The last lap of the British GP was packed with drama as tyre punctures at the front of the race made for an incredibly dramatic finish.
The British Grand Prix has ended in incredible drama as the last lap went down to the wire. Lewis Hamilton won despite blowing his tyre on the last lap, to take out his record-extending seventh home race win.
The World Champion knew that he only just held on, saying on team radio "f*** that was close" as Max Verstappen raced hard at Hamilton over the final lap.
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The late drama came after Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, who was second all day, suffered a delamination puncture early on the 50th lap to hand Verstappen second.
The same issue happened to Hamilton on the final lap, who led Verstappen by 15 seconds before the Red Bull pitted.
Coming out 35 seconds behind Hamilton, Verstappen got as close as turning the final corner as Hamilton limped over the line, crossing the line 5.8 seconds behind the Brit.
It wasn't the only issue with McLaren's Carlos Sainz's tyre exploding in a shower of sparks on the penultimate lap, allowing Renault's Daniel Ricciardo into fourth.
Bottas ended up finishing in 11th and Sainz in 13th.
The questions were then asked about Verstappen's tyres and whether switching to new tyres cost him a win at Silverstone.
"Going for that fastest lap has cost Red Bull the victory," Sky Sports' Martin Brundle said.
David Croft asked: "What were the state of Max Verstappen's tyres? Did he need to come in? If he had to come in, you saw what happened to Hamilton, to Bottas, to Sainz as well, that they had to make that call."
The commentators said that Red Bull's motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko then appeared to go and ask questions, as did the fans.
Maybe this is my ignorance of F1 but why on earth would they pit Verstappen with two laps to go?!
— Will Leverett (@312Will) August 2, 2020
Well that livened up a bit at the end. #BritishGP #F1
— Phill Tromans (@PhillTromans) August 2, 2020
Woah! What an end with all the punctures! Love this F1 drama!! #BritishGP
— Darren Caldeira (@darrencaldeira) August 2, 2020
What a crazy finish to the @F1 British Grand Prix, @LewisHamilton in complete control but nearly lost it on the final lap! Can anyone do anything to stop Lewis strolling to another Championship? 🚦ðŸ†ðŸ
— James Constable (@JamesConstable9) August 2, 2020
Verstappen was happy with second but also ruing his missed opportunity to go to the top of the podium.
"It's lucky and unlucky," he said post-race. "The tyres didn't look great with 10 laps to go and I was already on the radio. Then Valtteri got a puncture so I came on the radio and said I'm going to back it out. Then of course they boxed me to go for the fastest lap.
"Then unfortunately Lewis got a puncture himself. But I'm very happy with second, it's a very good result for us."
Hamilton opened up on the chaos of the final lap.
"Up until that last lap everything was relatively smooth sailing," he said. "The tyres looked great. Valtteri was really pushing incredibly hard. I was doing some management of tyre, he looked like he wasn't doing any, so when I heard that his tyre went I was just looking at mine and everything seemed fine.
"The car was was still turning no problem and I was thinking maybe it was OK. So the last few laps I started to back off but then down the straight it just deflated.
"Just driving to keep the speed off, oh my god, I was just praying to get around and not be too slow. I nearly didn't get around the last few corners. Maybe we should have stopped."
Hamilton added: "I've never experienced anything like that on the last lap, my heart definitely almost stopped."
It was an eventful race across the board with Racing Point substitute Nico Hulkenberg not even able to start the race after power unit issues.
But he was quickly joined in the garage by Haas' Kevin Magnussen, who had a collision with Alexander Albon, with the Red Bull driver copping a five second penalty.
In a good drive, he went from the back of the grid up to eighth by the end the race.
But there was a second crash as AlphaTauri's Daniil Kvyat had a suspected rear tyre puncture and crashed heavily into the barriers.
As he crashed, he said "Oh guys, I'm so f***ing sorry" to his team over team radio.
There was immediate worry after the crash which saw debris flying off the car but Kvyat got out of the car quickly.
A shattered looking Kvyat took a second to compose himself after the incident but he was far from happy that he had a TV camera shoved in his face, pushing the cameraman out of the way.
There was also plenty for the stewards to look at with Haas' Romain Grosjean getting a black and white flag for a move under braking as Sainz overtook, while he did a similar move when Ricciardo went past.
Lance Stroll also got the warning late in the race as Esteban Ocon won the battle between the pair.
