Carlos Sainz on Sunday claimed his first Formula One victory in his 150th race when he drove his Ferrari to a spectacular triumph in a furious and crash-hit British Grand Prix.
The 27-year-old Spaniard, starting from his maiden pole position, resisted a charging Sergio Perez of Red Bull, who recovered from 17th, to take the flag by 3.7 seconds in front of a record 142,000 crowd at the high-speed Silverstone circuit.
Local hero and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes took third to claim a record 13th podium finish on home soil, an unprecedented total by any driver at a single event.
Photo: AP
Drawing on his fresher tires in the closing stages, Hamilton resisted and passed Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari, who finished fourth ahead of Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris of McLaren.
World champion and series leader Max Verstappen finished seventh for Red Bull, recovering after picking up debris and suffering a puncture, ahead of a revitalized Mick Schumacher of Haas, collecting his first points in his second season.
Sebastian Vettel, who had started 18th on his birthday, and Kevin Magnussen in the second Haas completed the top 10.
“I don’t know what to say,” said a beaming Sainz. “It is amazing. My first win in Formula One on my 150th race and for Ferrari at Silverstone. It’s amazing.”
Verstappen remained ahead in the title race with 181 points, clear of Perez on 147, Leclerc on 138 and Sainz on 127.
The start was marred by a massive high-speed multicar collision, which saw Zhou Guanyu make a remarkable escape after his Alfa Romeo was catapulted upside down, with the Chinese rookie’s head saved by the roll hoop-halo protection system, as it skidded off across a gravel trap and over tire barriers into the catch fencing, where it bounced back to finish semi-upright in a stationary position.
The field filed back to the pits after the collision as a specialist extraction crew attended Zhou, who remained in his car, until he was lifted clear.
George Russell’s Mercedes, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) and the Williams of Alex Albon were also involved in the pileup that triggered a one-hour red-flag delay.
The normal speed for Formula One cars in that part of the circuit is about 240kph.
In reruns of the start, it appeared that Russell, starting eighth, moved to his right after a poor start and collided with Zhou’s Alfa Romeo as the pair strove to stay ahead of Pierre Gasly. This triggered Zhou’s wild excursion off-circuit and dragged other cars into further less serious multiple collisions around them.
He later returned to the pits to watch the race.
“I’m ok, all clear. Halo saved me today. Thanks everyone for your kind messages,” he later wrote on Twitter.
During the red-flag stoppage, climate protesters staged a sit-down demonstration on the circuit before being removed, with police making a number of arrests.
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