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Lando Norris is ready to create his own history after going toe-to-toe with Lewis Hamilton in a gripping Battle of the Britons at Silverstone on Sunday. As Max Verstappen raced to a sixth consecutive victory – his eighth from the opening 10 rounds so far to extend his championship lead to a distant 99 points – Norris held off Hamilton to land his first British Grand Prix podium. A snoozy spectacle in front of a record-breaking 150,000 spectators sprung into life on lap 33 when Kevin Magnussen spluttered to a halt. Out came the safety car and Hamilton landed an effective free pit stop – bolting on a set of the speediest soft tyres – to move up from a net seventh to third. Norris was one place up the road in his revamped McLaren. But the 23-year-old was left exposed after his team elected to fit the more durable, but slower, hard rubber on his machine. As the safety car peeled in at the end of the 38th lap, Norris’ mirrors were suddenly filled with Hamilton’s all-black Mercedes. Norris had 13 laps to keep the seven-time world champion, 38, behind. The Wellington Straight presented Hamilton with his first opportunity, but Norris jinked to his left in an attempt to break the slipstream. Hamilton eyed a peak around the outside of Norris’s papaya McLaren at Brooklands, Luffield and into Woodcote but Norris held firm. Hamilton then moved into Norris’ tow on the run to Copse, but Norris placed his McLaren in the centre of the track to retain the place. The next lap, Hamilton tried again, this time on Norris’ inside at Luffield and Woodcote and then wheel-to-wheel at 180mph into Copse before he was forced to yield. That was as close as Hamilton would get with Norris landing his seventh career podium, his maiden on home soil, and first of a troubled season for the talented Glastonbury man. “This the best podium of my career,” said Norris. “I had never been to a race in Formula One until 2017. “Until then I had only ever watched it on TV and that started in 2007 and 2008 and seeing Lewis and Fernando (Alonso) at McLaren. Now it is my turn. “I was seven years old then. Little did I know Lewis would still be here 15 years later, and still going strong. Fair play to him. “It is an honour to be able to race him, and go up against these guys, who have created history, and have been some of the best that Formula One has ever seen. “It is special, an honour, and a privilege, and I want to be someone who can join in on those battles and create some of my own history.” As Verstappen continues to rack up the wins – indeed Sunday’s triumph was the 17th from his last 21 outings – Norris stole the show. The Monaco-based driver led for the first four-and-a-half laps after he blasted past Verstappen ahead of the opening corner before his late tussle with Hamilton. Verstappen’s first British Grand Prix win arrives two years after he ended up in the barriers, and then concussed in hospital, following a 180mph collision with Hamilton. Speaking about Norris, Hamilton said: “Lando is very talented and it is great when you can have close battles like that, and rely on the driver to be hard but fair. “There was never a moment when we thought we would come together and that is what motor racing is all about – he wanted to hold on to second and I wanted to get that position. “We will keep our heads down, keep pushing and hopefully we will have more of this moving forwards.” Norris’ rookie team-mate Oscar Piastri was unfortunate to lose out under the safety car, dropping from third to fourth, with George Russell taking the chequered flag in fifth. Sergio Perez finished sixth after he started a lowly 15th. Alonso crossed the line in seventh, with Alex Albon enhancing his reputation with a fine drive to eighth for Williams. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lando Norris calls finishing runner-up at British Grand Prix ‘pretty insane’ Max Verstappen snatching pole ‘ruins everything’ for Lando Norris at Silverstone Max Verstappen pips Lando Norris to pole position at British Grand Prix

