Lando Norris claimed his first ever British Grand Prix victory in front of a record Silverstone crowd, capitalising on a controversial penalty to teammate Oscar Piastri in a rain-soaked and safety car-disrupted thriller.
On a day of drama and delight, Norris mastered the changing conditions to seal his fourth win of the season and perhaps the most emotional of all, just eight points behind Piastri in the title race. The McLaren duo looked set for a dominant 1-2 finish, but the race flipped on Lap 21 when Piastri was handed a 10-second penalty for erratic driving ahead of a restart.
The stewards ruled Piastri had violated Article 55.15 of the FIA regulations by braking unpredictably on the Hangar Straight, forcing Verstappen to take evasive action and momentarily pass him. “What Car 81 did was clearly a breach,” read the official verdict. Piastri’s frustration was evident post-race, but he stopped short of outright criticism, hinting, “Apparently you can’t brake behind the safety car anymore.”
Verstappen’s afternoon unravelled moments later as he spun exiting Stowe corner before racing had resumed, falling from second to tenth. Though he recovered to finish fifth, his title hopes took a heavy blow, now trailing Piastri by 69 points.
Up front, Norris kept within the crucial 10-second window before Piastri served his penalty on Lap 43, and the Briton never looked back. Despite a plea from Piastri to reverse the team order late on, McLaren stood firm, allowing Norris to take the chequered flag six seconds clear.
Behind the orange tandem came the feel-good story of the day: Nico Hulkenberg finally stood on a Formula 1 podium. In his 239th start, the German delivered a flawless drive for Sauber, holding off Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari to claim third and end his long-standing unwanted record.
More than 168,000 fans roared as home hero Norris lifted the trophy, while the weekend’s total attendance soared past 500,000, the highest in F1 history. For McLaren, it was a day of triumph tinged with tension; for Silverstone, a spectacle worthy of its legacy.
