Lando Norris benefits from Oscar Piastri penalty to claim British GP victory
During a wild, wet and chaotic race at Silverstone, Piastri was dealt a 10-second penalty by the stewards after he slammed on his brakes at 130mph ahead of a safety car restart, forcing
Max Verstappen
to take evasive action.
The penalty cost Piastri the win, with Norris crossing the line 6.8 seconds clear of his McLaren team-mate. Norris' fourth victory of the season saw him reduce the gap to the Australian in the drivers' championship standings from 15 points to eight.
Nico Hulkenberg landed his first podium in Formula One after 239 starts while Lewis Hamilton had to settle for fourth.
READ MORE
Verstappen spun from second and crossed the line in fifth following a late pass on Lance Stroll. George Russell started fourth but two premature changes to slick tyres destroyed his afternoon. He took the chequered flag in 10th.
Piastri had navigated the early chaos around him – with Liam Lawson and Gabriel Borteleto both crashing out in the slippery conditions – before the McLaren man nailed pole-sitter Verstappen on lap seven to take the lead.
Piastri was flying and was more than a second clear of Verstappen after only a handful of corners. Further joy for McLaren followed on lap 11 when Verstappen ran off the road and Norris was up to second place.
In came the leaders for a fresh set of intermediate tyres, but Norris lost out through a slow front-left tyre and Verstappen was back ahead.
McLaren technical director Peter Prodromou, with Oscar Piastri (second), Lando Norris (first) and Nico Hulkenberg (third). Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA
With Verstappen and Norris duelling for second, Piastri was as many as 11 seconds clear when the safety car came out on lap 14 with the rain intensifying.
It pulled in four laps later, but it was required again almost immediately after rookie Isack Hadjar ran into the back of Kimi Antonelli and crashed out at Copse.
Piastri was controlling the field ahead of the restart but slammed on the brakes, forcing Verstappen to dive to his right to avoid the Australian.
Verstappen, holding both hands up in disgust, was straight on the radio. 'Whoa, mate, f***, he just suddenly slows down again.'
When the race restarted, Verstappen spun and fell back to 10th, with Piastri now under investigation. The stewards hit him with a 10-second penalty and with Norris three seconds behind it was now his to lose.
Further back, and Hamilton was on the move. Heading into Sunday's race he had finished on the podium at every British Grand Prix since 2014 and on lap 27 he was up to sixth as he slung shot his Ferrari clear of Russell's Mercedes.
On lap 29, he moved clear of Pierre Gasly for fifth, and then with 17 laps to go he was ahead of Lance Stroll for fourth. Suddenly, a podium looked on with Sauber's Hulkenberg occupying third place.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen (right) congratulates Nico Hulkenberg on his third-place finish. Photograph:Hamilton dived in for slick rubber on lap 42 but he ran off the track on his out lap costing him valuable time. When Hulkenberg stopped, Hamilton was eight seconds behind with as many laps to go but he could not lay a glove on the veteran 37-year-old German.
On lap 43, Piastri switched to dries, and served his punishment to allow Norris to come in on the following lap for his change to slick tyres and take the lead. Norris emerged from the pit lane in the lead and with a six-second advantage.
Piastri called on the McLaren pit wall to swap positions with Norris, and allow a straight fight to the flag. But McLaren rebuffed his desperate plea and an emotional Norris took the win.
In Formula Two, Irish driver
Alex Dunne
recovered from a difficult sprint race to finish second in Sunday's feature race.
An early collision during Saturday's sprint saw the Offaly 19-year-old, racing for Rodin Motorsport, drop back to fourth in the drivers' championship standings. However, his second-place finish on Sunday earned him 18 points to put him back into third.
The 19-year-old may yet see his feature result improve to first as race winner Jak Crawford is under investigation by the stewards over his pit entry before a Virtual Safety Car was called late in the race.
