Norris prevails to take victory at Silverstone after painful Piastri penalty; Hulkenberg earns first podium after 239 starts in chaotic, rain-affected race

In a thrilling and chaotic British Grand Prix, McLaren’s Lando Norris kept it clean and composed to take victory ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, who dominated the early part of the contest but made a pivotal mistake behind the Safety Car that led to a race-altering 10-second penalty. With heavy rains falling on Silverstone before the race start and more predicted for early in the GP, the field started the Formation Lap on Intermediate wet weather tires on a damp circuit. But Mercedes’ George Russell, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Haas’s Oliver Bearman, Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoletto and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar all dove to the pits to gamble on slick tires rather than line up on the grid despite the still quite wet final third of the circuit. With Red Bull’s Max Verstappen leading away from the pole, followed by Piastri in P2 and Norris just behind in P3, it didn’t take long for the first incident on a day full of them. The second Racing Bul of Liam Lawson tangled with Haas’s Esteban Ocon, sending the Aussie spinning off track and out of the race. A Virtual Safety Car was quickly deployed, and Mercedes also brought Kimi Antonelli in for a set of Hard Pirellis, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll also pitting to take Softs. But for some it was too soon for that maneuver, as even the slick-clad Bortoleto spun out into the gravel once the VSC ended on Lap 4, prompting another VSC just two laps later when his car stalled on track. Stroll pitted again for fresh Softs before the VSC ended during Lap 7, a key move for the Aston man that left teammate Fernando Alosno wondering why his side of the garage hadn’t executed the same tactic on the rapidly drying track.

The incident that led to Piastri’s 10-second penalty 👀#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/19PHX5hXGO

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 6, 2025

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No sooner did racing resume but the rain started to fall in earnest, with Antonelli diving to the pits on Lap 10 to get back on Inters and teammate Russell, Ferrari’s Leclerc and Stroll yet again, having made the most of his Softs to gain valuable track position, following for the same swap a lap later. Verstappen stayed out on his aging set of Inters, however, and promptly ran wide coming out of Chapel, allowing Norris to briefly take P2, with teammate Piastri diving in for fresh Inters. Norris and Verstappen followed Piastri in, with a slow stop by McLaren costing Norris the position and a clean one by Red Bull getting Verstappen out in P3, while Piastri had assumed the lead ahead of the yet-to-pit Williams of Alex Albon. With the rain really chucking it down and visibility terrible by Lap 13 of this 52-lap contest, a full Safety Car was deployed a lap later for the wellbeing of the drivers until the deluge could subside. The SC ended on Lap 17, and Piastri restarted ahead of Verstappen, Norris in P3, Stroll amazingly in P4 and Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg suddenly in P5 after an early stop for fresh Inters on Lap 9 paid off handsomely for the German veteran in then increasingly wet conditions thereafter. But a lap later there was yet another Safety Car deployed for the recovery of the crashed Racing Bull of Hadjar at Copse, having run into the back of Antonelli’s Silver Arrow in the blinding spray. While Antonelli came to the pits again for fresh Inters, the rear diffuser of his Mercedes was badly damaged and he would be forced to retire a few laps later.

With the Safety Car coming in on Lap 21, Piastri made the crucial error in judgment that destroyed his race. While controlling the restart from the front, the young Aussie braked far too hard to set up his getaway, nearly causing Verstappen to ram into the back of him such was his excessive deceleration. While Piastri then scooted away, the incident was almost immediately and ominously under review by the stewards. Piastri was eventually penalized 10-seconds for the excessive braking action, a backbreaker for his hopes of victory on the day. But Verstappen was unable to capitalize on this eventuality because he spun out in pursuit at the restart on Lap 21, dropping the Dutch Master all the way down to P10. This all redounded to Norris’s great benefit, because when the penalty was handed down and Piastri eventually had to pit for Medium tries on Lap 43 due to a now-finally drying track, Norris inherited P1 while his teammate sat stationary for that agonizingly slow 10-seconds before any work could be done on his car. So, despite coming in a lap later for his own set of Mediums, he still emerged with the lead of the race, such was the impact of Piastri’s penalty. Controlling the race from the front and with no more incidents to speak of, Norris was able to keep his teammate at bay and take an emotional victory at his home Grand Prix in front of of his adoring countrymen and women in the  grandstands. For Piastri, it was a doubly bitter pill to swallow, as he not only finished P2 in a race he likely should have won but also saw his points advantage to Norris in the Drivers’ Championship slip to just eight. Obviously unhappy with how the day transpired, Piastri will have a lot to stew on before the next race at the end of the month in Belgium, while Norris will be riding high with his confidence fully restored  in the interim after his dream victory here at Silverstone.

Your first-ever podium deserves a special team photo! 🤩#F1 #BritishGP @HulkHulkenberg pic.twitter.com/7jww8rHYI6

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 6, 2025

With his team’s strategy paying off beautifully, Hulkenberg made a crucial pass on Stroll for P3 and then held off the charging Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton easily to take P3 and his maiden pole in F1 after an astonishing 239 race starts. As the saying goes, better late than never and it was the feel good story of the whole day to see the veteran German pilot rewarded for his years of skillful and professional driving with teams of various quality. Hamilton slotted in at P4 at one of his favorite tracks, bettering by far his Scuderia stablemate Leclerc, who had a miserable day in the wet with a multitude of offs and came home well out of the points in P14. Verstappen managed to recover from his ill-timed spin somewhat to take P5 but it was still a day to forget for the normally flawless four-time champion after starting from the pole. It’s distinctly possible that the team’s decision to really trim the car out hurt him when he most needed downforce during the race, despite netting him the pole. Pierre Gasly had another fine drive for Alpine in P6 and Stroll’s early race tire gambles paid off for Aston Martin even if he faded bit on his final stint, still coming home a solid P7. Teammate Alonso took P9, with Williams’ Albon splitting them in P8, another impressive drive that flew somewhat under the radar amidst all the excitement. Russell took a lone solitary point in P10 after what turned out to be a pretty awful day for the Mercedes factory team. The Monday morning debrief at Brackley should be fairly brutal and they” be looking to get back on form at Spa in three weeks’ time.

Top 10 finishers of the British GP:

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race weekend doesn’t begin until July 25th, as team’s will have loads of time to prepare for the Belgian Grand Prix at the venerable Spa-Francorchamps circuit, including the added pressures of a Sprint weekend there. For Norris, it will mean more time to savor his dream win at his home Grand Prix. For Piastri, it will mean a long time between races to stew on his nightmare penalty and his own culpability for that. And for most of the other drivers, it will mean putting Britain in the rearview and starting fresh in Belgium — except for Hulkenberg, who will surely savor his career achievement and be looking to make it two podiums in a row. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!