A race that could make you lose your head, it was so complicated, filled with tactical subtleties, moments of waiting, and others of relaunching, with the track changing from one moment to the next. And who ended up in the top two spots? The drivers with the clearest vision of the race, those who combined speed with experience, intuition, and intelligence. First Lewis Hamilton and second, by a whisker, Max Verstappen, not coincidentally the most titled champions of Formula 1, on the track where it all began.
Lewis Hamilton did not have any stroke of luck. He built his success lap by lap, trying to make as few mistakes as possible and getting all the tire choices right. He did, however, get a significant assist from McLaren, which in its amazing rise to the top of Formula 1 neglected the strategy factor. But Lewis Hamilton was always there, in the leading positions, with the same speed as George Russell first and then Lando Norris, ready to seize the race at the decisive moment, which came with the final tire change, when he fitted the Pirelli Softs and managed to withstand Max Verstappen’s furious and aggressive comeback, a difficult task that required considerable mental concentration.
The British Grand Prix podium with the two best drivers is a picture to put away and ponder over why so many victories are won more with the head than with the foot. This applies also to Max Verstappen, whose Red Bull was not at its best this time, but still came close to victory thanks to tactics, pit box choices, and the driver’s composure, reconciled with the sport after the incident at Zeltweg.
To recap, there was Mercedes, there was McLaren, and there was Red Bull. The only one missing, unfortunately, was Ferrari. This setback weighs more than the others because showing up on Friday with two different aerodynamic solutions, both tested at different times in the race, seemed a sign of weakness we did not expect, if not outright confusion.
But how is it that Ferrari does not have one of the most advanced simulators in F1? Aren’t there hundreds of technicians reading figures, telemetry, making measurements? Engaging in a comparative test during a grand prix was a romantic throwback to the past, in the pre-computer era, but it seemed a bit embarrassing for those who saw things from the outside. And Charles Leclerc’s accusations against the pit box regarding strategic choices confirm a toxic atmosphere we thought relegated to distant times. The Monegasque driver, at Silverstone, ended up a lap behind for a series of debatable reasons too long to explain, while Carlos Sainz had a calmer weekend without errors, but with a car that still managed to lose half a second per lap against Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes.
This was not what the fans and the leaders of the Prancing Horse expected. It was not what Lewis Hamilton expected, curious to understand what new world awaits him and perhaps a little worried about what he is seeing at this moment. Take heart, Lewis Hamilton will not arrive in Maranello alone. And he already knows that it will not be enough to build a car that is competitive only in the spring, but it will be necessary to recreate harmony, an environment, and above all, a method: good luck Lewis, you will need plenty of coffee for the task you have committed to..
