Ferrari race report: Carlos Sainz P5, Charles Leclerc P14 at Silverstone | 2024 F1 British GP. 2024 F1 British GP race results and report.

Here is our full text transcript from the 12th round of the 2024 Formula 1 championship, the British Grand Prix:

After a dream qualifying result for the British fans at Silverstone, Sunday’s Grand Prix could hardly be better set up to provide further drama.

George Russell beat his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to pole, with Lando Norris taking third for McLaren to create a British front three on the grid for the first time in Formula 1 at Silverstone, and the first time at any track since 1968.

If the prospect of an all-British battle for victory didn’t provide enough tension, there’s also the lurking threat posed by world championship leader Max Verstappen, starting from fourth. The Dutchman went off in Q1 through the gravel at Copse and damaged his floor. To qualify in fourth was a great effort, considering he would have lacked some downforce. Red Bull have been allowed to do a like-for-like replacement of Verstappen’s floor, so he has no more damaged parts on the car.

For Ferrari it was a very difficult Saturday at Silverstone, as Carlos Sainz will start the race from P7, while his Maranello teammate from outside the top ten (P11).

With 40 minutes to go until lights out, the pit lane is open. We have cars on track for the first time on Sunday, and you can feel the tension building around Silverstone. As expected after that latest shower, the drivers are completing their reconnaissance laps to the dummy grid on intermediate tyres. It does seem to have stopped raining again down the pit straight at least. “The track is drier than what I thought,” says Charles Leclerc on his out lap on team radio.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz is told there is “no more rain until maybe one hour into the race.” The drivers are lining up on the grid now with slick tyres and the sun is shining again at Silverstone.

Interestingly, the top 13 drivers are all on the mediums. Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu in 14th is on the softs, as is Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in 18th. Sergio Perez starts in the pit lane and is on the hards.

It’s lights out and away we go at Silverstone!
Race start: George Russell holds lead from Lewis Hamilton into Turn One as Mercedes get away in formation as the latter moved right to cover off Norris. But Max Verstappen is up into third ahead of Lando Norris before the Wellington Straight! Further back it looks like there are no major incidents. Nico Hulkenberg has lost a few positions and drops to ninth from sixth. Carlos Sainz gained a position, while Charles Leclerc is up to eighth and Yuki Tsunoda is into 11th.

Lap 2/52: DRS is enabled and Lewis Hamilton is only six tenths behind George Russell. Hamilton wants the lead and also is trying to keep Max Verstappen behind in third.

Lap 3/52: As they start the third lap, George Russell leads Lewis Hamilton by just over one second. Max Verstappen is exactly a second back on Hamilton, with Lando Norris the same distance back on him.

Lap 5/52: George Russell leads by 1.3 seconds from Lewis Hamilton, with Max Verstappen a further 1.5 seconds adrift. Lando Norris is within DRS range of Verstappen and told rain could arrive soon towards the end of the lap. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc is all over Lance Stroll in the fight for seventh but can’t find a way by yet.

Lap 7/52: The latest band of wet weather is coming in from the Stowe side of the track. Less than 10 laps more before it hits?

Lap 8/52: Sergio Perez’s quest to get somewhere near the points from the pit lane sees him run 17th at the moment between Magnussen’s Haas and Ocon’s Alpine. Unlike everyone else, he is running on the slowest compound available – the hards – so will be aiming to run long. Good data gathering for Verstappen too if Red Bull want to switch to that compound for their lead car later.

Lap 10/52: The top five drivers are all matching each other and are 1-2 seconds apart from each other. It looks like they are saving their tyres as rain could be on the way, so they want to wait to switch to intermediates.

Lap 12/52: Russell leads Hamilton by 1.5 seconds but Verstappen falls to three seconds adrift of the seven-time world champion. It looks like he doesn’t have the pace right now. Norris is one second behind Verstappen, with Piastri still there in fifth.

Lap 14/52: Finally Charles Leclerc goes down the inside of Lance Stroll at Stowe and takes seventh place. His Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz is next, four seconds up the road.

Lap 18/52: There goes Lando! The McLaren seemed to have much more grip, speed and confidence than the Red Bull and streamed past down the inside with DRS down the Hangar Straight into Stowe. Max Verstappen pretty powerless to defend this time. Can Norris now catch up with the Mercedes’, the first of which – Hamilton – is three seconds up the road. But the rain is falling.

Lap 19/52: Heavy rain is coming according to Ferrari with Carlos Sainz in sixth and Charles Leclerc in seventh. Up go the umbrellas in the grandstand.

Lap 17/52: For once, Max Verstappen’s Red Bull just doesn’t have the pace and he’s overtaken again into Stowe by the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri. The drizzly rain didn’t make that move on the brakes easy for Piastri, who kept it together well.

Lap 18/52: Lewis Hamilton is all over the back of George Russell as the Mercedes pair are fighting for the lead! And through goes Hamilton! It’s a simple move down the inside at Stowe as the rain falls very hard now.

Lap 19/52: Wow, this is getting VERY dramatic with rain falling more in other parts of the circuit than others. BOTH Mercedes run straight on across the run-off at Turn One. They both swiftly rejoin, but Norris pounces on Russell and takes over second place. He’s now after Hamilton in the lead!

Lap 20/52: Lando Norris gets a much better exit off the final corner and takes the lead from Lewis Hamilton into Turn One. Oscar Piastri joins the party and takes third from George Russell just a few corners later.

Lap 21/52: We’re seeing some drivers gamble on intermediates – including Charles Leclerc who was up into the top six.

Lap 22/52: And now Sainz is in sixth place but closing fast on Verstappen in fifth. It’s Norris leading by 1.6 seconds from Piastri, then one second to Hamilton and another second to Russell. Verstappen is two seconds behind Russell, then comes Sainz.

