The 2024 British Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Qatar Airways British Grand Prix 2024) was a Formula One motor race that took place on 7 July 2024 at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England. It was the twelfth round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship.

George Russell of Mercedes took pole position, but abruptly retired mid-race due to a water leak in his car. Teammate Lewis Hamilton won the race for what was his first win since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix more than two seasons prior, ahead of championship leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing and Lando Norris of McLaren. The win was Hamilton's 104th career victory and his record ninth British Grand Prix victory.

By finishing ahead of Norris in the race, Verstappen increased his advantage in the World Drivers' Championship to 84 points, Charles Leclerc remained in third at 150 points following his second consecutive pointless race. His teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. closed the deficit to Leclerc to four points, while Oscar Piastri moved to fifth in the standings with 124 points. Red Bull extended their lead in the World Constructors' Championship to 71 points, with Ferrari and McLaren, who were second and third respectively, covered by seven points.

Background The event was held at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire for the 59th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 5–7 July. The Grand Prix was the twelfth round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship and the 75th running of the British Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship.

Championship standings before the race Going into the weekend, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship with 237 points, 81 points ahead of Lando Norris in second, and 87 ahead of Charles Leclerc in third. Red Bull Racing, with 355 points, led the Constructors' Championship from Ferrari and McLaren, who were second and third with 291 and 268 points, respectively.

Entrants

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race. In the first free practice session, Oliver Bearman stood in for Kevin Magnussen for Haas, Franco Colapinto replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams, Jack Doohan drove instead of Pierre Gasly for Alpine and Isack Hadjar was in for Red Bull Racing in place of Sergio Pérez. Colapinto made his Formula One practice debut.

Tyre choices

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C1, C2, and C3 tyre compounds (the three hardest in their range) designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event.

Practice Three free practice sessions were held for the event. The first free practice session was held on 5 July 2024, at 12:30 local time (UTC+1), and was topped by Lando Norris of McLaren ahead of Lance Stroll of Aston Martin and Norris's teammate Oscar Piastri. The second free practice session was held on the same day, at 16:00 local time, and was topped by Norris ahead of Piastri and Sergio Pérez of Red Bull Racing. The third free practice session was held on 6 July 2024, at 11:30 local time, and was topped by George Russell of Mercedes ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton and Norris.

Qualifying Qualifying was held on 6 July 2024, at 15:00 local time (UTC+1).

Qualifying classification DriverConstructorQ1Q2Q3163 George RussellMercedes1:30.1061:26.7231:25.8191244 Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:29.5471:26.7701:25.990234 Lando NorrisMcLaren-Mercedes1:31.5961:26.5591:26.030341 Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing-Honda RBPT1:31.3421:26.7961:26.2034581 Oscar PiastriMcLaren-Mercedes1:30.8951:26.7331:26.2375627Haas-Ferrari1:31.9291:26.847 1:26.3386755 Carlos Sainz Jr.Ferrari1:30.5571:26.8431:26.5097818 Lance Stroll1:31.4101:26.9381:26.5858923 Alexander AlbonWilliams-Mercedes1:31.1351:26.9331:26.64091014 Fernando Alonso1:31.2641:26.7301:26.917101116 Charles LeclercFerrari1:30.4961:27.097N/A 11122 Logan SargeantWilliams-Mercedes1:31.6081:27.175N/A121322 Yuki TsunodaRB-Honda RBPT1:30.9941:27.269N/A131424 Zhou GuanyuKick Sauber-Ferrari1:31.1901:27.867N/A14153 Daniel RicciardoRB-Honda RBPT1:31.2911:27.949N/A151677 Valtteri BottasKick Sauber-Ferrari1:32.431N/AN/A161720Haas-Ferrari1:32.905N/AN/A171831 Esteban OconAlpine-Renault1:34.557N/A N/A 181911 Sergio PérezRed Bull Racing-Honda RBPT1:38.348N/A N/A 2010 Pierre GaslyAlpine-Renault1:39.804N/AN/A19107% time: 1:35.815Source: Notes – Sergio Pérez qualified 19th, but was required to start the race from the pit lane for replacing power unit elements without the approval of the technical delegate during parc fermé. – Pierre Gasly was required to start the race from the back of the grid for exceeding his quota of power unit elements. He gained a position as Sergio Pérez started the race from the pit lane. – As qualifying was held on a wet track, the 107% rule was not in force.

