British Grand Prix: 5 Talking Points

Mercedes won a race, yet again. Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line, half a minute in front of Valtteri Bottas, underlying the Mercedes’ supremacy over the rest of the field. Here are some major talking points from what was a memorable British Grand Prix.

#1 Drama on Lap 1 and a huge delay

Kimi Raikkonen doesn’t usually start a race from the back of the grid, and this unfamiliarity probably may have contributed to what followed.

Kimi ran wide and onto the grass at turn 3. As he re-joined the track, the back end gave way and the car twitched and slid as he fought to regain control. Unfortunately, even his extra-ordinary talent couldn’t beat the situation as the car slammed sideways onto the barrier (the impact was measured at 48 Gs). Then, the wreck slid across the track, and spun, taking the rear of Felipe Massa’s Williams on the way. The race was red-flagged on Lap 1.

The impact heavily damaged the steel barriers. A delay of close to an hour followed, as marshals got about repairing it.

#2 Valtteri Bottas leads Williams resurgence

Starting at a lowly 14th, nobody would have expected Bottas to even get a sniff of the podium. The onus was clearly on him to deliver a result similar to Austria two weeks ago, after Massa’s 200th Grand Prix came to an unfortunate early end.

And he didn’t disappoint. The pace of the Williams down the straight was telling. Bottas came through the field, overtaking Magnussen, Hulkenberg, Button, Vettel and Ricciardo on the way.

Bottas even overtook Button round the outside at the end of the Hangar straight on Lap 17 – a clear sign of what was to come.

A flawless race ended in a well deserved 2nd place for Valtteri Bottas. Having put up with the likes of Maldonado and a pretty average car for the best part of the last 10 years, it looks like Williams are back in the big league again.

#3 Tables turn at Mercedes

At the end of qualifying, it was Hamilton who was left to rue his luck, while Rosberg may have been thinking about another win already.

A determined Hamilton made a good start, and after the restart, moved into 2nd place within no time. The script was looking all too familiar, until lap 29.

Nico Rosberg, running 1st, had complained on lap 20 about a gearbox problem while downshifting. 9 laps later, the gearbox failed and Nico had to retire. The crowd didn’t find enough reason to care for Lewis’ team-mate though.

Regarding races lost owing to mechanical issues, Nico still owes one to Lewis. But with his lead in the championship reduced to just 4 points from 29, Nico won’t be hoping for that race to come anytime soon.

At the end of the day though, it was all about a change in luck for both drivers – Hamilton celebrated in front of his home crowd, while Rosberg was left wondering what might have been.

A missed battle for the neutrals sadly.

Mercedes encountered a completely different problem in Canada, and this latest gearbox issue has raised questions about their reliability. Twice in the last three races, one of their cars had to retire due to technical issues.

They can’t be caught on the track, but they must seriously address their car’s reliability soon.

#4 Alonso plays bad boy for once

Fernando Alonso is one of the most experienced drivers out there at the moment, and this race saw every bit of his qualities – the good and the bad.

To start with, Alonso was about half a car’s length ahead on his starting grid position. Thus, he was handed a five second stop go penalty which was served during his pit-stop on lap 26. To make matters worse, he was constantly putting all four wheels out of the road at the end of the old starting grid, and being warned. He couldn’t afford another penalty!

Now, over to the good part. Bottas was flying, and so was Alonso a few positions behind him. That early charge made sure Alonso was comfortably in a mid top 10 position throughout the race. And then, Alonso handed Vettel a defensive masterclass from lap 35 onwards, until his tyres gave way on lap 48. Using his DRS, diving down the inside, trying furiously on the old start finish straight, Vettel was finding Alonso in his way every single time. The German was clearly angry about Alonso’s driving style, complaining furiously to his engineer following the overtake.

All in all, an eventful day for Alonso – plenty of brushes with the law, a great fight with Vettel and a hard earned 6th place.

#5 Caterhams woes continue

It’s been a pretty dull existence for Caterham so far in Formula One, but recent news may have caused some reason for optimism.

Caterham filled the last row yet again, while their competitors Marussia started way ahead on the grid. If that wasn’t bad enough, Magnus Ericsson retired on lap 12 due to a technical problem – a very familiar story. One of their drivers was very lucky on lap 1 as well to avoid being hit by the spinning Ferrari of Raikkonen.

Tony Fernandes had earlier hinted at an exit from F1. With the team still struggling to get both its cars to the finish even in the 5th year of its existence, perhaps his disappointment was justified. Even with new owners, Caterham’s competitiveness, maybe even its existence, looks bleak.