Lap 23/52: Leclerc, Perez and Zhou are still on the intermediates but it’s not working. They are all much slower than everyone else. Ocon also pitted for intermediates before but is back on slicks.

Lap 24/52: McLaren tell Lando Norris the rain which is now returning will continue for half an hour. If that’s the case, surely the drivers will go onto intermediates.

Lap 26/52: We are at half race distance. Take a deep breath everyone. Norris leads by 1.5 seconds from Piastri, with Hamilton another two seconds back. Russell is two seconds adrift of Hamilton and Verstappen falls to six seconds off the top four, with Sainz all over him again.

Leclerc lapped and off track after inters switch backfires
Lap 25/52: Things aren’t working out for Charles Leclerc right now – and that’s continued after his switch to intermediate tyres. He’s lost 20s in the last three laps – as has Sergio Perez, who are both lapped. Leclerc has also just slid off track with the track not wet enough for the grooved rubber. “There’s enough rain for brollies and ponchos – but not for these heroes on track,” says Martin Brundle.

Lap 27/52: Into the pits come Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz for a set of intermediates. That’s a big call by Red Bull and Ferrari.

Lap 28/52: The race leading McLaren is called into the pits, but his team-mate is told to stay out and Oscar Piastri takes over the lead. Will Piastri now lose out big time on his slicks in this falling rain? Both Mercedes drivers are in together as they opt to double-stack their cars with Russell having to wait for his service once Hamilton’s was finished. Russell rejoins behind Verstappen.

Lap 29/52: Piastri pits for intermediates and comes out in sixth place. He’s six seconds behind Carlos Sainz.

Lap 31/52: Max Verstappen says his intermediates are wearing out quickly. George Russell is 1.5 seconds behind him in the battle for third.

Lap 32/52: The rain is lighter now and the 19 cars going around and around, mean the track is drying. Everyone is struggling with tyre wear as Norris leads Hamilton by 3.4 seconds.

Lap 33/52: After that delayed stop for intermediates saw him lost a net four positions, Oscar Piastri is now setting his sights on taking fifth place from Carlos Sainz. He has got DRS on the Ferrari, and what we known is a quicker car, but at the moment Sainz is holding firm.

Lap 34/52: George Russell comes into the pits and is OUT of the British Grand Prix. That’s come from nowhere. Mercedes say they have retired George Russell’s car with a suspected water systems issue.

Lap 35/52: The gap out in front is down to 2.7 seconds between Norris and Hamilton. Verstappen is by himself now, with Russell out, then comes Carlos Sainz and Piastri.

Lap 36/52: With F1 saying the light rain will end in six minutes’ time, Lewis Hamilton has started to bring down Lando Norris’ race lead. Norris’ advantage is down to just 2.4s with Hamilton 0.7s quicker last time around.

Lap 37/52: Hamilton gets within two seconds of Norris now as the sun is shining at Silverstone.

Lap 38/52: Hamilton and Norris match each other on the latest lap. Verstappen is seven seconds behind Hamilton, with Sainz still holding off Piastri for fourth.

Lap 39/52: Lewis Hamilton comes into the pit lane for softs. Max Verstappen comes in for hards!

Lap 40/52: So the race leader is in after that extra lap compared to Hamilton and Verstappen. It’s soft tyres that go on the McLaren…and the stop is rather slow at 4.5s after Norris overshoots his marks a touch. And Hamilton goes into first place! Lewis Hamilton leads the British Grand Prix by two seconds from Lando Norris.

Lap 41/52: Verstappen on the hard tyres is very quick. He’s just three seconds behind Norris, who is three seconds adrift of Hamilton. Lap 43/52: Verstappen is flying along. It’s another new fastest lap of the race from the Dutchman and he’s 2.5 seconds behind Norris now. Hamilton is 2.7 seconds ahead of Norris. Ten laps to go.

Lap 44/52: Norris sets his best lap of the race but Verstappen goes one tenth quicker. Hamilton leads by 2.1 seconds now from Norris, then comes Verstappen at 2.4 seconds behind the McLaren driver. All three drivers are really going for it

Lap 45/52: Hamilton is 2.5 seconds ahead of Norris and Verstappen gets within two seconds of Norris. We are talking about hundredths and tenths of a second now. That was a good lap from Hamilton.

Lap 47/52: After taking another half second from the McLaren last time around, Max Verstappen is fast approaching one-second DRS range on the second-placed McLaren.

Lap 48/52: Verstappen is within one second of Norris now. These two clashed this time last Sunday in Austria remember. Hamilton is three seconds in front of Norris.

Lap 48/52: He needed to get the job done on the McLaren quickly if he had a chance of catching Hamilton – and Max Verstappen has just done just that. Around the outside with DRS into Stowe to take second place away from Norris. It’s now a straight fight between the old rivals for the win – it’s HAMILTON VS VERSTAPPEN! Four laps in this gripping British GP to go. Hamilton leads Verstappen by 3.3s

Lap 51/52: Just under two laps to go for Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen continues to close but the gap is a still healthy 2.8s for the Mercedes.

Chequered flag: He’s done it!The most successful driver in F1 history finally has record-extending win 104 – and a record-extending ninth at his home Silverstone race – after a sensational drive. Hamilton’s 56-race victory drought since Saudi Arabia 2021 is over! He holds off Max Verstappen’s late pressure, as the world champion finishes a close second.

Carlos Sainz saves some points for Ferrari with a fifth place finish, while Charles Leclerc finishes outside de top ten (P14) after a poor strategy decision to go for the Intermediates too early in the race.