2021 British Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Silverstone welcomed a capacity crowd and a new weekend format for the 2021 British Grand Prix, but the race itself produced the defining drama. Lewis Hamilton recovered from a penalty after his opening-lap collision with Max Verstappen to chase down Charles Leclerc and claim an eighth British Grand Prix victory.

Race Guide

Season: 2021 F1 World Championship
Race date: 18 July 2021
Race start time: 15:00 local time (UTC+01:00)
Circuit: Silverstone Circuit
Laps: 52 laps
Circuit length: 5.891 km
2020 winner: Lewis Hamilton

Pole position
Driver	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing
Basis	Sprint qualifying winner
Fastest lap
Driver	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing
Time	1:28.617 on lap 50
Podium
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari
Third	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
16 July 2021	Practice 1	14:30 – 15:30
16 July 2021	Qualifying	18:00 – 19:00
17 July 2021	Practice 2	12:00 – 13:00
17 July 2021	Sprint Race	16:30 – 17:00
18 July 2021	Race	15:00

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

Championship background

Verstappen arrived with a 32-point advantage after three consecutive victories, while Mercedes sought a response on Hamilton’s home ground. The weekend also introduced sprint qualifying: Friday’s timed session set the sprint grid, and Saturday’s short race determined the Grand Prix grid while awarding points to the leading three drivers. It added another competitive session to a weekend already carrying substantial championship significance.

Race entries

The regular 20 drivers contested the weekend, with no substitutes. The sprint format reduced the programme to two practice sessions: one before Friday qualifying and another before Saturday’s sprint.

Free Practice

Max Verstappen topped FP1 with a 1:27.035, ahead of Lando Norris (+0.779s) and Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen led the first session comfortably, while Norris narrowly edged Hamilton for second as teams prepared for qualifying on the same afternoon.

Max Verstappen topped FP2 with a 1:29.902, ahead of Charles Leclerc (+0.375s) and Carlos Sainz. Verstappen also topped the second session, ahead of the two Ferraris. The final practice hour gave drivers their last opportunity to assess longer runs before the sprint.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2021 British Grand Prix FP1, 16 July 2021

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:27.035	23
2	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.779s	26
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.780s	30
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.793s	26
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.862s	30
6	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	+0.888s	25
7	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	+1.027s	23
8	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing	+1.128s	25
9	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	+1.176s	28
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	+1.380s	24
11	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+1.414s	28
12	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	+1.565s	29
13	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.792s	26
14	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	+1.838s	24
15	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+2.185s	27
16	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+2.192s	27
17	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas	+2.192s	24
18	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+2.562s	21
19	9	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	+2.773s	23
20	63	George Russell	Williams	+2.822s	29

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton thrilled the home crowd by setting the fastest time in Friday qualifying, his 1:26.134 beating Max Verstappen by 0.075s. Valtteri Bottas qualified third ahead of Charles Leclerc, with Sergio Perez fifth and Lando Norris sixth.

Under the format used in 2021, this session decided the starting order for sprint qualifying rather than awarding Grand Prix pole position. Hamilton had secured the best place from which to begin Saturday’s contest, but the race grid was still to be settled.

Qualifying Classification

2021 British Grand Prix Qualifying, 16 July 2021

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:26.786	1:26.023	1:26.134	23
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:26.751	1:26.315	1:26.209	16
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:27.487	1:26.764	1:26.328	22
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:27.051	1:26.919	1:26.828	20
5	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing	1:27.121	1:27.073	1:26.844	17
6	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:27.444	1:27.220	1:26.897	20
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	1:27.323	1:27.125	1:26.899	22
8	63	George Russell	Williams	1:27.671	1:27.080	1:26.971	17
9	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1:27.337	1:26.848	1:27.007	21
10	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	1:27.493	1:27.103	1:27.179	15
11	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	1:27.580	1:27.245	—	12
12	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	1:27.600	1:27.273	—	14
13	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	1:27.415	1:27.340	—	12
14	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	1:27.595	1:27.617	—	15
15	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:28.017	1:27.665	—	12
16	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	1:28.043	—	—	10
17	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	1:28.062	—	—	9
18	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	1:28.254	—	—	8
19	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas	1:28.738	—	—	10
20	9	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	1:29.051	—	—	9

