2020 British Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Lewis Hamilton won the 2020 British Grand Prix in extraordinary circumstances, dragging his Mercedes to the finish with a failed front-left tyre. A race he had largely controlled became a final-lap scramble, with Max Verstappen closing fast and Charles Leclerc collecting another unexpected podium for Ferrari.

Race Guide

Season: 2020 F1 World Championship
Race date: 2 August 2020
Race start time: 14:10 local time (UTC+01:00)
Circuit: Silverstone Circuit
Laps: 52 laps
Circuit length: 5.891 km
2019 winner: Lewis Hamilton

Pole position
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:24.303
Fastest lap
Driver	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing
Time	1:27.097 on lap 52
Podium
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing
Third	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
31 July 2020	Practice 1	11:00 – 12:30
31 July 2020	Practice 2	15:00 – 16:30
1 August 2020	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
1 August 2020	Qualifying	14:00 – 15:00
2 August 2020	Race	14:10

All times are local (UTC+01:00). The race time is the scheduled start.

Championship background

Hamilton arrived at Silverstone five points ahead of Valtteri Bottas after consecutive victories in Styria and Hungary. The circuit was hosting the first of two races on successive weekends, with the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix to follow. Empty grandstands gave the familiar British venue an unusual atmosphere, but the closing laps would provide more than enough drama.

Race entries

Nico Hülkenberg returned to Formula 1 at short notice for Racing Point after Sergio Perez tested positive for COVID-19. The other nine teams retained their regular drivers, with Hülkenberg beginning the weekend without the benefit of the team’s previous race experience.

Free Practice

Max Verstappen topped FP1 with a 1:27.422, followed by Lewis Hamilton and Lance Stroll. Hülkenberg was ninth on his return, while an intercooler problem prevented Sebastian Vettel from setting a time.

Stroll led FP2 on a 1:27.274, ahead of Alexander Albon and Valtteri Bottas. Albon crashed heavily and the session was interrupted; he was checked and cleared to continue. Vettel again lost running time, this time with a pedal problem.

Bottas led Saturday practice with a 1:25.873, ahead of Hamilton and Verstappen. Electrical problems restricted Albon’s running, leaving the Red Bull Racing driver with more work to do before qualifying.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2020 British Grand Prix FP1, 31 July 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:27.422	27
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.474s	27
3	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+0.582s	22
4	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+0.707s	24
5	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.799s	22
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+1.097s	29
7	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	+1.137s	26
8	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+1.153s	22
9	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Racing Point	+1.170s	23
10	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	+1.446s	21
11	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+1.487s	24
12	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+1.566s	24
13	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.568s	22
14	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+2.110s	23
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.154s	25
16	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+2.324s	24
17	63	George Russell	Williams	+2.477s	23
18	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+2.503s	17
19	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+3.281s	20
20	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari		2

Free Practice 2 Classification

2020 British Grand Prix FP2, 31 July 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	1:27.274	29
2	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+0.090s	13
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.157s	30
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.296s	30
5	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.307s	27
6	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+0.546s	35
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Racing Point	+0.636s	28
8	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+0.723s	31
9	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+0.838s	30
10	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+0.885s	35
11	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.895s	26
12	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	+0.945s	35
13	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+0.982s	31
14	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+1.116s	23
15	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	+1.152s	29
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.290s	27
17	63	George Russell	Williams	+1.497s	26
18	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.586s	23
19	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.624s	27
20	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+2.684s	35

Free Practice 3 Classification

2020 British Grand Prix FP3, 1 August 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:25.873	19
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.138s	22
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.300s	15
4	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+0.703s	14
5	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+0.791s	22
6	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.898s	19
7	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.925s	23
8	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+0.968s	15
9	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Racing Point	+0.999s	15
10	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+1.173s	20
11	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	+1.203s	18
12	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	+1.285s	16
13	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+1.305s	10
14	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.378s	21
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.664s	18
16	63	George Russell	Williams	+1.865s	17
17	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.952s	16
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.987s	15
19	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+2.103s	20
20	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+2.239s	16

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton recovered from a spin in Q2 to take pole with a 1:24.303, beating Valtteri Bottas by 0.313s. Max Verstappen was third, over a second from pole, with Charles Leclerc fourth ahead of Lando Norris and Lance Stroll.

Carlos Sainz and the two Renault drivers also reached Q3, along with Sebastian Vettel. Alexander Albon and Nico Hülkenberg were eliminated in Q2. Grid penalties for Daniil Kvyat and George Russell changed the order further back, but Mercedes had established a clear advantage at the front.

Qualifying Classification

2020 British Grand Prix Qualifying, 1 August 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:25.900	1:25.347	1:24.303	22
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:25.801	1:25.015	1:24.616	17
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:26.115	1:26.144	1:25.325	15
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:26.550	1:26.203	1:25.427	16
5	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:26.855	1:26.420	1:25.782	20
6	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	1:26.243	1:26.501	1:25.839	20
7	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	1:26.715	1:26.149	1:25.965	20
8	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	1:26.677	1:26.339	1:26.009	19
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	1:26.396	1:26.252	1:26.209	20
10	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:26.469	1:26.455	1:26.339	20
11	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	1:26.343	1:26.501	—	12
12	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	1:26.565	1:26.545	—	11
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Racing Point	1:26.327	1:26.566	—	14
14	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	1:26.774	1:26.744	—	12
15	63	George Russell	Williams	1:26.732	1:27.092	—	14
16	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:27.158	—	—	9
17	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	1:27.164	—	—	9
18	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	1:27.366	—	—	9
19	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:27.643	—	—	9
20	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	1:27.705	—	—	7

Daniil Kvyat received a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.

