PRECIPITATION, PIASTRI’S PENALTY AND HULK’S PODIUM AT THE 2025 BRITISH GP

Precipitous Precipitation, Piastri’s Penalty and Hulk’s Podium all at the 2025 British Grand Prix.

Well, what can you say about the 2025 British Grand Prix?

Perhaps it was best summed up by Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, with both shining the post-race spotlight on Nico Hulkenberg’s first F1 podium amidst a gloom of disappointment for the Australian and Dutch drivers.

Ever the gentleman, Piastri was quick to congratulate teammate Lando Norris on his first home victory at the British Grand Prix.

He then refocused attention from comments of matters less palatable towards Hulkenberg’s unlikely result in the garishly green and surprisingly quick Kick Sauber #27.

The ‘Hulk’ and green seem to go hand-in-hand these days.

By and large, for the 2025 British Grand Prix, the end simply didn’t justify the means.

Oscar Piastri had really been a step ahead for almost the entirety of the 52 lap journey.

After a pensive start on a track which was a conundrum of wet and dry, the Australian assumed the lead from pole sitter Max Verstappen on Lap 8. Thereafter, he initially streaked away in what became a caution strewn race.

The #81 held a thirteen-second lead when heavy rain brought out the second Safety Car period on Lap 14.

A restart on Lap 18 became a short-lived affair after Isack Hadjar’s ‘Senna-esque’ crash into the rear of Kimi Antonelli amongst a sea of spray brought back memories of the 1989 Australian Grand Prix collision between Senna and Brundle.

That pre-empted the rather contentious moment when the  Safety Car lights suddenly dimmed, Piastri hit the brakes to set-up his restart, Verstappen overshot the leader, and the race stewards intervened.

Max Verstappen later expressed his surprise at the extent to which Piastri was penalised, calling the penalty “Very extreme.”

Piastri’s move was not without parallel, a point made later by both Piastri and Verstappen, with George Russell having done something similar in Canada. Or had he?

Race stewards viewed matters differently on this occasion, taking into consideration brake pressure application, the speed drop, positioning of the lead car as well as the prevailing weather and track conditions at that time.

It was the turning point in the race in more ways than one.

The reduced speed and subsequent getaway from the leading McLaren left Verstappen with colder tyres as he set off in pursuit. Come Stowe corner and the  #1 Oracle Red Bull RB21 was gyrating towards the infield, caught out by a sudden lack of grip.

In many ways that turned the race in favour of Lando Norris and exposed the flaws of Verstappen’s car in the battle for midfield honours.

The Brit had encountered all of Verstappen’s guile as he sought to move ahead, with a low-downforce set up giving the Dutchman a straightline advantage. That and an almost constant pea-soup mist of spray made it virtually impossible for the Englishman to progress further.

He briefly climbed into P2 before the first pitstops, though a combination of a double stack and a longer service saw Verstappen edge back ahead as the pair headed out of the pits line astern.

Verstappen’s spin gave Norris the fresh air he needed to stretch the legs of his MCL39. Over the ensuing 30 laps the gap rose to as high as three-seconds, before slowing eroding down to less than two-seconds before one final round of pitstops and Piastri’s ten-second penalty.

The #1 Oracle Red Bull found the road to recovery was a far more difficult proposition than one might have expected. Whilst the limitations in a low downforce configuration could be somewhat masked when running near the head of the field, battling around the fringe of the Top 10 on a greasy track. Persistence as opposed to raw power eventually saw Verstappen greet the chequered flag in fifth.

Oscar Piastri made the switch to medium tyres first, handing the lead to Norris. The McLaren crew stood temporarily frozen in time as the clock counted down those ten agonising seconds before a final service could begin.

The Australia made a valiant attempt to overhaul what at first was a 30 second advantage which  dropped to just 4 seconds as Norris brought his tyres up to speed.

A suggestion from Piastri that the two McLarens should swap places if the penalty had been deemed to be unfair fell on deaf ears. The call came as the Australian’s car snapped violently, sending him across the tarmac run-off as he implored the team to act.

Norris’ engineer then relayed Piastri’s moment and told the Brit to be careful.

“Well tell me where, don’t just say that,” Norris replied.

The moment stalled the Australian’s final charge as Norris edged away to a 6.8 second win from Piastri and Hulkenberg. Hamilton, Verstappen, Stroll, Gasly, Albon, Alonso and Russell were the Top 10 amongst the 15 cars still running as the race concluded.

Franco Colapinto didn’t make it to the start of the race after a last second dive into the pitlane for slick tyres. That sudden change of plan came undone when a gearbox component cried foul.

Liam Lawson’s race lasted barely a handful of corners before contact with Ocon saw the Racing Bulls VCARB02 pitched sideways after front to rear contact. It also brought out the first Safety Car. Gabriel Bortoleto also crashed, but managed to keep his Kick Sauber-Ferrari mobile, before being told to stop the car. Antonelli was the last to retire after the incident with Hadjar bought significant damage to the rear of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 M16.

Ocon later collided with teammate Oliver Bearman with both Haas drivers finishing outside the points. The two Safety Car periods proved to be lifesavers for both Leclerc and Russell as both Ferrari and Mercedes AMG Petronas f1 gambled on slick at the start of the Grand Prix, only to switch to the intermediates when rain began to fall on Lap 11.

Both Ferrari were also caught out by the wet conditions later in the race with Hamilton and Leclerc finding their forward progress thwarted by off-track excursions.

For Norris, the chequered flag was all about the realisations of a childhood dream in front of an adoring crowd and his self-named grandstand.

“It was hard to imagine what this would be like – but it’s everything I dreamed of, everything I’ve ever wanted to achieve,”Norris told McLaren Media.

“Aside from winning a Championship, I think this is as good as it gets in terms of feelings, in terms of achievement. It was an incredible race, but the support of the fans made the difference today. The last few laps, I was looking into the crowd, trying to take it all in and enjoy the moment. Shout out to my grandstand in the corner. They were amazing. They cheered me on every lap, and it was really a beautiful thing.”

For Nico Hulkenberg a first podium in a career spanning 239 F1 races may have been every bit as good as a win.

“It’s been a long time coming, hasn’t it?” Hulkenberg said. “I always knew we have it in us, and I have it in me somewhere.

“I mean what a race, coming from virtually last, and doing it all over again from last weekend, was pretty surreal to be honest. Not sure how it all happened, but obviously crazy conditions, mixed conditions – it was a survival fight for a lot of the race.”

Oscar Piastri was  uncharacteristically flustered in the aftermath of the race, at first reluctant to say anything of the events that led to his penalty. He later provided some insight into his view on the Safety Car incident.

“I hit the brakes. At the same time I did that, the lights on the safety car went out, which was also extremely late,” Piastri explained.

“I didn’t accelerate because I can control the pace from there, and you saw the result. I didn’t do anything differently from my first restart. I didn’t go any slower, so a shame.”

Whilst waiting for the podium ceremony in the unilateral room, a miniscule moment between the McLaren teammates, hinted at a widening gap as both drivers pursue a maiden F1 crown.

As Norris went to sit between Piastri and Hulkenberg, he ever so slight titled the chair towards the Kick Sauber driver and away from the Australian.

The battle for the 2025 Formula One driver’s title sees the points tally broadening in favour of the McLaren duo, with Norris now a back-to-back race winner. The momentum has swung back towards the British driver since Canada, even though the Australian still holds the championship lead.

Piastri’s late race message to the team and his post race interviews highlighted a dent or two in what had been an unflappable trait throughout his circuit racing career.

Spa awaits as the championship season mid-breaks looms large.

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