F1: 5 Talking Points after the British GP 2019

It was an action-packed race with Lewis notching up his sixth British GP win
It was an action-packed race with Lewis notching up his sixth British GP win

Silverstone is often touted to have the best F1 fans in the world because of the heritage attached to it. On Sunday, Formula One paid back in kind by delivering an action-packed race with some great wheel to wheel racing up and down the grid.

Sure, a cursory glance at the final classification could fool many into thinking that it was yet another race of Mercedes domination - which in many ways it was - but the race had so much more.

It had the young charger in Lando Norris going up against Daniel Ricciardo and putting a move on him. It had another battle between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc where both youngsters kept the F1 fans on the edge of their seats.

The race yet again witnessed Mercedes stamping their authority on the field by putting together another dominating performance but on a whole, the British GP 2019 had a lot to take home for the fans.

Here is a look at the five talking points after the race.


#1 Lewis Hamilton already has a hand on the championship

With a comfortable cushion to Bottas in the championship, Lewis seems to have everything under control
With a comfortable cushion to Bottas in the championship, Lewis seems to have everything under control

If Ferrari or anyone for that matter had any hopes of putting together a title fight against Lewis Hamilton then Silverstone should finally put all such aspirations to rest. The Silver Arrows are in a completely different league and with Lewis having a decisive edge over Bottas, it's only a matter of time before he wraps up his sixth championship.

Although it might be argued that this is not the best Lewis Hamilton we've seen and he had a shade of luck going his way with the pitstops, with only Bottas to contend and plenty of breathing room, it looks like more or less a walk in the park for the champion from now.

#2 Vettel is facing the perfect storm

Nothing is going right for Vettel at the moment
Nothing is going right for Vettel at the moment

For a marriage that promised so much, the Vettel-Ferrari association could be on its last legs.

Sebastian Vettel is facing what could be aptly described as a perfect storm. It was something similar to what he faced in 2014 when he decided to move to Ferrari from Red Bull. He seems to have fallen out of love with the sport. The car he's driving was supposed to be the class of the field but it can't even turn properly on most circuits which just kills whatever motivation he has left.

To add to this, he just doesn't have luck on his side. He should have won the Canadian GP but was robbed of the victory. Looking at his pace in Austria, he could have challenged for the win but that was taken away from him as well with a faulty engine in qualifying.

To add to all this, he has his young charging teammate firing on all cylinders. Vettel's credibility is taking a serious hit during his time at Ferrari and maybe, it's time for him to look for a change.

#3 The kids are alright

The future of Formula One is in safe hands with Max, Charles, Norris, and Russell
The future of Formula One is in safe hands with Max, Charles, Norris, and Russell

Austria and Silverstone could be described as that point in history when the new guard finally took over from the old guard. The race involved another dual between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen as the two fought tooth and nail while Max tried to make the move on Charles.

In the midfield, we had Lando Norris keeping someone as experienced and as good as Daniel Ricciardo at bay throughout the race after pulling off a stunning move on him on the first lap.

To add to it, you have George Russell thrashing Robert Kubica in every race and a certain Esteban Ocon looking for a seat. Amidst the talks of pay drivers that have plagued F1 for too long, it's refreshing to see such a rich crop of drivers making a mark on F1.

With Max and Charles already in top teams and the others climbing up the ladder quickly, it's only good news for F1 as the future seems to be in very safe hands for now.

#4 Ricciardo is stamping his authority at Renault

Ricciardo is dominating his teammate at Renault
Ricciardo is dominating his teammate at Renault

Daniel Ricciardo is coming into his own at Renault and has started putting a gap between himself and Nico Hulkenberg. It was another race where Ricciardo was able to keep a sizeable gap to Nico in qualifying that also placed him at P7 ahead of arguably a faster McLaren.

In the race, despite losing out to Norris in the beginning, Ricciardo was able to make the jump in pits. For now, he's doing all he needs to do to show the French team (in case they had a doubt), who the better driver is.

At the same time, Ricciardo is proving his credentials yet again if a team like Mercedes or Ferrari ever are on the lookout for a new driver. His move to Renault might seem to be a step backward for now but if he keeps on beating Hulkenberg like he's doing right now, he is doing himself no harm for 2021 when the contracts in many of the top teams expire.

Ricciardo's stock took a hit while being paired alongside Max but in Renault, he seems to have found a breath of fresh air and his stock is back on the rise yet again.

#5 Pierre Gasly finally showed up at Silverstone

Gasly finished a career-high P4 at Silverstone on a weekend where he showed competitive pace at every juncture
Gasly finished a career-high P4 at Silverstone on a weekend where he showed competitive pace at every juncture

P4 in Silverstone should have felt like a victory for Pierre Gasly after what has been a torrid season for the Frenchman. At Silverstone this weekend, Pierre Gasly drove like the driver he was supposed to be when Red Bull promoted him from Torro Rosso.

Gasly was always there or thereabouts in pace with Max, keeping him close company throughout the race and most importantly, he didn't drop off in pace at any stage.

Gasly qualified 5th, ahead of a certain four-time World Champion and throughout the race, he kept pace with the lead group. He had a great battle with Charles Leclerc on a slightly worn-out tire but if there was a driver who was in dire need of a good race, then it was Gasly.

All Gasly needs to do is repeat this performance in the upcoming races because if he does so, there's no doubt that Red Bull will, in all likelihood stick with him for the future.

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