British Grand Prix ends in anti-climax for Max Verstappen

Published on 05 July 2015 by Stefan Meens

For Max Verstappen the British Grand Prix ended after a handful of laps due to a spin. The Dutchman who started the race from a disappointing thirteenth place on the grid, due to a technical issue in qualifying, was therefore not able to capitalize on the potential shown in the free practice sessions. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton went on to win his third Grand Prix on home turf ahead of Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel.

As the lights go out, Max does not have the best of starts.”I had too much wheelspin”, explains the Toro Rosso driver who is the only one starting the race on the harder compound. “Luckily I was able to avoid the crashes ahead of me”, refers Max to the tangle both Lotus and McLarens find themselves in at turn three. The incidents prompts a safety car.

Meanwhile at the front, both Williams drivers pip the Mercedes duo of the line with lighting starts. Felipe Massa therefore heads the field behind the safety car ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Nico Rosberg. At the restart, the British World champion attempts an aggressive move on the race lead but in doing so loses a position to Bottas. The Finn moves up into second. Further back, Max' restart is less successful when he oversteers off the track at turn three.

“It was very strange. We had enough heat in the rear tyres and the fronts were at a good temperature. I hit full throttle and the car just snapped. I was breaking hard to avoid a crash and I only slightly touched the barrier. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the car into reverse”, explains a disappointed Max.

At the front a gripping race between the leading Williams of Massa and Bottas, followed by Hamilton and Rosberg, entertains the 140.000 spectators. Hamilton is unable to pass the Williams and opts to pit first out of the top four. The tactics works: the Mercedes ace takes the lead when Massa and Bottas come in for fresh tyres.

However, it was not business as usual just yet. With rain imminent, the drivers have to make the right tyre call, either intermediates or staying on slicks. Kimi Raikkonen is among the drivers who pits four laps too early and his set of intermediates are worn by the time the rain properly reaches Silverstone. Lewis Hamilton on the other hand, times his tyre call to perfection, stopping a lap ahead of his main rivals Rosberg, Massa and Bottas. The British champions emerges as the clear leader after the last round of stops and takes the chequered flag for his third win on home soil.

Nico Rosberg made an impressive come back overtaking both Massa and Bottas in tricky conditions, with Sebastian Vettel rounding out the top three with a similar tyre call to Lewis Hamilton, granting the German the last podium spot. The Williams team therefore slipped back into a slightly dissapointing fourth and fifth after leading the race in the opening stages.

For Scuderia Toro Rosso, the weekend ended in somewhat of an anti-climax with Max' team mate Carlos Sainz also faling to reach the finish as a result of technical issues. “It was just not my weekend. We'll analyse and comeback strong in Hungary”, concludes Max after a tough weekend.

Silverstone - British Grand Prix - Sunday 5 July

 RACE RESULTS
 P Driver                 Team          Time 
 1 Lewis Hamilton     GBR Mercedes      1:31:27.729 
 2 Nico Rosberg       GER Mercedes      +10.956s 
 3 Sebastian Vettel   GER Ferrari       +25.443s 
 4 Felipe Massa       BRA Williams      +36.839s 
 5 Valtteri Bottas    FIN Williams      +63.194s 
 6 Daniil Kvyat       RUS Red Bull      +63.955s 
 7 Nico Hulkenberg    GER Force India   +78.744s 
 8 Kimi Raikkonen     FIN Ferrari       +1 lap 
 9 Sergio Perez       MEX Force India   +1 lap 
10 Fernando Alonso    ESP McLaren       +1 lap 
11 Marcus Ericsson    SWE Sauber        +1 lap 
12 Roberto Merhi      ESP Marussia      +3 laps 
13 Will Stevens       GBR Marussia      +3 laps 
RT Carlos Sainz       ESP Toro Rosso    DNF 
RT Daniel Ricciardo   AUS Red Bull      DNF 
RT Max Verstappen     NED Toro Rosso    DNF 
RT Romain Grosjean    FRA Lotus         DNF 
RT Pastor Maldonado   VEN Lotus         DNF 
RT Jenson Button      GBR McLaren       DNF 
RT Felipe Nasr        BRA Sauber        DNS