Max Verstappen delivered another crushing performance to win the British Grand Prix as Lando Norris held off Lewis Hamilton in a brilliant fight for second place.
A late safety car put Norris’ runner-up spot in doubt after McLaren elected to put the British driver on the harder, more durable tyre, rather than the speedier soft compound.
But Norris, 23, managed to keep Hamilton, 38, at bay in a tantalising battle between the two home favourites at a sold-out Silverstone.
Norris’ McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri finished fourth, one spot ahead of George Russell, with three British drivers finishing in the top five.
Verstappen’s sixth consecutive victory sees the Dutch driver move 99 points clear at the summit of the standings.
“We had a terrible start so we need to look into that,” said Verstappen. “Lando and McLaren were super-quick. It took a few laps to past them and then everything was okay.
“I am very happy that we won again and 11 wins in a row for the team is incredible but it was not straightforward today.”
McLaren have been desperately short of form this season but a major upgrade at the British team’s home race worked wonders.
Indeed, Norris briefly led Sunday’s 52-lap race after he gazumped pole-sitter Verstappen following a supreme start in his McLaren to cheers from the British grandstands.
It marked the first time a McLaren car has led the British Grand Prix since Hamilton led here for the Woking team in 2012.
However, Norris’ time at the top lasted only four-and-a-half laps after Verstappen, in his superior Red Bull machine, drew alongside the Briton on the Wellington Straight before making the move stick into Brooklands.
Piastri was running in third with Russell trying, but failing, to find a way past Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton started seventh but dropped to eighth at the end of the first lap before regaining the position when he nailed Fernando Alonso on lap seven.
A tedious race came alive on lap 33 when Kevin Magnussen spluttered to a halt in his Haas. Flames briefly engulfed the rear of his machine before turning to smoke.
With Magnussen’s Haas in a precarious position at the start of the Wellington Straight a full safety car was deployed and Hamilton, who had yet to pit, was the main beneficiary, turning a net seventh into third when the order shuffled out.
Verstappen and Hamilton bolted on the soft rubber, but Norris, despite pleading with his McLaren team to follow suit, was given the hard compound.
When the safety car peeled in at the end of lap 38, Norris’ mirrors were suddenly occupied with Hamilton’s black Mercedes.
Hamilton sensed his opportunity racing around the outside of Norris through Brooklands and then Luffield, only for the McLaren man to hold position.
A third chance arose for Hamilton on the run down Copse but Norris expertly defended the position, leaving Hamilton with nowhere to go.
Hamilton backed out and tried again on the following lap but Norris kept his elbows out and the elder Briton was unable to find a way past.
From there, Norris was able to keep Hamilton at arm’s length, crossing the line 2.9 sec clear of the Mercedes car.
“That McLaren is a rocket ship,” said Hamilton as he crossed the line.
Piastri finished fourth on a fine afternoon for McLaren, one place ahead of Russell, with Sergio Perez sixth after he started a lowly 15th.
Alonso took the flag in seventh with Alex Albon enhancing his reputation with a fine eighth for Williams.
Verstappen crossed the line 3.7 sec clear of Norris to maintain Red Bull’s unbeaten streak this season.
McConnell confident heading into rounds three and four of Nitrocross Championship in Utah
Jamaican racing sensation Fraser McConnell is gearing up for an intense weekend of action as he heads into Rounds three and four of the Nitrocross championship on October 5 & 6 in Utah.
Following a stellar performance at the season’s opening rounds in Richmond, Virginia, McConnell holds second place in the overall standings, just 11 points behind leader Kevin Eriksson.
McConnell’s dominant showing at Richmond Raceway on September 7 & 8 saw him secure a third-place finish in Round 1, followed by a thrilling battle for first in Round 2.
After clinching the top qualifier spot and winning his semi-final, McConnell started the Round 2 final in pole position. Despite taking an early lead, a dramatic half-spin pushed him off his racing line, allowing Eriksson to take the win. McConnell finished second ahead of Viktor Vranckx.
Looking ahead to the Utah rounds, McConnell remains optimistic about his chances.
“I’m really looking forward to this weekend, going back to Utah, the birthplace of Nitrocross,” he shared.
