SILVERSTONE, England (AP) — It was an image that inspired Lando Norris to chase his Formula 1 dream.
The sight of Lewis Hamilton, his tires kicking up a tail of spray as he sped through the rain toward victory at the British Grand Prix in 2008, stayed with the 8-year-old Norris, who was watching on TV.
On Sunday, Norris got his own win in a thrilling wet British GP — also involving Hamilton — in front of the British crowd.
“I got that picture of him going around and seeing all the fans standing up, that picture of what the atmosphere at Silverstone is like, and dreamed of that for many, many years,” Norris said. “Today I got to live that feeling myself.”
Amid spins, crashes and controversy, Norris held on to win and cut the gap to his teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri.
Norris had said it was the race he’d give up all other victories for.
He started third on the grid, overtook Max Verstappen for second, lost the place again due to a slow pit stop, then saw Verstappen spin out ahead of him. He took the lead after Piastri had to serve a 10-second penalty for sharp braking behind the safety car earlier.
It was McLaren’s first win at Silverstone since that Hamilton victory in 2008. Hamilton went on to win his first title that year. On Sunday, Hamilton finished fourth.
“This is a dream, winning at home. It’s beautiful,” Norris told the team over the radio. “Thanks for the memory. I’ll remember this more than anything.”
He climbed out of the car and celebrated with both arms raised to take in the moment, before hugs with his team and his mother. On the podium, Norris closed his eyes with a smile as the British anthem played.
McLaren ignores Piastri’s request to swap
Piastri finished second behind Norris after the penalty. He asked for the lead back.
The Australian thought the penalty was unfair, arguing it was for a legal move that he and others had done before to slow down the cars behind before speeding off at the restart.
Adding an element of controversy to what’s been an unusually friendly title rivalry, Piastri even asked over the radio for McLaren to order him and Norris to swap places to cancel the effect of the penalty. The team declined to do so.
Piastri had been leading the pack before a restart from safety car conditions and slowed to back up the cars behind, but did it sharply enough that Max Verstappen behind had to swerve to avoid him.
Once it became clear Piastri would have to serve the penalty at his next pit stop, Norris made sure the Australian couldn’t build a lead to cancel it out. Norris just needed to stay with his teammate and hovered two seconds behind, waiting to inherit the lead.
Piastri now leads Norris by eight points overall, cut from 15. It’s the halfway point of the season, with 12 of 24 races remaining.
History for Hülkenberg
In a race with plenty of crashes and spins, Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg was third from 19th on the grid for finish in his 239th race of an F1 career that began in 2010. His team hadn’t finished in the top three since 2012.
Verstappen started on pole but ended up fifth after spinning from second behind Piastri at a safety-car restart, briefly dropping to 10th.
Smart strategy could win big, like it did for Hulkenberg, or risk everything. George Russell asked the team for slick tires on a slippery track and span off through the gravel a lap later, finishing 10th.
Rookies off the road
It was a rough day for the rookies. Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar crashed into the wall after hitting the back of fellow rookie Kimi Antonelli, saying he couldn’t see the Mercedes driver in the rain.
Antonelli later retired and fellow rookies Gabriel Bortoleto, Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto all failed to finish too. Oliver Bearman made it to the end for Haas in 11th but crashed into teammate Esteban Ocon along the way.
___
AP auto racing:
The post Lando Norris wins thrilling British Grand Prix in the rain to cut Oscar Piastri’s F1 lead appeared first on Associated Press.