Did that just happen... 🤯
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) August 2, 2020
The wildest ending to a #BritishGP ever?? pic.twitter.com/GVj7BGMPt0
BRITISH GRAND PRIX RESULTS
1st: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2nd: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3rd: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
4th: Daniel Ricciardo (Renault)
5th: Lando Norris (McLaren)
6th: Esteban Ocon (Renault)
7th: Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri)
8th: Alexander Albon (Red Bull)
9th: Lance Stroll (Racing Point)
10th: Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
Romain Grosjean has pulled his Sainz move again, this time on Australian Daniel Ricciardo.
As the Aussie went to overtake, Grosjean swerved at Ricciardo.
"He's moved at least a cars length across the track," Sky Sports' Martin Brundle said.
"Yeah, that was sketchy," Ricciardo said on team radio.
The stewards have noted it but Grosjean already has a black and white flag.
Earlier in the race, Romain Grosjean appeared to move under braking as McLaren's Carlos Sainz tried to overtake.
The steward noted the move and decided on a black and white flag – essentially a warning.
But when Haas let their driver know, he wasn't happy.
"Are you kidding me? I left half the track," he said.
Similarly though, Sainz wasn't happy earlier, calling it "dangerous driving" with his team taking note.
After the halfway mark of the race, it looks almost certain to be a Mercedes 1-2 with Verstappen in three.
But it's a battle between fifth to 10th with not much time between the drivers.
Australia's Daniel Ricciardo is in eighth, stuck behind Haas' Romain Grosjean, with Racing Point's Lance Stroll continuing to put the pressure on in ninth.
But with three retirements already, it's set up for a relatively exciting race.
One who didn't even get to start however was Nico Hulkenberg, who spoke with Sky Sports after a power unit issue kept him out of the race.
"It's a bit crazy isn't it," Hulkenberg said. "Somehow it fits into all these crazy days I've experienced. But obviously disappointing for me and the team but some sort of power unit issue we didn't manage to start the car and get out there."
A third driver is out of the British Grand Prix with AlphaTauri's Daniil Kvyat crashing hard into the barriers after an apparent rear tyre puncture.
As he crashed, he said "Oh guys, I'm so f***ing sorry" to his team over team radio.
There was immediate worry after the crash which saw flying off the car but Kvyat got out of the car quickly.
Sky Sports' Martin Brundle said "I don't think that's his fault".
It led to the second safety car of the day.
A shattered looking Kvyat took a second to compose himself after the incident but he was far from happy that he had a TV camera shoved in his face, pushing the cameraman out of the way.
Teammate Pierre Gasly asked what went wrong, in case it was something that may effect both cars before seeing if Kvyat was alright. "He's ok" came the response.
After Hulkenberg didn't even get to start with some wondering if he was "cursed" as he didn't even get to start the British Grand Prix, the second retirement was quick to follow.
Coming into the final corner of the first lap, Alexander Albon looked to sneak through a gap on the inside of Haas' Kevin Magnussen.
But as Magnussen turned in, he hit the Red Bull's front tyre and crashing into the gravel, with his front left tyre coming off in the incident.
It saw a safety car for the next four laps.
Nico Hulkenberg was the odd one out at Renault last season and was left without a drive.
But he was lucky to get a call up for Racing Point when Sergio Perez was ruled out of the race with a positive COVID-19 test.
Just as quickly as it's come together, it's all fallen apart with Hulkenberg ruled out before the race began with an issue firing up his car seeing him miss out on getting to the grid.
It was hoped he may be able to start from the pit lane but the floor was removed and the team just couldn't get the car ready.
It was announced just before the start of the race that Hulkenberg was out before the race even began.
Although he will have another chance next week, the message was clear.
Hulkenberg stormed off to the drivers room and before the race, he was already in jeans and t-shirt.
With Sebastian Vettel on the outer from Ferrari, even rival teams are wondering if the four-time champion may not have got the best from his team ahead of the British Grand Prix.
Vettel qualified in 10th with his final lap in Q3 wiped off after exceeding track limits with his best lap a full second down on his teammate Charles Leclerc.
Red Bull's motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko even questioned his pace with Leclerc just 0.012 short of Max Verstappen's Q3 time with the young pair lining up next to each other on the second row of the grid.
“It is a mystery to us where Leclerc got the speed from,” Marko said via Auto Bild.
“He was faster on the straights than us. However, it seems to have been only with him, not with Vettel.”
But when the question was put to Vettel, he dismissed the questions and said he didn't "want to accuse anyone of bad intentions".
“I am relatively confident that the race will be better," he said to Channel 4.
“How much I don’t know. I can’t promise anything, but it can’t get much worse. I think it’s probably more me just making sure everything comes together.
“So not a good session, but let’s see what we can do.”
It's a question that will continue to plague Vettel throughout the rest of the season if he has performances that aren't up to teammate Charles Leclerc, especially after it was revealed that Ferrari didn't even offer him a contract.
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