F1. Britain 2025 Review
0By Gavin Huet, Chelsea Wintle, Aiden McLaughlin, and Graeme Woolf
Driver of the Weekend
Graeme: For a while there, my Driver of the Weekend was going to be the Safety Car Driver, Bernd Meylander. Although Bernd led quite a few laps, he’ll have to wait to get this award. One day, he’ll get it… Seriously though, there can only be one and that is Nico Hulkenberg. After 200 plus Grand Prix’ Hulkenberg can finally shed the tag of the person with the most races without a podium finish. The scenes after he crossed the line were full of emotion from his team, although he seemed very German about it. He’s one of the good guys in the sport so to see him finally finish in the top 3 made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Gavin: You must be a heartless ghoul not to choose Nico Hulkenberg this week. Finally, a podium on his 239th attempt. And he did it by starting on the last row of the grid. And the grid and the fans were ecstatic for him. I told you those Saubers were looking good all of a sudden. Nico is not a bad driver, he is a Le Mans winner, but has just not had a car that could compete, though he came close to wins and podiums in the past but always lost out. When he was a young driver the rules favoured drivers who were small and slim so I think the tall, well built German missed out on opportunities back then that could have changed the trajectory of his career.
Chelsea: I have a feeling we’ll be in unison this week. Who else but Nico ‘Hulk’ Hülkenberg? After a whopping 239 race starts and more than 15 years since his debut race, Hulk finally made it to the podium. With the chaos that is a wet Silverstone, there was an element of luck, but it was outweighed by genuinely sharp race management and consistent pace by the driver himself – keeping a pursuant Lewis Hamilton in his rears as the race closed. I personally was a bit teary but Hulk himself seemed almost nonplussed. Kick Sauber now jump to sixth in the constructor’s championship – Jonathan Wheatley is an investment well made.
Aiden: It may have taken him 239 attempts, but better late than never for Nico Hulkenberg who finally made it onto the F1 podium. He’d finished P4 three times during his long career but this was the time he’d go one better and what’s more, he did it after starting P19 on the grid at Silverstone. He showed all his experience to create the feel-good story of a chaotic weekend as Northampton experienced three seasons in one day. Perhaps there’s even more to come from the 37-year-old as team principal Jonathan Wheatley continues to rejuvenate the Sauber team before they become Audi in 2026.
Talking Point
Graeme: How much braking is too much braking? Crossing now to Oscar Piastri for his thoughts on the matter. “I won’t say too much, I’ll get myself into trouble”. Good thoughts there Oscar. What else was he going to say right after the race though, really? He could have owned up to it, but he clearly hadn’t seen the data so wasn’t going to do that in case the team wanted to take it further. The awareness after such a demanding race, I thought, was impressive. When compared to what George Russell did in Canada a few weeks ago, also with Max Verstappen behind, it did look like a sudden stop, thus the stewards agreed and a penalty was handed down.
Gavin: Was that a ten second penalty for Oscar Piastri or was that a very clever Max Verstappen? The data says Oscar braked hard, but to me Max was also going very quickly, especially if you look in the background and see how far away and slow Lando Norris in third was going. Regardless, he braked and now has to suffer the consequences of that action. The knock on was a penalty for Oscar, a spin out of contention for Max, and a victory for Lando, and an ever decreasing gap between the two McLaren drivers. Interestingly if Oscar had not braked and Max had not sped up, I don’t think Max would have spun off and Lando could well have ended up only third…? Papaya still ruling but the closer it gets the higher the intensity.
Chelsea: This has to be Oscar Piastri’s tactical braking under the safety car on lap 21 as it changed the course of the race. With Max Verstappen directly behind him, the move was clearly meant to cool the brakes of the Red Bull, putting it at a disadvantage when racing restarted. Unfortunately for Piastri the braking was a little on the dramatic side, causing Verstappen to pass, retreat, lose focus and ultimately spin out moments later. The most confusing part of the whole incident was typically stoic Piastri’s clearly simmering rage at the penalty – from this viewer’s perspective it was a fair cop. I would love to know what Piastri has to say about it privately.
Aiden: Is Lance Stroll the biggest dickhead ever to have driven an F1 car? There’s some fierce competition but this was the exchange he had with his race engineer after finishing seventh, two places above teammate Fernando Alonso:
Engineer: “Crazy car to drive, amazing finish.”
Stroll: “Yeah crazy is an understatement, I mean it’s the worst piece of shit I’ve ever driven to be honest.”
