Lando Norris enjoys 'beautiful' British GP win as Oscar Piastri pays penalty in wet and wild race
As last week's heatwave gave way to a more typical UK summer's day - spells of blue sky mixed with torrential showers - drivers had to keep their wits about them with puddles forming on the track.
And Norris emerged from the chaos victorious as he added to his wins already this season in Austria, Monaco and Australia.
Piastri was handed a penalty - after being deemed to have driven erratically during a restart after one of two safety-car periods - that ultimately cost him the win and allowed Norris to slash the Australian's advantage to eight points at the midpoint of the season.
"It's beautiful, everything I ever dreamed of, this is everything I wanted to achieve, aside from winning the championship this is as good as it gets in terms of feelings and in terms of achievement, being proud, all of it," said Norris after clinching the win.
Nico Hulkenberg took an astonishing third place for Sauber, the German veteran making up 16 places to shed his unwanted record of the most starts without a podium in Formula One history - Sunday's race was his 239th.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton came in fourth ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen - who had started in pole position - span from second and crossed the line in fifth following a late pass on Lance Stroll.
George Russell started fourth but two premature changes to slick tyres destroyed his afternoon. He took the chequered flag in 10th.
"Your mind just goes pretty blank," added Norrish when asked what he thinking about in the last few laps with victory in sight.
"Everything you might think before the race, you forget. The main thing is just don't mess it up, that's rule number one.
"The last few laps I was just looking into the crowd," added Norris. I was just trying to take it all in, enjoy the moment, because it might never happen again. I hope it does. But these are memories that I'll bring with me forever. An incredible achievement."
Piastri fell foul of the stewards when braking heavily before the safety car peeled off, a decision that left the Australian feeling robbed.
"I'm not going to say much, I don't want to get myself in trouble," he said in the post-race interview. "Apparently, you can't brake behind the safety car anymore. I did it for five laps before that.
"I'm not going to say much. Well done to Nico, I think that's the highlight of the day. I'll leave it there."
An all-time F1 record crowd - 168,000 on the day and 500,000 over the weekend - were treated to a sensational race that will be remembered for heavy rain, safety cars as drivers' regularly lost control in treacherous conditions.
"In terms of being a stressful race, this is as stressful as you can get," added Norris. "It was a good race for Oscar as well.
"I've got to give credit to Oscar, he was fast the whole way. So a round of applause Oscar, because he put up a good fight. I enjoy those moments together when we're on track, not as much when he's ahead of me as when he's behind, but that's life."
The final word, though, goes to Hulkenberg after his long-awaited and hugely popular achievement. "It has been a long time coming, hasn't it? I always knew we have it in us, I have it in me somewhere," said the 37-year-old.
"What a race, coming from virtually last, doing it all over again from last weekend, it's pretty surreal to be honest.
"Not sure how it all happened but obviously crazy conditions, mixed conditions. It was a survival fight for a lot of the race. I think we were just on it, the right calls, the right tyres, the right moment, made no mistakes and yeah, quite incredible.
"I was in denial until like probably the last pit stop, then we gapped Lewis quite a bit with the extra lap, I was like 'OK, this is good, gives some breathing space' but you know he was catching quite quickly.
"The pressure was there, it was an intense race. We didn't crack. No mistakes and obviously really happy with that."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
2 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Record-breaking Root puts England in control and in sight of series win
Joe Root moved to second in the all-time Test run scorer charts with a superb 150 to put England in control on day three of the fourth Test against India on Friday, with the hosts 544-7 at the close of play, giving them a first innings lead of 186 runs. Yorkshire batter Root strolled to a staggering 38th Test hundred, before passing another milestone in climbing above former Australia captain Ricky Ponting into second place in the all-time list as he reached 121 not out just before tea. England skipper Ben Stokes, plagued by injuries in recent years, retired hurt with cramp in the evening session when on 66, safe in the knowledge his side would remain in the driving seat in his absence. Root eventually was stumped off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja, but the damage to India's resolve had been done. Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes followed Root back to the pavilion, with Stokes re-emerging to add more runs to his total, finishing the day unbeaten 77, alongside Liam Dawson on 21. With two days still to play, England are firm favourites to secure the win in Manchester, one that would seal victory in the five-match series with one Test still to come. "Joe is something we have become accustomed to in the past few years," England number three Ollie Pope told reporters. "The way he goes about his cricket, the way he trains is amazing, he is a joy to watch who keeps getting better and better. From a team perspective it is amazing to have him. We try not to rely on him, but the way he constantly steps up is amazing. The number of hundreds are ridiculous. "He would have been aware of the records. He is not a massive one for landmarks, but that is a pretty cool one today." Root overtook South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis to go third in the rankings in Friday's morning session, with his 104th score of fifty or more — only India great Sachin Tendulkar has more in Test cricket — steering untroubled England to 332-2 at lunch. The 34-year-old's morning was not without concern, as he survived one leg before wicket appeal before almost being run out when on 22. Otherwise he remained his customary composed self to steady the ship and keep England in command. Pope played his part in an impressive first session, but the England number three fell for 71 in the third over after lunch. Washington Sundar quickly struck again to remove Harry Brook to give India hope of dragging themselves back into the contest. Root had other ideas. A boundary brought up his century, moving him level with Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara's tally of 38, joint fourth on the all-time hundreds list. The veteran then passed Ponting's 13,378 Test runs to great ovation from the Old Trafford crowd. After Stokes limped off, Root was stumped with Smith not lasting much longer, managing only nine runs before edging one through to the wicketkeeper. Woakes was unable to deal with one that kept low, bringing Stokes quickly back out to the middle. The skipper was moving a little more freely. England will be hoping he can make a full recovery to be able to excel with the ball once more to secure series victory. "Much better with the ball today. Yesterday was a tough day at the office," India bowling coach Morne Morkel said. "We missed our line, but the boys responded this morning which was good to see. We tried our best to create opportunities. "A big thing in this innings is we are struggling to create pressure from both ends. We need to bowl in partnerships and we are not doing that right now. England have a powerful batting line up but at times we lacked energy on the ball."
