An epic British Grand Prix is behind us as Lewis Hamilton returned to the top step of the podium for the first time in nearly three years.
As always there is plenty to talk about, as we move into the latest edition of F1 talking points.
Race of the season contender
What a way to bring up the halfway point of the season. We had changeable conditions. We had multiple race leaders. We had exciting battles. We had tense final laps. The British Grand Prix in 2024 had it all.
I feel like a bit of a hypocrite saying all of that given that only a few rounds ago I was defending Monaco for not having any action. But that’s the beauty of F1. You can enjoy a race like Britain and a race like Monaco for varying reasons.
Silverstone is a circuit that always delivers. And when you add the very passionate British crowd to it, it becomes a highlight of the season.
Was the oversaturation by the British media a little too much? Absolutely. But when they often fail to live up to expectations in many sports (just wait till the Euro final on Sunday), you have to let them have a moment or 39 to gloat about success from time to time.
Nonetheless, Britain 2024 will go down easily as one of the best races of the season.
McLaren the new worst strategic team?
As a Ferrari fan, I know it’s cheap for me to call another team in the sport bad at strategy, but let’s be honest here, McLaren are failing miserably in that department.
In Silverstone, we saw them throw away two chances at victory. First with our very own Oscar Piastri. When the track was getting wet after the first rain period, McLaren decided to not double stack Piastri and Lando Norris when the pair were 1-2 in the race on lap 27.
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Norris came in for inters, leaving Piastri to do one more lap on the slicks. This decision sent him way back in the pack, and not even a fast last stint could see him get close enough to the podium as he finished fourth for the fourth time this season.
Then it was Norris who felt the wrath of an interesting McLaren strategy call. As the track began to dry, Norris was put on the soft tyres instead of the superior hards or mediums, which made him a sitting duck to the faster Red Bull of Max Verstappen and didn’t allow him to challenge for the lead against Lewis Hamilton.
Norris did admit after the race that the decision to not pit at the same time as Hamilton was on him, but the tyre call fell down to his team who admitted the mistake by saying they were too busy focussing on what Hamilton was doing rather than thinking long term of what the best tyre was.
It continues a trend for McLaren since their win in Miami of finding themselves in race-winning positions before ultimately not being able to take home the victory.
Not all of these races have been lost on strategy, but for the most part there have been some very questionable calls which makes you wonder if they have taken the mantle from Ferrari as the worst strategic team in the sport.
Hamilton’s drought finally over
Lewis Hamilton is a race winner again. Who would’ve thought that was a sentence that would ever need to be uttered?
For the first time since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2021, Hamilton finished the race in first, bringing some emotional scenes as the British driver celebrated his drought-breaking win.
It was a history-making win too. He became the first driver in F1 history to win at the same circuit nine times and also became the first driver ever to win after competing in more than 300 races.
(Photo by Getty Images)
Hamilton also became the sixth different winner in 2024, the first time since 2021 that many drivers have won a race in a season.
It was also the second win for Mercedes in a row, the first time that has happened since 2021. It is also the first time since 2021 that the team has won more than one race in a season.
A ground-breaking and popular win on many levels.
Red Bull rumours rise
What the hell is happening at Red Bull and with Sergio Perez? It was only a few rounds ago that he was celebrating a new contract with the team for 2025, with the prospect of it extending into 2026.
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Now he has scored less points in the last six races than Nico Hulkenberg, and only one more than Lance Stroll.
That comes just as Red Bull need him the most, given the rapid rise of McLaren and Mercedes and the strong start from Ferrari that sees all six drivers from the three teams consistently scoring points.
That has to put into question his place in the team, not only for the long term but for the remainder of 2024.
Rumours are circulating that he has until the mid-season break at Belgium to pick up his game, with Liam Lawson circling in the background off the back of a planned test at Silverstone this weekend.
There are also new rumours that Daniel Ricciardo could be given one last chance to show his worth in the top team, with the Aussie a proven commodity at Red Bull in the past. However, his form in 2024 has been patchy, leaving the team between a rock and a hard place when it comes to their best option for the remainder of the season.
Whatever their choice ends up being, it will be one that needs to be made fast to help them remain in the hunt for the Constructors’ Championship.
A week to celebrate for North American drivers
A quick final note on both North American drivers Lance Stroll and Logan Sargeant in a week in which both their home countries celebrated their national days.
It was another strong race for Stroll that went unnoticed. He outpaced his teammate Fernando Alonso all weekend and finished the race in seventh, with the six points it brought vaulting him back into the top ten in the Championship.
For Sargeant, it was by far his most competitive outing of the season. Qualifying in 12th, he fought hard throughout the race and looked good to sneak into the points before ultimately finishing just outside in 11th position.
Was it a result good enough to save his seat for next season? No. Far from it. But it was an overdue finish for the American that surely would’ve brought him, and Williams, a slight smile.
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