F1 British GP: Five quick takeaways

Lando Norris won his home grand prix at Silverstone to close the gap in the title race, while Nico Hulkenberg secured his first Formula 1 podium after more than 200 race starts

The title fight is fully back on

At the halfway point of the season, the title picture is clear: it’s a straight fight between the two McLaren drivers, and it looks set to go down to the wire given how close Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are.

After the disappointment of Canada, Norris has responded with two victories, including a crucial win at Silverstone with a bit of help from a penalty that hit his team-mate. The Briton is now back within striking distance, and if he wins the next two races, he will head into the summer break with the championship lead.

While Norris has struggled with consistency at times over the course of the 2025 season, he has compensated with outright speed.

- Oleg Karpov

Oscar Piastri’s costly mistake

There has been a general sense that Norris was the one making mistakes in the title fight against Piastri, but the Australian has now shown he is capable of errors too.

Piastri was driving superbly after taking the lead from Max Verstappen on lap eight, just before Stowe, in tricky wet conditions at Silverstone. He built a 13-second gap before the safety car was deployed due to worsening weather.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images via Getty Images

However, during the second safety car period, Piastri made a rare error by slowing excessively before the restart, backing up the pack enough for Verstappen to overtake him. While race leaders often manage the pace before a restart, Piastri overdid it. The stewards investigated and handed him a 10-second penalty for excessively slowing behind the safety car.

The win was never guaranteed, but this mistake effectively handed victory to Norris, who is now just eight points behind in the standings.

- Federico Faturos

Nico Hulkenberg deserves his podium

Is this even real? Nico Hulkenberg on a Formula 1 podium? What!?

Jokes aside, he’s deserved this moment - not just today with Sauber, but a long time ago, much earlier in his career. His F1 journey could have ended after his Renault stint, but he came back, and it’s proven to be worth it.

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

It was a fantastic race with sharp strategy calls and strong driving. In a way, this is Hulkenberg’s payback for Brazil 2012, where he was in the mix for a win against two McLarens. This time, he finally gets his trophy.

- Oleg Karpov

Max Verstappen still a factor, but his title hopes are gone

The British Grand Prix was, in many ways, a perfect summary of Verstappen’s season so far. The Dutchman continues to produce moments of magic, with his pole lap at Silverstone a standout example. Few saw it coming — apart from Helmut Marko — but Red Bull’s aggressive setup choice came back to bite on Sunday.

Running a skinny rear wing on the RB21 proved costly in the wet conditions, leaving Verstappen unable to fight the McLarens. A spin at the safety car restart added to his troubles, and he finished a disappointing fifth, falling further behind in the championship.

Marko had already admitted after Austria that Verstappen’s title hopes were fading, and the British GP has effectively ended them. Verstappen will not win a fifth championship this year, but with his speed and racecraft, he remains a factor every weekend — and in doing so, he continues to influence the McLaren title fight, even if he won’t win it himself.

- Ronald Vording

Williams no longer leads F1’s midfield

In the first part of the season, Williams was clearly “best of the rest,” at one point having double the amount of points compared to its closest rivals. But as other teams have brought updates, Williams appears to have slipped back.

The team has scored only four points in the last four races, with several retirements raising reliability concerns. Albon finishing in the top 10 at Silverstone was largely a case of surviving a wet race, rather than genuine car pace. He finished behind not just the top teams, but also a Sauber, an Alpine, and both Aston Martins.

Alexander Albon, Williams

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images via Getty Images

The result could have been worse had the two Racing Bulls not dropped out and the Haas drivers not collided. But with half the season still to go, Williams now finds itself chasing, rather than being chased.

- Jose Carlos de Celis