He’d actually driven well, I was tempted to praise him, and then he comes out with that drivel. Yes, he’s emotional and yes, plenty of drivers routinely criticise their car in public, but I’m pretty sure it’s not the worst piece of shit he’s ever driven. I wish he would just get bored of F1 and tell Daddy Stroll he’d like to do something else and then he could leave us all alone and let someone who’s grateful join Aston Martin. Sorry, on reflection, this isn’t really a talking point, is it, more a statement of fact…
Gossip Time
Graeme: All the talk prior to Silverstone was about whether Max Verstappen has been talking to Mercedes boss Toto Wolf (no relation) about a possible seat for next year and beyond. Rumour has it that Max has an out clause and may use it, but who really knows how true that is. It seemed to be confirmed that talks were underway so focus turned to George Russell who still has no contract for next year, despite being Mercedes best driver this year. With Toto putting a lot of time and energy into young Kimi Antonelli to get him on the grid this year, you’d think George had better be talking to other teams. My prediction? Max stays at Red Bull, George signs again for Mercedes and this is nothing more than a good mid-season yarn.
Gavin: Franco Colapinto in the Alpine doesn’t seem to be much of an improvement on Jack Doohan with both drivers sitting on zero points. There is talk of him losing his seat to Valterri Bottas, and many others, who appears to be the reserve driver for a couple of teams and also a contender for a seat in the Cadillac next year. Once again it would be harsh on the incumbent to lose that seat but the Flavio Briatore school of racing holds no prisoners and makes Dr Helmut Marko seem like a real softy. I suspect he will be safe until the imminent summer break but Franco will be getting very nervous.
Chelsea: Rookie Ollie Bearman had a rollercoaster of a weekend. In FP3 his Haas lost a piece of bodywork on the track that led to a red flag so it could be retrieved. Then, when a second red flag was out after a Bortoleto spin, Bearman hooned (technical term) into the pits at 260km/h and crashed into the barriers. This earned him a 10 place grid penalty, which was especially frustrating given he finished an admirable 8th in qualifying. From a race start position of 18th, he would have had no idea he was to not only finish ahead of all the other rookies, but the only rookie to complete the race at all. Colapinto stalled at the start, Lawson was wiped out by Ocon, Bortoleto spun out on lap 4, and Hadjar hit Antonelli on lap 18, leading to both retiring.
Aiden: When asked at Silverstone if Alpine’s Flávio Briatore had been in contact about Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confirmed he had; he also said he wouldn’t stand in the way of his reserve driver if Alpine offered him a seat for the rest of the season. Although Pierre Gasly continues to show his quality when possible, the second seat at Alpine remains a problem. Franco Colapinto started the weekend well, but he crashed out of qualifying and then his car needed so much work, he had to start from the pitlane – and then a gearbox problem saw him retire the car. Briatore seems to have lost patience with him well before that unfortunate end to Colapinto’s weekend. Will it end up being his final race for Alpine?
Looking Ahead
Graeme: In my pre-season preview, I mentioned Miami & Spa as the two races I was looking forward to most, but I think the British Grand Prix has overtaken them for me. As it’s the home race for 7 teams, there are so many resources poured into the event and surrounding promotions. London had all sorts happening in the week leading up. McLaren filled Trafalgar Square, Williams had a pop up space and there were various other appearances by teams and former drivers. It seems F1 took over the whole country and I’m all about it. It really is the home of Grand Prix racing and Silverstone is the jewel in the Grand Prix crown. What a circuit, flat, quick and great viewing points throughout. It’s quickly gone on my list to get there one day.
Gavin: Next up, in a fortnight, is the Belgium Grand Prix in Spa. This is a storied venue that has claimed many scalps, and yes, many lives too. The weather is changeable and if we get another wet race all bets are off again as there will be incidents and safety cars galore. Will we see Oscar make another mistake, making it three in a row? Or will it be a return to the laid back unruffled style we are so used to? McLaren will be ok but everyone else will struggle, except for Nico Hulkenberg who I am picking to win the race, because why not? I have now doomed this race to be mediocre and a procession.
Chelsea: We came into Silverstone riding a wave of speculation about Verstappen’s talks with Mercedes. We leave the weekend wondering if we’ll see Franco Colapinto in an F1 car again. After Aussie Jack Doohan was unceremoniously removed from the seat in favour of Colapinto, the latter has managed a grand total of zero points. Rumour has it Doohan may return, or even honourable Aussie Valtteri Bottas – either way, I’m not in favour of the dithering-over-drivers model of Alpine and Red Bull, and hope they get over it soon.
Aiden: We’re finally halfway through the 24 weekend season and there’s only eight points separating the McLaren drivers. I can really see this battle going all the way to the end now and that’s good for the sport compared to the procession of Max Verstappen’s last three championships. Maybe we can dream and get as exciting a conclusion as Verstappen versus Lewis Hamilton in 2021.
Bonus Picture(s)
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