FIA ruling eases Norris' British Grand Prix win

The 10-second penalty imposed on Piastri by race control, after the championship leader slowed while chasing the safety car before the restart on lap 21, was enough to hand Norris victory on a silver platter.

Intermittent rain fell before the start, increasing the difficulty of navigating the fastest F1 circuit and forcing the entire grid to start on intermediate wet-weather tires.

Lawson and Bortoleto's mistakes prompted the virtual safety car to appear on laps two and six, which Verstappen took advantage of to maintain his lead. Piastri caught up with him and overtook him on lap eight, and Norris overtook him three laps later, capitalizing on a mistake by the reigning champion.

Conditions worsened, forcing the leader and the drivers running as low as seventh to put on fresh tires. Torrential rain brought out the first safety car on lap 14, erasing the lead of more than 14 seconds Piastri had built.

The race resumed on lap 18, but Hadjar's heavy crash, in which he rear-ended Antonelli's Mercedes due to poor visibility, prompted an immediate second safety car.

Verstappen showed off his intimidation maneuvers as he chased Piastri, who was leading the pack waiting for the restart, pairing his RB21 with the MCL39 on either side. When the green flag was announced, Piastri suddenly slowed down, hoping Verstappen could overtake him and receive a penalty.

The maneuver, which we have witnessed Verstappen himself and other drivers execute on multiple occasions, was dramatized by the Dutchman's breathtaking acceleration, transforming a racing incident into the perfect excuse to severely and unfairly punish the championship leader, taking away any chance of making up the 10 seconds he was penalized, despite having been the fastest driver of the day.

Norris welcomed the news of his teammate's penalty, adding motivation and confidence to his driving, as he took the checkered flag for the fourth time this season, on the track where F1 began 75 years ago, becoming the 25th English driver to achieve such an enviable feat.

On the other hand, Piastri took the news like a bucket of cold water, being incredibly questioned about his strategy, just as he was in Austria. Despite this, he finished in second place, adding 10 podiums in 12 races, but seeing his championship lead reduced to eight points. Today's setback must be capitalized on to return with a cool head to demonstrate his quality as a driver at SPA in two weekends.

Hulkenberg's third place and first podium finish in the top category after 239 starts aboard the Kick Sauber deserves an honorable mention.

The German drove a perfect race, thanks to a series of risky decisions that helped him climb from seventeenth place at the start to third place on the coveted podium. Niko's quality hadn't received such well-deserved recognition for countless, now forgotten, reasons. Audi has an ideal driver to enter the top category next year.

Lewis Hamilton achieved a creditable fourth place in the Ferrari despite seeing his streak of eleven consecutive podium finishes at the track where he has won nine times ended. The seven-time champion's dominance was evident in leading the SF-25 to the best possible finish.

Max Verstappen managed to recover from tenth place, where he fell when he went off track after the disastrous restart, to finish in fifth place.

The Grand Prix moves to SPA Francorchamps, the favorite track of most drivers due to its unparalleled 7.004 km layout nestled in the Ardennes Forest, to host the Belgian Grand Prix in two weekends.

The low downforce Red Bull uses at Silverstone could work to Verstappen's advantage at SPA. His streak of three consecutive wins between 2021 and 2023 was broken last year by Hamilton, who is the most successful active driver at the ultra-fast circuit, with five victories.

The title race is closer than ever between the two McLaren drivers.

The last time the Woking-based team stood on the top step of the podium was in 2012 with Jenson Button. Their dominance this season makes them clear favorites to claim their fifteenth all-time victory at the legendary circuit. Can Norris match Piastri's five wins this season and take the lead in the drivers' championship?