Race

Race report

The race was held on 7 July 2024, at 15:00 local time (UTC+1), and was run for 52 laps. At the race start, Russell kept his spot at the front, while Verstappen jumped to third ahead of Norris. Norris would eventually get back in front of Verstappen on lap 15 and started chasing after the two Mercedes, with teammate Oscar Piastri following suit two laps later. As the weather slowly transitioned to rain, Hamilton overtook Russell at Stowe corner on lap 18, but both ran off the track at Abbey just a few corners later. Norris took advantage to get past Russell almost immediately after, then got past Hamilton a lap later.

On lap 27, Verstappen pitted for the intermediate tyres, being the first runner in the top five to do so. Norris, Hamilton and Russell all pitted for inters as well on lap 28, but Piastri waited a lap more. This resulted in him dropping to sixth when he would eventually switch to inters on lap 29. Five laps later, Russell unexpectedly retired from the race in the pit lane due to an issue with his water pressure. This left Hamilton as the sole Mercedes contender for the win. On lap 39, Hamilton and Verstappen switched from their intermediates to slicks - Hamilton on softs and Verstappen on hards - while Norris waited a lap to switch to the softs. Once Norris came out, he found himself behind Hamilton and ahead of Verstappen. Verstappen passed Norris with five laps left and tried to catch Hamilton, but Hamilton stayed ahead to win from Verstappen and Norris. It was Hamilton's first victory since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Additionally, it was his ninth overall victory at the British Grand Prix, breaking the record for the most wins at a single circuit.

Post-race debrief

Speaking after the race, Hamilton admitted there have "been some days since and here where I didn't feel like I was good enough, or whether I was going to get back where I am today." His father Anthony stated he had "full confidence that, whatever happened, he was going to give his best, and when Lewis gives his best it normally ends up with the win." Hamilton became the first driver to win a Grand Prix beyond his 300th race start, as all other previous drivers to reach 300 starts - Rubens Barrichello, Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button, Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso - either failed to do so or have yet to do so.

Second-placed finisher Verstappen credited his team Red Bull Racing for making the call to switch him onto the hard tyres instead of the soft tyres for the final stint, believing he could not have been higher had it been otherwise. Norris praised Hamilton for his victory but rued the lost opportunity for himself, stating "These tricky conditions are always on a knife-edge, and you’re risking a lot. So many things good, but a few too many letdowns today." Russell expressed his disappointment in being forced to pull out of the race, believing he "had a shot of at least a podium.”

Race classification DriverConstructorTime/RetiredPoints 144 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 52 1:22:27.0592 25 2 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 52 +1.465 4 18 3 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 52 +7.547 3 15 481 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 52 +12.4295 12 555 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 52 +47.318 7 11 627 Haas-Ferrari 52 +55.7226 8 718 Lance Stroll 52 +56.5698 6 814 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes52 +1:03.577104 923 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 52 +1:08.38792 1022 Yuki Tsunoda RB-Honda RBPT 52 +1:19.30313 1 112 Logan SargeantWilliams-Mercedes 52 +1:28.96012 1220 Haas-Ferrari 52 +1:30.15317 133 Daniel Ricciardo RB-Honda RBPT 51 +1 lap15 14 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 51 +1 lap 11 1577 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber-Ferrari 51 +1 lap16 1631 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 50 +2 laps18 1711 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT50 +2 laps 1824 Zhou GuanyuKick Sauber-Ferrari50 +2 laps14 63 George Russell Mercedes 33 1 10 Pierre GaslyAlpine-Renault0 Gearbox— Fastest lap: Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari) – 1:28.293 (lap 52)Source: Notes – Includes one point for fastest lap. – Pierre Gasly did not start the race due to a gearbox issue. His position on the grid was left vacant.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Driver Points1 Max Verstappen2552 Lando Norris1713 Charles Leclerc1504 Carlos Sainz Jr.146 15 Oscar Piastri124Source:

Constructors' Championship standings Constructor Points1 Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT3732 Ferrari3023 McLaren-Mercedes2954 Mercedes221568Source:

Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also 2024 Silverstone Formula 2 round 2024 Silverstone Formula 3 round

References

External links