Free Practice 2 Classification

2021 British Grand Prix FP2, 17 July 2021

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:29.902	23
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.375s	30
3	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	+0.605s	29
4	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	+0.805s	31
5	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing	+0.898s	27
6	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.128s	24
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	+1.132s	23
8	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+1.229s	28
9	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+1.278s	27
10	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+1.286s	31
11	63	George Russell	Williams	+1.335s	24
12	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.361s	29
13	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	+1.387s	27
14	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.426s	26
15	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+1.435s	30
16	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	+1.502s	32
17	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	+1.691s	34
18	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+2.139s	31
19	9	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	+2.572s	31
20	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas	+4.115s	28

Sprint Race

Max Verstappen made the stronger start in Formula 1’s first sprint qualifying event, passing Lewis Hamilton and maintaining the lead over the 17-lap distance. Hamilton finished second and Valtteri Bottas third, earning the leading three drivers three, two and one championship points respectively.

Verstappen’s win also gave him pole position for the Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc remained fourth, while Fernando Alonso made an aggressive start before finishing seventh. Sergio Perez spun and later retired, and George Russell received a three-place Grand Prix grid penalty for contact with Carlos Sainz. Perez subsequently started Sunday’s race from the pit lane after changes to his car.

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  2021 British GP Sprint Race: Full Report & Highlights

Sprint Race Classification

2021 British Grand Prix Sprint Race, 17 July 2021

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	17	25:38.426	3
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	17	+1.430s	2
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	17	+7.502s	1
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	17	+11.278s	0
5	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	17	+24.111s	0
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	17	+30.959s	0
7	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	17	+43.527s	0
8	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	17	+44.439s	0
9	63	George Russell	Williams	17	+46.652s	0
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	17	+47.395s	0
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	17	+47.798s	0
12	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	17	+48.763s	0
13	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	17	+50.677s	0
14	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	17	+52.179s	0
15	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	17	+53.225s	0
16	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	17	+53.567s	0
17	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	17	+55.162s	0
18	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas	17	+68.213s	0
19	9	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	17	+77.648s	0
20	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing	16	Vibration	0

George Russell received a three-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Carlos Sainz

Sergio Perez was classified as he completed more than 90% of the sprint qualifying distance. He was due to start the race from the back of the grid for exceeding his quota of power unit elements. This made no difference as he was already due to start from last place. He was then required to start the race from the pit lane for a rear wing and suspension setup change in parc fermé.

What happened in the 2021 British Grand Prix?

Lewis Hamilton won a dramatic British Grand Prix after a controversial first-lap collision with Max Verstappen and a late pursuit of Charles Leclerc. The Mercedes driver overcame a ten-second penalty to take victory, while Verstappen’s retirement transformed the championship picture.

The title rivals contested the lead from the start, running closely through the opening sequence before contact at Copse sent Verstappen into the barriers. The race was stopped to allow recovery work and barrier repairs. Verstappen was taken for precautionary medical checks and later released from hospital, while the stewards judged Hamilton predominantly at fault and imposed the penalty.

Leclerc had moved ahead as the leaders collided and retained first place at the restart. Despite intermittent engine trouble, he kept Ferrari in a position to challenge for victory, demonstrating the pace and composure needed to hold off the faster Mercedes.

Hamilton served his penalty at his pit stop and returned behind Lando Norris and Bottas. He passed Norris, who had also lost time in the pits, before Bottas let his team-mate through to begin the chase of Leclerc. The gap narrowed steadily as the race approached its final laps.

