Unstoppable Max Verstappen wins the British Grand Prix

Reigning World Champion Max Verstappen secured Red Bull’s 11^th victory in a row at Silverstone.

Max Verstappen has won the British Grand Prix and the reigning world champion now possesses a 99-point lead at the top of the World Drivers’ Championship. Verstappen’s drive also ensured that Red Bull are unbeaten this season and they have now equalled McLaren’s 1988 record run of 11 victories in a row.

There were positive moments for McLaren too who finished second in front of a roaring 160,000-strong home crowd at Silverstone, with fellow Briton and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton third for Mercedes after starting seventh.

“Eleven in a row. That’s pretty crazy,” said Verstappen over the team radio after what was also his sixth win in a row and eighth in 10 races this season.

The two-time World Champion from the Netherlands also clinched the fastest lap bonus point as well to pull almost four race wins clear of his closest rival and team mate Sergio Perez, who finished sixth after starting 15th.

Verstappen’s victory at Silverstone was Red Bull’s first since Mark Webber won here back in 2012. Norris’ podium achievement was also McLaren’s first in their home race since Hamilton, then driving for McLaren, was second in 2010.

Australian Oscar Piastri was fourth for McLaren, his hopes of a first podium dashed by a late safety car, with Britain’s George Russell fifth for Mercedes after a long first stint on soft tyres and Fernando Alonso seventh for Aston Martin.

Alex Albon continued resurgent Williams’s strong recent showing with eighth, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and last year’s winner Carlos Sainz.

Ferrari displayed their usual struggles with strategy and it has been a full year since the most prestigious F1 team in history last won a race.

Verstappen had secured the pole for the race at Silverstone. However, he suffered a tailspin just as the lights went out which prompted Briton Lando Norris, also starting on front row, to take the lead accompanied by the roar of celebration from the crowd.

Norris managed to stay on top of the charts for five laps before he was passed by Verstappen with the help of Drag Reduction System (DRS) at the end of Wellington Straight.

Norris kept in close proximity with the Red Bull of Verstappen and the McLaren drivers agreed to hold position for the benefit of the team and to manage the tyres. As a result, Norris took the chequered flag only 3.798 seconds behind the Dutch driver.

“I did what I could. I brought the fight to Max for as long as possible,” said Norris, whose team won 11 races in a row in 1988 with the late triple champion Ayrton Senna and Frenchman Alain Prost.

There was also a brief moment in the race when Norris and Mercedes’ Hamilton were battling wheel-to-wheel but the former was able to pull away to finish some three seconds clear of the Mercedes driver at the end.

“That McLaren is a rocket ship. At high speed it was insane,” said Hamilton, making his 14th British Grand Prix podium appearance, over the team radio.