Postcards from… Silverstone

Yes, there was a change of scenery and a small twist in the plot at Silverstone – we even saw the semblance of a battle for the lead with Lando Norris throughout the first few laps – but the ending stayed the same: Max Verstappen crossed the line first and then the party started for Red Bull. That was the story of the British Grand Prix, with the 10th win for the blue team out of 10 races so far this year. Most of that success is down to Max Verstappen, who has scored 255 of the 276 points available for every driver so far. In fact, if the championship ended today, Red Bull would still win the constructors' title even if it could only use the points scored by its flying Dutchman. A statistic that will certainly do no good for the morale of Sergio Perez, who has been outclassed by his teammate since the start of the European season. As of now, the Mexican has scored 51 points from the last five races – as opposed to Max's score of 136.

Great Britain celebrated the highlight of its motorsport season with a record attendance; even by the standards of a country that is one of the cradles of Formula 1. More than 480,000 spectators flocked to the Silverstone circuit over four days, in a huge demonstration of the country's enthusiasm, passion, and respect for the sport. Even though there was a huge swell of support for the local heroes – as anyone who heard the roar from the crowd when Lando Norris briefly grabbed pole and later challenged for the race lead will know – there was no booing at all when Max Verstappen got the better of him, thanks to the Dutchman's talent as well as the technical superiority of his car. Just imagine the scenes though had one of the two British drivers on the podium been standing on the top step at the end of the race…

There was also perhaps sense of a changing of the guard on that podium between Sir Lewis Hamilton – who has flown the Union Jack high for Britain, thanks to his seven world titles – and the new generation of British drivers represented by Lando Norris. Of course, Hamilton has shown no sign of throttling back, but the home-grown opposition is getting stronger as his team mate George Russell also proved. Without the safety car, Russell would probably have finished ahead of Hamilton at the chequered flag.

It was an almost perfect weekend for McLaren at Silverstone, with the team's first podium of the season thanks to second place for Lando Norris. Had it not been for the safety car, his team mate Oscar Piastri, who eventually finished fourth, would have been up there too.
This impressive return to form has been made possible by a number of developments brought recently to the MCL60: the car named to celebrate McLaren's 60th anniversary. The numbers tell the full story: 17 points from the first eight races, followed by 42 from Spielberg and Silverstone alone. So McLaren had every right to party at Silverstone, having scored 30 points to Alpine's zero at the British Grand Prix, in their fight for fifth place in the constructors' championship.

Ferrari's ascendancy ended abruptly at Silverstone. After taking 54 points from Montreal and Spielberg, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz collected just three in Britain. They also saw five different makes of car – two Red Bulls, two McLarens, two Mercedes, an Aston Martin and a Williams – cross the finish line ahead of them. It was a double setback for Maranello as expectations had been high before the race – thanks also to a solid qualifying performance where Ferrari outran their direct rivals, Aston Martin and Mercedes, with both cars. But the Achilles heel of the Scuderia in England was the same colour as the car: red, which also denotes Pirelli's soft compound. Along with McLaren, Ferrari was the only team not to use the soft, but unlike the Woking team, it was unable to make the most of the hard tyre and also lost out under the safety car, shuffling Sainz and Leclerc down the order. The fight for second place in the constructors' standings has become even more complicated as a result, with the gap to Mercedes – which has found some form recently thanks to four podiums from the last five races – now increasing to 46 points.

The legend that is Williams decided to celebrate its 800th grand prix at Silverstone (even though, technically speaking, that landmark won't be reached until Budapest). To mark the occasion on home territory, the FW45 carried a special livery – set to remain for Hungary – which certainly brought the team luck as it sealed its third points finish of the season, thanks to Alex Albon's eighth place. The points brought home by the Anglo-Thai driver vaulted Williams to seventh place in the constructors' standings. If they manage to hang onto the position, this would bring the Williams squad it best championship result since 2017, when it finished fifth.

Williams is the third team to have surpassed the illustrious benchmark of 800 grands prix, after Ferrari (1062) and McLaren (934). The Oxfordshire-based team's record of achievement includes seven drivers' titles, nine constructors' titles, 114 grand prix wins, 128 pole positions, 133 fastest laps and 313 podium finishes: extraordinary numbers that deserve to be built upon. After years of pain, there finally seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for Williams, thanks to the ambition of its new team principal James Vowles, as well as owners who are determined to bring the economic stability that's necessary to target a return to the top.