Int'l Cricket Council
a day ago
- Int'l Cricket Council
Openers power England to commanding position in Manchester ICC World Test Championship
England dominated Day 2 of the fourth Test against India, placing themselves in the driver's seat in Manchester. After taking the remaining six wickets to bowl India out for 358 in the second session, openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley led the charge with a commanding 166-run partnership, reducing the deficit to just 133 runs at stumps. India started the day at 264/4, with Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur at the crease. England, eager to inflict early damage, took the new ball and their persistence paid off when Jadeja nicked one off Jofra Archer, with Harry Brook taking a sharp catch in the slips. Washington Sundar and Thakur then steadied the innings with a well-composed 48-run partnership before the latter was dismissed for a well-made 41. Rishabh Pant showcased immense bravery, coming out to bat despite battling a fractured right foot, and brought up a fighting half-century. However, India's lower order offered little resistance to Ben Stokes, who ran through the tail with an impressive spell claiming his first five-wicket haul since 2017. England got off to a blazing start in their innings, with Crawley and Duckett aggressively taking on the Indian bowlers and piling up runs at a rapid pace. The pair remained unbeaten at tea, racing to 77 runs in just 14 overs. India finally broke the partnership when Jadeja induced an edge from Crawley's bat, with KL Rahul taking a clean catch in the slips, sending the opener back for a brisk 84. Soon after Anshul Kamboj claimed his maiden Test wicket by dismissing Duckett on 94, who fell short of a well-deserved century. New batter Joe Root, along with Ollie Pope, then negotiated a testing late spell from Jasprit Bumrah to see out the day, with England finishing on 225/2. ICC World Test ChampionshipICC World Test Championship, 2025/27News
Gulf Today
2 days ago
- Gulf Today
Boss Wiegman echoes Southgate as England rally to reach final
An unprecedented third successive major final appearance engineered by a series of extraordinary comebacks and a manager similarly lauded and hammered at the same time - there is a familiar feel about England at the Women's Euros. Tuesday's 2-1 victory over Italy, secured via a last-gasp equaliser in normal time then a winner two minutes from the end of extra time, propelled the defending champions into a final against either Germany, who they beat to lift the title in 2022, or Spain, who they lost to in the World Cup final two years ago. Under the guidance of the extraordinarily successful coach Sarina Wiegman, England have reached an unprecedented level of consistency, yet, far from lauding the Dutchwoman's influence, there is an undercurrent of feeling that they have somehow made it this far this time despite, not because, of her decisions. Wiegman has been steadfast - some say stubborn - in her selection approach during the tournament despite England's starting team often failing to spark. They trailed Sweden 2-0 in the quarter-finals, looking toothless, until finally she turned to the bench and substitute Michelle Agyemang rescued the match, which England eventually won via a crazy 14-shot penalty shootout. After making only one change to the starting lineup - and that perhaps more due to the racist abuse swirling around Jess Carter than her shaky performance - Wiegman watched in her usual motionless style as hot favourites England were outrun and outplayed by Italy for an hour on Tuesday. Eventually she turned to her bench, throwing on strikers Agyemang and Aggie Beever-Jones with five minutes to go, having introduced 2022 hero Chloe Kelly after 77 minutes. Agyemang, 19, was the saviour again as she equalised deep into stoppage time and, with a penalty shootout that England would definitely not have wanted after missing four of their seven attempts in the quarter-final, Kelly then won it with two minutes to spare. Wiegman said her overwhelming emotion was relief and praised the quality and energy of her substitutes - which of course begged the question of why she took so long to bring them on. FAMILIAR FEEL: It all had a very familiar feel after Gareth Southgate was both lauded and vilified during England men's run to the Euro 2024 final having also reached the 2020 final and the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup. Southgate was widely criticised for his failure to react to changes made by Italy and Croatia in those earlier defeats, but, like Wiegman, the louder the outside noise, the more he dug his feet in. He reached a nadir in the Euro 2024 last 16 game against Slovakia, when, trailing 1-0 having barely managed a shot on goal all night, he waited until the fourth minute of stoppage time to introduce striker Ivan Toney, before Jude Bellingham eventually equalised and England won in extra-time. It was a similar story in the semi-finals before England won on penalties and in the final he waited until the 70th minute to bring on Cole Palmer, the team's most dangerous player whenever he got on the pitch, who immediately equalised before England eventually lost 2-1. Southgate had turned a desperately poor England team into a brilliantly consistent one, but rather than celebrate that 'success', there were plenty of critics ready to claim that his cautiousness robbed the country of the chance of glory. Wiegman already has the Euro 2022 trophy in the cabinet - as well as the 2017 title with the Netherlands - and there are of course many other coaches now watching from home who would give their right arm to be in her place heading into the final. Yet, just as with Southgate and even with her vast experience and glittering CV, should England be trailing again on Sunday, she surely needs to find it in herself to loosen the stays and not rely on another last-minute rescue act. ( Reporting by Mitch Phillips) Meanwhile, England's newest hero Agyemang had her teammates singing her praises after her last-gasp equaliser saved the defending champions from certain elimination, saying the sky is the limit for the 19-year-old. 'She's an unbelievable player and she's got the world at her feet, a young player with a bright future and I'm absolutely buzzing for her,' said Chloe Kelly, who smashed home the rebound of her own penalty kick in extra time to secure the victory. Agencies