As things stand, Dunne is now 14 points adrift of championship leader Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport) on 122, and eight off Crawford (Dams Lucas Oil).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
21 hours ago
- Irish Times
Novak Djokovic gives away first set but then takes it all back in stunning quarter-final win
Novak Djokovic won his 101st match at Wimbledon and advanced to his eighth consecutive quarter-final at SW19. Not that this was enough for the Serbian all-timer. In an act of grand generosity, he threw away the first set to his challenger Alex de Minaur, granting a rapt Centre Court crowd a rare moment of jeopardy at one of his matches. The seven-time Wimbledon singles champion was broken three times in the first set by the Australian 12 years his junior. His game was all over the place. In that short window it was possible to imagine a world in which decent, well-rounded challengers such as De Minaur might come into these matches with hope of something other than chastening defeat. It was a nice thought while it lasted. Everyone at this tennis sanctum knows better than to discount Djokovic, of course, at any point in a match. Even after such a disembodied display in the opening half-hour, the projected outcome was still success for the 38-year-old, and so it duly proved. The errors sharply declined, as if he had had a strong word with himself internally. The quality of his serve rose with each game to the point that it was the decisive weapon in the third set. The fourth was a dogfight after going 3-0 down but Djokovic got his teeth in to the contest and held on until De Minaur submitted. Next up is the Italian number 22 seed Flavio Cobolli. Roger Federer looks on as Novak Djokovic and Alex de Minaur battle it out in Centre Court. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images With Roger Federer watching on and the crowd largely sitting on their hands waiting for a reason to get behind Djokovic, there was an air of expectancy as the players emerged. Djokovic, however, then set about instantly letting the air out of the balloon, managing 16 unforced errors in the first set, nearly as many as in his entire third-round match against Miomir Kecmanovic. He kept missing his marks, dropping shots into the net and looked slow on the turn. His serve was stinking too, with two double faults in the opening game alone. READ MORE For De Minaur, meanwhile, the world looked very much like his oyster. The 11th seed was dynamic, agile and smart. He could keep up with Djokovic's power easily enough but could also read his range, responding to the lobs, drop shots and switches of side sharply. He bossed the longer rallies. His own error count was low and he bounced his way into the second set. The question was whether he could keep it up. The crowd, to this point, had been most vocal when mocking the errant line calls from the AI system (shots in reply to faulty serves were still being called 'out'). But now there were some stilted attempts to make 'let's go Novak, let's go' a thing. Maybe Djokovic responded to this or maybe he just pulled out the script from his mind palace that reminded him of what he has always done in moments of adversity. He doubled down and turned the screw; the very first point of the second set was a blitz of furious stroke-making and Djokovic earned a break of serve at the first time of asking. Novak Djokovic returns the ball to Australia's Alex de Minaur at Wimbledon. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images To De Minaur's credit he broke back straight away, but this was an arduous affair of seven deuces. Djokovic then stepped up and broke again. A second huge effort brought De Minaur level again but at 3-3 Djokovic broke him once more, this time to love and with the winning shot a delightful backhand slice across court that left the younger man frozen on his feet. As Djokovic closed out the second set to level things up the familiar sense of inevitability began to rise. The third set went with serve for 10 games, but the sense of De Minaur having to scramble just to keep up was growing. This was in no small part due to the increasing relentlessness of the Djokovic serve; from a first-serve accuracy of 48 per cent in the first set he was now hitting 80 per cent in the third. [ Novak Djokovic defies injury to stun Carlos Alcaraz at Australian Open Opens in new window ] At the crucial juncture of four-all and with ever-decreasing room for error, the pressure finally told on De Minaur. Djokovic won a scintillating rally at 15-30 with a jaw-dropping volley on the slide back across himself, and then De Minaur delivered a gift of a loose forehand to seal the break. A couple more errors from De Minaur and the third set was gone. Djokovic took his foot off the pedal for a moment and De Minaur stole a break of serve. He held it too, for a service game at least. At 4-2 it was all on the line and De Minaur found his best level for a final time, holding Djokovic to account in the rallies. It wasn't enough, though. By now Djokovic was hitting so well that he didn't need to find a winner – just gradually, incrementally turn up the pressure in his favour. And so 4-2 became 4-3 then 4-4. In the blink of an eye Djokovic broke again, served out the match, flattered Federer in the stands then was off back to the dressingroom. It was almost as if the drama of two hours earlier had never happened. – Guardian
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Andy Farrell still tinkering with player combinations ahead of first Test
