Carlos Sainz wins British Grand Prix, first career F1 victory : Carlos Sainz cruised to British Grand Prix victory, earning his first career Formula 1 win in 150 races. Red Bull's Sergio Pérez crossed the line seconds ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton to round out the podium.
"This is probably the best feeling you can have as a racing driver, to win for Ferrari in such a great place like Silverstone," Sainz said. "Mentally, it was one of the toughest races I've done: managing the gaps, lots of fights on track, the second start. We struggled a bit with understeer, and on the second stint I was told to save fuel if I wanted to make it to the end, so the lift and coast put me at risk from the cars behind.
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| (Photo: Mark Thompson / Getty Images) |
"... At the restart, I had fresher tires but we were fighting for 1-2 as a team, so I tried to be as clean as possible in overtaking Charles. Thanks to the fuel saved behind the Safety Car, I could then push until the end and finally got my first win."
In the final sector of the race, Pérez went wheel to wheel with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, giving space for Hamilton to double overtake the duo and claim a podium spot.
Championship leader Max Verstappen had a tough race after running over a piece of carbon fiber and damaging the bodywork of his car. The Dutchman finished in seventh place ahead of Mick Schumacher, who earned his first F1 point.
Earlier in the race, Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu was stretchered off after a major crash in turn 1. Guanyu was involved in a three-car accident with George Russell and Alpha Tauri's Pierre Gasly. Gasly made contact with Russell who collided with Guanyu. Guanyu flipped upside down and skidded into the gravel about the tire barrier. He was extracted from the car and stretchered off the course.
Williams driver Alex Albon was also involved in an opening lap crash and taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.
