2015 British Grand Prix Review

Though the result was one Formula One fans have grown accustomed to, the circumstances under which they came were reminiscent of a seemingly bygone era where nothing was certain until the chequered flag waved. An uncharacteristically poor start by both Mercedes cars, an opening lap safety car, four lead changes and a rain delay contributed to a thoroughly enjoyable British Grand Prix won by Brit, Lewis Hamilton, for the second year in succession.

Having locked out the front row of the grid for the sixth time in nine races, it was not a question if Mercedes would win, but which driverwould win. Nico Rosberg starting second on the grid for the fourth race in succession was looking to repeat his success in Austria by beating his teammate off the line. As it happened, neither Rosberg nor Hamilton made clean starts. This allowed the Williams drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas to storm into first and third place respectively. Nico Hulkenberg who has been enjoying quite the purple patch recently, also started very strongly and moved his Force India upto fifth from ninth on the grid.

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Towards the back of the pack, tragedy struck again for McLaren as both drivers collided with each other in a pileup that saw home favourite Jenson Button eliminated along with the Lotuses of Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. After a lengthy visit to the pitlane, Fernando Alonso was able to resume the race and would ultimately secure his first points finish of the season.

While the race marshals cleared up the debris, the Safety Car insulated the Williams from the charged up Lewis Hamilton. Once normal racing resumed, the double champion was immediately on the back of Massa, but carried too much speed going into the apex and in the process allowed Bottas to take second. The feeling of nostalgia was clearly palpable among the crowd as they witnessed a long forgotten sight, a Williams one-two at Silverstone.

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As the four Mercedes powered cars were beginning to pull away from the rest of the field, an internal battle was brewing at Williams. Massa began to struggle for pace and Bottas quickly closed up on the back of the Brazilian. After a few tense radio exchanges that instructed Bottas not to race Massa and instead focus on the looming threat of the Mercedes drivers, he was ultimately told to make the move only if it could be made cleanly. To Massa’s credit, he held his nerve and the position until the first round of pitstops.

Hamilton was the first of the frontrunners to blink as he pitted on lap 20. In response to Hamilton, Massa and Rosberg pitted the very next lap and were wheel to wheel coming out of the pit exit. Crucially, Hamilton’s stop was a second quicker than Massa’s and allowed to him to take over the race lead.

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By the time the race approached the midway mark Hamilton had built up a formidable lead over Massa and Bottas. Rosberg meanwhile was struggling to find a way past the Williams cars and was in a dilemma of sorts in terms of pit strategy. On the one hand, if he tried to save his tyres he would all but forfeit a chance of a podium finish. On the other hand, if he upped his pace and wore out his tyres too quickly, a second stop would put him right in the clutches of the Ferraris.

The strategists on the pit wall eventually made the call and switched him over to a two stop strategy. Just as they did so, the rain which was looming on the horizon all afternoon, finally came, albeit intermittently. Within a few laps, Rosberg quickly overtook Bottas and Massa who were apparently caught out by the short showers.

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Having disposed of the Williams drivers, Rosberg began to bear down on race leader Hamilton. With a second downpour on its way, Hamilton in an inspired move made the decision to switch to the intermediate tyres. Sebastian Vettel who also shrewdly pitted for a set of inters moved up to third place in the aftermath of the shower. His teammate was not so lucky, however, and had to make a third stop having changed to the inters a tad too early and ultimately wound up in fifth behind Massa and Bottas.

Hamilton held on for the final few laps and capped off what was a fantastic race for the home fans. Though this year’s British Grand Prix might not have been one of the all-time classics, it was just the tonic that the sport needed as it has come under more and more criticism for a lack of action. Here’s to hoping the trend continues at the Hungaroring on July 26.

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