George Russell received a five-place grid penalty for failing to slow for double yellow flags.

What happened in the 2020 British Grand Prix?

Lewis Hamilton survived a dramatic last-lap tyre failure to win at Silverstone, reaching the line 5.856s ahead of Max Verstappen. Charles Leclerc completed the podium after a race that changed character completely in its final minutes.

Nico Hülkenberg‘s comeback ended before the start when Racing Point could not get his car running. Hamilton led away from pole, while Alexander Albon and Kevin Magnussen collided at the end of the opening lap. Magnussen retired and the safety car was deployed; Albon later received a five-second penalty.

A second safety car followed Daniil Kvyat‘s heavy accident. Most of the field used the interruption to change tyres, committing to a long final stint. Romain Grosjean stayed out and briefly ran fifth, but gradually slipped back as the cars on fresher tyres passed him.

Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas appeared to have the leading positions under control, with Verstappen third and Leclerc behind. The midfield provided the closer contests, including Daniel Ricciardo‘s pursuit of the McLarens and Albon’s recovery after his early incident.

Bottas’s front-left tyre failed in the closing laps, forcing him to crawl back to the pits and dropping him outside the points. Red Bull Racing then brought Verstappen in for fresh tyres, protecting against a similar problem and giving him an opportunity to set the fastest lap.

Carlos Sainz also suffered a front-left failure and lost a strong finish. Then Hamilton’s tyre went on the final lap. His large lead disappeared as he nursed the car through the remaining corners, but Verstappen could not quite reach him before the chequered flag.

Ricciardo finished fourth ahead of Lando Norris, with Esteban Ocon sixth and Pierre Gasly seventh. Albon recovered to eighth, followed by Stroll and Vettel. Bottas finished 11th and Sainz 13th, both left to count the cost of the late failures.

Verstappen took the fastest-lap point, but Hamilton’s third consecutive victory increased his championship lead to 30 points over Bottas. Silverstone had delivered an unforgettable finish, and the teams had only a few days to prepare for another race at the same demanding circuit.

2020 British Grand Prix race results

The 2020 British Grand Prix was held on 2 August 2020, with a scheduled start of 14:10 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	52	1:28:01.283	25
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	52	+5.856s	19
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	52	+18.474s	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	52	+19.650s	12
5	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	52	+22.277s	10
6	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	52	+26.937s	8
7	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	52	+31.188s	6
8	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	52	+32.670s	4
9	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	52	+37.311s	2
10	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	52	+41.857s	1
11	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	52	+42.167s	0
12	63	George Russell	Williams	52	+52.004s	0
13	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	52	+53.370s	0
14	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	52	+54.205s	0
15	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	52	+54.549s	0
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	52	+55.050s	0
17	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	51	+1 lap	0
Ret	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	11	Puncture/Accident	0
Ret	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1	Collision	0
DNS	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Racing Point	0	Clutch	0

Max Verstappen earned the additional point for fastest lap.

Antonio Giovinazzi finished 12th on the track, but received a five-second time penalty for speeding under safety car conditions.

Nico Hülkenberg qualified 13th, but his place on the grid was left vacant as he did not start the race.

2020 British Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	52	15:41:29	1:27.097	243.494
2	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	52	15:41:56	1:28.689	239.123
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	45	15:30:26	1:29.238	237.652
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	41	15:24:31	1:29.265	237.580
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	49	15:37:14	1:29.482	237.004
6	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	50	15:38:51	1:29.491	236.980
7	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	52	15:41:55	1:29.603	236.684
8	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	49	15:37:46	1:29.782	236.212
9	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	49	15:37:08	1:29.813	236.130
10	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	47	15:34:12	1:29.948	235.776
11	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	49	15:38:53	1:29.973	235.710
12	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	41	15:25:12	1:30.058	235.488
13	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	44	15:29:50	1:30.475	234.402
14	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	44	15:30:08	1:30.501	234.335
15	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	44	15:29:56	1:30.537	234.242
16	63	George Russell	Williams	41	15:25:29	1:30.862	233.404
17	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	49	15:37:39	1:30.977	233.109
18	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	11	14:33:55	1:32.443	229.412

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear in this table. Time of Day is local time; average speeds are in km/h.

2020 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for drivers and teams after the 2020 British Grand Prix.

2020 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	88
2	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes	58
3	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	52
4	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren	36
5	Charles Leclerc	MON	Ferrari	33
6	Alexander Albon	THA	Red Bull Racing	26
7	Sergio Perez	MEX	Racing Point	22
8	Lance Stroll	CAN	Racing Point	20
9	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Renault	20
10	Carlos Sainz	ESP	McLaren	15
11	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Renault	12
12	Pierre Gasly	FRA	AlphaTauri	12
13	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Ferrari	10
14	Antonio Giovinazzi	ITA	Alfa Romeo Racing	2
15	Daniil Kvyat	RUS	AlphaTauri	1
16	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas	1
17	Nicholas Latifi	CAN	Williams	0
18	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Alfa Romeo Racing	0
19	George Russell	GBR	Williams	0
20	Romain Grosjean	FRA	Haas	0
21	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Racing Point	0

2020 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	146
2	Red Bull Racing	78
3	McLaren	51
4	Ferrari	43
5	Racing Point	42
6	Renault	32
7	AlphaTauri	13
8	Alfa Romeo Racing	2
9	Haas	1
10	Williams	0