Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Takes Maiden F1 Win in a Spectacular British Grand Prix

Image for article titled Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Takes Maiden F1 Win in a Spectacular British Grand Prix

Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP (Getty Images)

Today, the FIA Formula One World Championship visited Silverstone Circuit for the British Grand Prix. The site of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s pivotal collision last season played host to another race of high speeds and drama. This year’s instant classic produced fantastic racing and a new grand prix winner.

The focus of the race start wasn’t on the Ferraris and Red Bulls out front but on the cars further back because of an immediate red flag. There was a frantic melee into Silverstone’s first corner that quickly ended in a crash involving five drivers. The worst off in the incident was Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu. Zhou’s car was pitched by contact, slid across the paved run-off on its roll hoop, and thrown into a roll by a gravel trap. The Alfa Romeo then flew over the tire barrier into the catch fence. Zhou was okay after the crash.

Image for article titled Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Takes Maiden F1 Win in a Spectacular British Grand Prix

Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP (Getty Images)

The restart after the red flag was hectic as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz fought off both Red Bulls in the circuit’s first sector. The four front-running cars briefly went four-wide as Sainz’s teammate Charles Leclerc lunged over a curb in the Arena complex and made contact with Sergio Pérez. Pérez was forced to pit for a new front wing.

Max Verstappen remained in pursuit of Sainz for the lead. The reigning world champion couldn’t fight through the Ferrari’s aero wake to attempt a pass. Though on the tenth lap, Sainz would run wide through Becketts, opening the door for Verstappen to take the lead. The Red Bull driver would lose the lead only two laps later. He suffered a tire puncture running over debris on track and was forced to pit.

With both Red Bull seemingly out of contention, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton unexpectedly became a challenger for the victory in his home race. Ferrari struggled to deal with the slow pace of Carlos Sainz as he comprised his teammate Leclerc. Hamilton threatened to jump both Ferrari after the final round of pit stops. Though, a slow Mercedes stop left the British driver re-entering third.

A late safety car caused by Esteban Ocon’s Alpine failing bunched the field up for a ten-lap sprint. Leclerc was leading on hard compound tires with a damaged front wing while Sainz in second, Hamilton in third and Pérez in fourth all stopped for soft tires. Sainz would quickly get by his teammate and dash away to take the race win. Leclerc was left to hold back Hamilton and Pérez for as long as possible. As they battled through the closing laps, the trailing trio put on a show to remember. Also of note, Haas’ Mick Schumacher scored the first points of his F1 career.