“It all started there with the Nitro World Games in 2018 and 2019, so it's a very special place for everyone involved.”
McConnell also highlighted the challenge of the upcoming track. “Salt Lake is one of the craziest tracks on the calendar, with the biggest gap jump and a lot of demanding corners. It requires high speed from us drivers. I'll just go out there and hit my marks as usual, trying to extract as much as I can from the car while proudly repping Jamaica.”
With back-to-back podium finishes in Rounds 1 and 2, McConnell is confident about continuing his strong run.
“We’re second in the championship with 107 points, and I’m looking forward to continuing that streak this weekend,” he said.
McConnell currently leads defending champion Robin Larsson by four points and is poised to close the gap further in his pursuit of overtaking Eriksson.
McConnell's season is sponsored by JustBet, Proven, Tru Shake, Rainforest, and the Jamaica Tourist Board.
Reggae Racers Gore, Summerbell secure creditable finishes in race five of ADAC GT4 Germany series
Jamaica’s team of Tommi Gore and Senna Summerbell produced a creditable showing in the fifth race of the ADAC GT4 Germany series as they secured two top-15 finishes at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Styria, at the weekend.
The Jamaican duo, dubbed the Reggae Racers, displayed their prowess as they drove their Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Club Sport to a 14th place finish after qualifying in ninth position in race one.
They were up with the pace from a strong start but later faded down the track in a fiercely competitive field.
However, the Avia W&S Motorsport representatives improved significantly in the second race, where they went nine places better to place fifth after placing fourth in qualifying.
The team of Jan Marschalkowski and Philipp Gogollok from Eastside Motorsport, finished tops to register their first win of the series. They won ahead of Finn Zulauf and Josef Knopp, also representing Avia W&S Motorsport.
With much positive to take from their performances, Gore and Summerbell will target even more improvements in the final race of the season scheduled for October 18-20 in Hockenheim, Germany.
“I am so happy to be a part of this team and ready to end the year strong. We had a big jump in results from the start of the season with this change, so we can only expect things to get better from here,” Gore said.
The Avia W&S Motorsports team, which currently occupies second position in the team ranking on 179 points, are the defending champions in the ADAC GT4 Series. They are 11 points behind leaders Hofor Racing.
A no-brainer: Bajan sensation Zane Maloney ditches Formula 2 ambitions to take up Formula E opportunity
With opportunities at certain levels of motorsport only coming far and few in between, Zane Maloney could not pass up the chance to participate in Formula E.
As such, the Barbados racing sensation made the decision to cut short his Formula 2 campaign after securing a seat to represent team Lola Yamaha ABT in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
The event, is an open-wheel single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The racing series is the highest class of competition for electrically powered single-seater racing cars.
Though he currently occupies third position in the F2 drivers’ championship with two rounds remaining, Maloney, who recently inked a deal with Lola, is well aware of the significance of the Formula E opportunity presented to him and, as such, is eager to make the most of it at the expense of his F2 ambitions.
“In one way, I wanted to win Formula 2 this year. I wanted to give myself the best chance to do that, but I live my life by the day and I understand the opportunity that I have for next year, and when I think about that opportunity, everything in the present moment kind of gets forgotten about to some extent,” the 20-year-old said.
“So, of course, I know that coming to Formula E is a big opportunity for me and something amazing to show my skills in a world championship. I don’t really focus too much on the negative side of certain things. I try to focus on the positives, and I only see a positive thing coming into next year,” he added.
Maloney, who won the opening two races of the Formula 2 season, believes Formula E has gained traction as a top-notch championship, which made his decision a no-brainer.
“In F1, IndyCar, Formula E, and WEC as well, there’s not many seats that become available every year. There are a lot more drivers than there are seats, which makes it very difficult, and I think Formula E has always been a series that has amazing drivers, amazing manufacturers, and amazing teams. And of course, the media sees different motorsport genres a bit differently,” Maloney explained.
“But within the group of motorsports, Formula E is very well recognized, and every driver that goes into it knows how difficult it is to perform, so from that side of things, I don’t really focus too much on anything other than driving a race car as fast as I can with the opportunity that I’m given,” he noted.
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