F1 GP Great Britain: Vettel snatches the crown from Hamilton in his home GP

Sebastian Vettel he is the new King of England, winner of the British GP before Hamilton e Raikkonen, at the end of a race where the three world champions really did not hold back, to the delight of the public, exhilarated from the first to the last lap. The pilot of the Ferrari he led a masterful race, taking advantage of an error by Hamilton at the start, who in turn was the protagonist of a crazy race, climbing from last to second position. Kimi Raikkonen, who came third, was also enthusiastic and drove like a true hero, bringing home another important podium for the Red! Safety cars and thrilling overtaking gave the tenth round of the season 52 breathtaking laps, with Bottas, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Ocon, Alonso, Magnussen and Gasly completing the top ten.

News – Scorching heat – 52°C the asphalt temperature – when the formation lap of the British GP starts. Tire situation at the start: soft used for all the top ten, medium for Hulkenberg, Sainz, Stroll and Hartley, new soft for all the others. The two Williams and Hartley's STR will start from the pit lane, but Toro Rosso will ultimately fail to take part in the race.

The traffic lights go out and Hamilton suffers from excessive skidding, which immediately causes him to lose the leadership to the detriment of Vettel and Bottas, both protagonists of an excellent start. Raikkonen throws himself into the fray and at turn 3, while attempting to lunge at Hamilton, who is in turn fighting with Bottas, he touches the right rear of the Briton: Hamilton spins and falls to 17th position. Both complain of damage to the cars but continue. The incident is being investigated and Kimi will receive a 10 second penalty. Meanwhile, Hamilton begins his climb towards the points zone. Vettel leads ahead of Bottas, Verstappen, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Hulkenebrg, Leclerc, Ocon, Sainz and Magnussen.

On lap 5 Hamilton is already eleventh, while Vettel has a 5 second advantage over Bottas. On lap 11 Hamilton is sixth. On lap 14 Raikkonen was the first of the top drivers to return to the pits, also serving the penalty. Alonso and Perez also pit with him, while four laps later it's Verstappen's turn. So Ricciardo. On lap 19, after his pit stop, Leclerc returns to the track and immediately has a problem, parking his Sauber in the gravel. On lap 20 Vettel also stopped and came out in second place behind Hamilton. Bottas pitta in turn. On lap 22 the German from Ferrari thus returned to the lead, followed by Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Kimi, Magnussen, Grosjean, Ericsson and Hulkenberg. Hamilton stops on lap 26, switches to medium and comes back sixth, behind Raikkonen. The top drivers are all on medium after the first stop. On lap 31 Ricciardo stops again and switches to the new soft compound. But on the next lap the race takes its first sudden turn: Ericsson violently hits the barriers, calling the safety car onto the track! Vettel, Raikkonen and Verstappen took the opportunity to return to the pits and switch to soft. The Mercedes instead proceed on the mediums.

Behind the safety there are therefore Bottas, Vettel, Hamilton, Verstappen, Kimi, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Ocon, Magnussen and Alonso.

The safety car returns on lap 37. The first good duel is between Raikkonen and Verstappen, but after two laps there is a new accident and a new safety car! This time the damage is the work of Sainz and Grosjean, who touch each other while the Spaniard attempts a lunge on the Frenchman. With ten laps to go the green flag is back on the track, for an epic finale between Mercedes and Ferrari!

On lap 43 Raikkonen snatched the place from Verstappen, who a few laps later was involved in a spin, only to stop shortly afterwards in the gravel, forced to retire. On lap 47 Vettel regains the lead of the race and flies towards his 51st career victory, ahead of Hamilton - who in the meantime has passed Bottas, with less fresh tires than his - and his teammate Raikkonen, who earns a new podium, in turn snatching third place from his compatriot!

F1 GP Great Britain – Times, results and race laps