of the circuit at Brooklands. The two Haas teammates also collided, with Nikita Mazepin spinning around after trying to dive up the inside of his teammate.
Sergio Perez proved to lose out the most in the sprint race, having a huge spin when trying to get on the power in Becketts. He was lucky to avoid the barrier, but dropped to the rear of the grid for the race tomorrow, with only the two Haas cars behind him. He day turned even worse, when the team had him retire the car on the final lap, meaning he would start from the back of the grid (if not the pit lane) on Sunday.
It was Max Verstappen who earned himself a pole position for the British Grand Prix tomorrow, along with an additional 3 points towards his championship bid. Hamilton was able to hold on to P2, picking up 2 points and limiting his net points loss to just 1 point over Verstappen. Rounding up the podium was Valtteri Bottas, who picked up 1 point for his effort.
The action continues this weekend, with the full length race on Sunday afternoon around the Silverstone Circuit in Britain.
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| DNF |
