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The British GP has been a part of F1 since its inception and has always delivered some great action and moments that will be remembered throughout its history. The race features true motorsport fans who appreciate racing and even though the Brits do get exceptional love, others are not too far behind.
In this piece, we take a look at some of the most memorable moments in the history of the British GP. Although the race has been around since the start of the sport, we will try not to go too far back and keep it as contemporary as possible.
#5 Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton collide (2021 F1 British GP)
The 2021 F1 season will go down as one of the best in the history of the sport, not only for the drama but also for the level of competitiveness on display. The 2021 F1 British GP, however, was the boiling point of this season-long rivalry.
The two drivers battled wheel-to-wheel in multiple races before reaching Silverstone. As soon as the F1 circus reached Britain, however, Lewis Hamilton made it clear that he was not going to adopt a safe approach against Max Verstappen, something he had used in previous races to score the maximum possible points.
The tension in the race was palpable as both title contenders occupied the front row. When the five red lights went out, the two left no inch on the table. As they approached Copse, Hamilton made a rather optimistic lunge down the inside which sent Verstappen flying into the wall for a 51G impact.
The impact was dramatic in its theatrics as well as what it meant for the championship. It was this moment that ultimately made it clear that all bets were off in the fight for the title.
#4 Lewis Hamilton finishes the race on three wheels (2020 F1 British GP)
Lewis Hamilton had arguably one of the most dominant cars in the history of the sport in the 2020 F1 season. With Valtteri Bottas unable to keep up with him, Hamilton was cruising through the championship. He was cruising in the race at Silverstone on a similar note with a comfortable lead.
All of this looked great until disaster struck for the cars that were running an extended second stint. First, it was Bottas who suffered a puncture due to tire wear that dropped him out of contention in the race. Then on the last lap, Hamilton suffered the same fate, despite slowing down considerably for fear of a tire failure, and would cautiously make his way through the last sector to cross the finish line first.
#3 Pirellis explode left, right, and center! (2013 F1 British GP)
The 2013 edition Pirelli tires had every team scratching their heads on how to extend their lives. The softer compounds would last only a handful of laps and the harder compounds were not much of a help either.
The fragile nature of the tires left the teams complaining about their conditions. Frontrunners Red Bull and Mercedes, despite having strong inherent speed, were unable to exploit their potentials because the tires ran out of grip very quickly.
It all came to a head in Silverstone as the circuit with its aggressive kerbs posed a serious threat to the tire structures. After a few laps in the race, one after the other car started suffering from punctures. First, it was Lewis Hamilton, then Fernando Alonso, then Felipe Massa, and one after the other, the cars started falling by the wayside.
Drivers were told during the race to avoid the kerbs altogether and teams were told to raise tire pressure as well. Through all of this, ultimately it was Nico Rosberg who took the checkered flag and won the race. The race was the final nail in the coffin for this particular iteration of Pirelli as a different construction was introduced soon after.
#2 Lewis Hamilton laps everyone until P4 to win his home race (2008 F1 British GP)
Lewis Hamilton is a bit of a British GP specialist. He has won the race the most times and has produced some mesmerizing drives in the process. None of them, though, were as brilliant as his maiden win at the track. It was 2008 and Hamilton was in his second season in F1 and in the thick of things when it came to championship battles.
The F1 circus was treated with treacherous conditions for the British GP. Hamilton, after fending off an early threat from Kimi Raikkonen, started running off into the distance. The McLaren driver was lapping seconds faster than any other driver on the track at one stage and was in a league of his own. By the end of the race, he had lapped all the drivers except the top 3 finishers in what was a dominant display of driving. Everyone knew Hamilton was special, but this was something that put a proper stamp on his talents.
#1 Michael Schumacher serves penalty after taking checkered flag (1998 F1 British GP)
There aren't many races that have finished in a weirder way than the 1998 F1 British GP. The Michael Schumacher-Ferrari combination was famous for doing things out of the box, and for finding ways to circumvent the rules and regulations.
The 1998 F1 British GP featured Schumacher in a race-long battle with Mika Hakkinen in mixed conditions with rain and dry conditions interspersed all the way. After a see-saw battle, the German finally found himself leading the race with around 20 seconds to spare when he received a 10 second time penalty for overtaking Alex Wurz under the safety car. Ferrari received the orders with only two laps to spare and 31 minutes after the incident (at the time the penalty needed to be given 25 minutes after the incident).
To further increase the confusion, the handwritten paper that was provided to Ferrari did not specify if the penalty was a 10 second stop-go penalty or a 10 second time penalty. On the last lap of the race, just to be on the safe side, Ferrari ended up calling Schumacher into the pits to serve a 10 second stop-go penalty.
With the finish line just after the pit entry, however, Schumacher finished the race before he served any penalty and in effect won the race with a 20 second gap to Hakkinen.
McLaren protested against the way the whole thing was carried out. In the end, however, the race order remained the same as Schumacher won the race by taking the checkered flag in the pitlane.