On lap 50, Hamilton attacked at Copse and took the lead when Leclerc ran wide. The Ferrari driver had led most of the afternoon but had to settle for second, with Bottas completing the podium. Hamilton’s eighth win at Silverstone drew a jubilant response from the home crowd, although the earlier collision remained central to the post-race debate.

Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth and fifth for McLaren, followed by Carlos Sainz. Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon and Yuki Tsunoda completed the points. Sebastian Vettel retired after an earlier spin, while Pierre Gasly lost a likely points finish to a late puncture.

Perez set the fastest lap but finished outside the top ten, so no bonus point was awarded. Combined with the sprint results, Hamilton’s victory reduced Verstappen’s championship lead to eight points. Silverstone had brought a major shift in momentum and intensified a rivalry that was already shaping the season.

2021 British Grand Prix race results

The 2021 British Grand Prix was held on 18 July 2021, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	52	1:58:23.284	25
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	52	+3.871s	18
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	52	+11.125s	15
4	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	52	+28.573s	12
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	52	+42.624s	10
6	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	52	+43.454s	8
7	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	52	+72.093s	6
8	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	52	+74.289s	4
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	52	+76.162s	2
10	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	52	+82.065s	1
11	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	52	+85.327s	0
12	63	George Russell	Williams	51	+1 lap	0
13	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	51	+1 lap	0
14	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	51	+1 lap	0
15	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	51	+1 lap	0
16	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing	51	+1 lap	0
17	9	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	51	+1 lap	0
18	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas	51	+1 lap	0
Ret	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	40	Overheating	0
Ret	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	0	Collision	0

2021 British Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing	50	17:00:26	1:28.617	239.317
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	45	16:51:11	1:29.699	236.430
3	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	52	17:03:11	1:30.266	234.945
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	45	16:51:16	1:30.524	234.275
5	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	45	16:51:07	1:30.569	234.159
6	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	51	17:01:36	1:30.826	233.497
7	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	51	17:00:57	1:31.223	232.480
8	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	51	17:00:57	1:31.284	232.325
9	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	44	16:49:57	1:31.420	231.979
10	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	48	16:56:47	1:31.698	231.276
11	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	48	16:57:16	1:31.895	230.780
12	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	48	16:56:49	1:31.992	230.537
13	63	George Russell	Williams	49	16:58:38	1:32.049	230.394
14	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	48	16:56:51	1:32.210	229.992
15	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	49	16:58:41	1:32.346	229.653
16	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	51	17:01:52	1:32.477	229.328
17	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas	50	17:01:20	1:32.862	228.377
18	9	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	51	17:02:52	1:32.909	228.262
19	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	35	16:37:02	1:33.059	227.894

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

Sergio Perez set the fastest lap but finished outside the top ten, so no fastest-lap point was awarded.

2021 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for drivers and teams after the 2021 British Grand Prix.

2021 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	185
2	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	177
3	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren	113
4	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes	108
5	Sergio Perez	MEX	Red Bull Racing	104
6	Charles Leclerc	MON	Ferrari	80
7	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Ferrari	68
8	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	McLaren	50
9	Pierre Gasly	FRA	AlphaTauri	39
10	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Aston Martin	30
11	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Alpine	26
12	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin	18
13	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Alpine	14
14	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	AlphaTauri	10
15	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Alfa Romeo Racing	1
16	Antonio Giovinazzi	ITA	Alfa Romeo Racing	1
17	George Russell	GBR	Williams	0
18	Mick Schumacher	GER	Haas	0
19	Nicholas Latifi	CAN	Williams	0
20	Nikita Mazepin	RAF	Haas	0

RAF denotes the neutral Russian Automobile Federation designation used by Nikita Mazepin in 2021.

2021 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Red Bull Racing	289
2	Mercedes	285
3	McLaren	163
4	Ferrari	148
5	AlphaTauri	49
6	Aston Martin	48
7	Alpine	40
8	Alfa Romeo Racing	2
9	Williams	0
10	Haas	0