A rising tide lifts all boats. While the understandable temptation for his players will be to individually seize the moment when the Lions play the Brumbies on Wednesday, in Andy Farrell 's eyes the best way of doing that is to put the collective first. All the signs are that Farrell and his assistants have picked the nearest thing yet to a shadow side for this encounter with the pick of the Aussie Super Rugby franchises 10 days out from the first Test. To that end Farrell wants his players to put the team first. 'You want to see them stay in every single moment of the game and I know that sounds harsh and almost impossible to do. But they understand 100 per cent now, and have done for a week or so, what is expected of them to be the best team-mate that they can possibly be. 'So that's what we're judging them on, the expectation of that and what it takes to be the best version of themselves, but also what it takes to be part of this team. And they understand that, because ultimately that's what is going to make us successful or not.' READ MORE Intriguing combinations abound, both familiar and unfamiliar, with the backrow still looking the most variable. Tadhg Beirne and Tom Curry have each played twice at blindside, the former after Henry Pollock was picked for the position against the Waratahs only to be withdrawn. Ollie Chessum in action for the Lions against Western Force. Photograph: Billy Sitckland/Inpho Now, as Farrell & co look for the right mix of mobility, breakdown threat, carrying and lineout ability – all the more so as Joe McCarthy is not a renowned ball-winner in the air – Ollie Chessum starts at blindside with Tom Curry at openside. Yet Chessum is not a proven lock/blindside hybrid in the manner of say Ryan Baird. Of his 19 Test starts for England, just two have been at blindside, with the remainder at lock. 'I think with Tadhg (Beirne) at six you've got a breakdown presence in the backrow. Ollie might be a little bit different as far as that's concerned, but the energy that he gives the likes of Tom Curry by the hits that he will make to make it open on the floor, I don't just think we've got backrowers who can pinch a ball. 'We've also got others in the pack and in the backs – I mean Bundee (Aki) is pretty renowned for that type of stuff – so it will be interesting to see the balance this week because we've played quite a fee different scenarios now so I'll be glad to see how this fits.' Maro Itoje's status as captain having been rubber-stamped by his energetic try-scoring display against the Queensland Reds, and Joe McCarthy, having done likewise against Western Force, look the likely secondrow pairing for the opening Test, although this will be the first time they pack down together. 'I think they will complement each other really well, both showing good form in their last game,' ventured Farrell. 'Continuity is pretty important to be able to add to that, I suppose there's no doubt that they would have listened to what everyone's been saying about their performances. It's up to them to make sure that they take a step forward.' Bundee Aki ahead of the game against the Waratahs on Saturday. Photograph:In constructing a team effectively from scratch, established and intuitive combinations are invaluable. The Lions' Test midfield always seemed likely to come down to a choice between the Sione Tuipulotu/Huw Jones Scottish pairing or the Bundee Aki/Garry Ringrose Irish duo. After 'Huwipulotu' were the choice against the Waratahs, Aki and Ringrose partner up for the Brumbies, the Lions' fifth midfield combination in five games. It still feels like one of these two familiar combinations will face the Wallabies in Brisbane rather than a mixture. 'Yeah, but we started with Bundee and Sione,' said Farrell. 'They've been carrying that partnership on in training also. We're one squad, people swapping in and out the whole time, so we're seeing different combinations the whole time. 'You'd say that this is a settled one, but there's still a different team to what they're used to playing with. So no, I wouldn't say it's just about a settled partnership. It's giving them an opportunity to play together that's going to be interesting. Others will get a chance on Saturday as well.'
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
Gary Lineker reveals awkward interaction with Anthony Joshua at Wimbledon that left him very uncomfortable
GARY LINEKER revealed he had an awkward interaction with Anthony Joshua at Wimbledon. And it left the former Match of the Day host feeling very uncomfortable. Advertisement 4 Gary Lineker sat next to Anthony Joshua at Wimbledon Credit: Getty 4 The ex-England striker struggled to stay comfortable next to the 6ft 7ins boxer Credit: Getty Lineker, 64, sat next to AJ in the Royal Box on Day Five of the Championships. The pair saw Taylor Fritz and Carlos Alcaraz win before But Lineker hilariously admitted it was not the most enjoyable day alongside the dapper 6ft 7ins ex-heavyweight world champion boxer, 35. That is because the former England striker was suffering from painful cramp. Advertisement Lineker told his "We sat next to Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn and we had a laugh watching some great tennis." Richards chipped in: "Can I just say, you were looking marvellous." And Shearer joked: "Micah, he was looking marvellous until you looked to his left and saw Anthony Joshua." Advertisement Most read in Tennis CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Ignoring the banter, Lineker carried on with his story - and revealed he held his tongue from an X-rated outburst. He said: "I was sitting in the seats next to Anthony, and he's obviously huge. Emma Raducanu jokes 'I wouldn't know about heartbreak' after Olivia Rodrigo watches her Wimbledon win "His legs… and the only way he sits, because there wasn't enough room, was he had his legs wide open. Advertisement "And I was forced, for like seven hours, whatever it was, to put my legs to the… it got to the stage where I was getting cramp in my inside thigh so badly. "And the game was going on and I wanted to shout. "But I never had the balls, at any point, to tell him, 'Will you f***ing move your legs over a little bit, give me some room?' 4 Advertisement Wimbledon 2025 LIVE - follow all the latest scores and updates from a thrilling fortnight at SW19 "Absolutely true. But he's a lovely, lovely guy and I had a laugh with him. And they were great company for the afternoon." Lineker looked set to be miss out on going to Wimbledon in 2026 because he was due to cover the World Cup for the BBC. But he Read more on the Irish Sun Gabby Logan, Kelly Cates and Advertisement And SunSport exclusively revealed 4 Lineker took son Angus as his guest while AJ opted for promoter Eddie Hearn Credit: Getty
