2019 British Grand Prix

Championship standings

Hamilton leads Bottas by 31 points. Mercedes leads Ferrari by 135 in the Constructors’.

Previous race

At Austria, Verstappen passed Leclerc for the lead with three laps remaining in a move that made contact but was deemed a racing incident by the stewards. It was the first win for a Honda-powered car since Jenson Button in the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix, and the first victory of 2019 not taken by a Mercedes driver. Every car finished the race — the first such result since the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix.

Between-race developments

The race was officially started by Justin Whiting, son of Race Director Charlie Whiting, who died before the season opener in Australia. Sebastian Vettel gave a brief speech in commemoration before the start.

Practice

Gasly was fastest in FP1, almost half a second clear of Bottas and a further 0.4 seconds ahead of Verstappen. The session was disrupted by two incidents: Grosjean crashed his car at the pit exit, and Räikkönen’s Alfa Romeo stopped on the Wellington Straight, bringing out a red flag. The recently resurfaced track — resurfaced for the second time in under 16 months — left all drivers struggling for grip throughout. Brief rain had little impact on the session.