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admits the team will soon have no choice but to give up on the development of this season’s car and focus on next year. Lewis Hamilton claimed a third-placed finish at the British Grand Prix, but was beaten to second by Lando Norris and was well adrift of challenging Max Verstappen – who extended his title lead to 99 points in pursuit of a hat-trick of world championships. Hamilton was unable to pass McLaren’s Norris following the safety car restart despite being on theoretically faster tyres in the closing stages and the seven-time world champion remains fourth in the drivers’ standings – a whopping 124 points behind Verstappen. Wolff knows they can not do anything to stop Verstappen and his dominant Red Bull and therefore says the time will soon come to switch focus to next season. “I think pretty soon,” Wolff said when asked when that time would come. “We have no choice. P2, P3 fundamentally doesn’t impact me and the team. “It is about coming back to being able to win a world championship. “That’s not going to happen this year so we need to set our eyes on next year and we will see with all the races to come how we can learn and develop and make sure that we can carry that forward into next year. “Having said that, the regulations are the same so we are not learning nothing by continuing with this car. So there is a balance to strike.” The safety car, which was deployed on lap 33, massively benefitted Hamilton, who was able to get a free pit-stop and retain third place after a raft of drivers had already pitted. With Hamilton, who started seventh, on soft tyres and Norris on hard tyres, it was expected the McLaren man would be a sitting duck but he was able to resist the advances of the Mercedes to clinch a brilliant second place. It was the same story behind, where Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri comfortably held George Russell at bay to clinch fourth. Wolff chose to view McLaren’s enormous progress in the last two races as a positive that they can achieve similar, but expected his drivers to be able to secure a double-podium finish. “To be honest, when the safety car was deployed, I was pretty sure, if not convinced, that we would be eating up the McLarens and finish with a P2 and P3 and maybe even challenge at the front,” Wolff added. “You see just how strong their car was. They both raced very strong. Their top speed through the corners and the straights, there was no way of passing them. That came as a surprise. “McLaren were not competitive at the beginning of the season and it is good to see because it shows if you make the right decisions, the car can jump up by a huge amount. “Do I believe we have upgrades which will fundamentally change the car? I don’t believe so but we have a few small steps to come and we can see if you find a tenth or two or three you can move up the grid. “Fundamentally I don’t care whether we finish second or third. It is about finding our way back to fighting for victories and the world championship. “To see that the car has potential fundamentally, all eyes are on the big prize. It is exciting to see that the McLaren was able to find a second in performance.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lando Norris calls finishing runner-up at British Grand Prix ‘pretty insane’ Max Verstappen snatching pole ‘ruins everything’ for Lando Norris at Silverstone Max Verstappen pips Lando Norris to pole position at British Grand Prix

Lando Norris described his second-placed finish at the British Grand Prix as “pretty insane” after he held off Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages at Silverstone. Max Verstappen cruised to a sixth win in a row to extend his championship lead to 99 points in his pursuit of a hat-trick of world titles. But the late battle between British pair Norris and Hamilton ignited the home crowd at the Northamptonshire circuit. A safety car put Norris’ runner-up spot in doubt after McLaren elected to put him on the harder, more durable, tyre, rather than the speedier soft compound. But Norris, 23, managed to keep Hamilton, 38, at bay in a tantalising battle between the two countrymen at a sold-out Silverstone. “Pretty insane,” Norris said in his post-race interview. “Thanks to the whole team who have done an amazing job. “To put me on hard tyres, I don’t know why! It was an amazing fight with Lewis to hold him off. “I wanted the softs. I feel like it might make a bit more sense, especially with the safety car coming out but I don’t care, I’m P2 so all good! “Big thanks to all the British fans here supporting us. Oscar (Piastri) did an amazing job and he would have been P3 without the safety car. He deserved it.” Piastri finished fourth in the second McLaren, ahead of Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell in fifth. Hamilton labelled the McLaren as a “rocket ship” on his team radio and admitted he had no answer for Norris’ pace. “Congratulations to Lando and McLaren, my family where I first started,” he said. “To see them back up there looking so strong. That thing was rapid through the high speed corner, wow. I could not keep up! “It’s positive for us as a team to know we are not that far away. We just need to keep pushing and we can catch those guys at the front. “We had a good little battle there. I just didn’t have the grunt on the straights.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen snatching pole ‘ruins everything’ for Lando Norris at Silverstone Max Verstappen pips Lando Norris to pole position at British Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton 15th in practice for British GP as Max Verstappen dominates again

Max Verstappen delivered another crushing performance to win the British Grand Prix as Lando Norris held off Lewis Hamilton in a brilliant fight for second place. A late safety car put Norris’ runner-up spot in doubt after McLaren elected to put the British driver on the harder, more durable tyre, rather than the speedier soft compound. But Norris, 23, managed to keep Hamilton, 38, at bay in a tantalising battle between the two home favourites at a sold-out Silverstone. Norris’ McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri finished fourth, one spot ahead of George Russell, with three British drivers finishing in the top five. Verstappen’s sixth consecutive victory sees the Dutch driver move 99 points clear at the summit of the standings. “We had a terrible start so we need to look into that,” said Verstappen. “Lando and McLaren were super-quick. It took a few laps to past them and then everything was okay. “I am very happy that we won again and 11 wins in a row for the team is incredible but it was not straightforward today.” McLaren have been desperately short of form this season but a major upgrade at the British team’s home race worked wonders. Indeed, Norris briefly led Sunday’s 52-lap race after he gazumped pole-sitter Verstappen following a supreme start in his McLaren to cheers from the British grandstands. It marked the first time a McLaren car has led the British Grand Prix since Hamilton led here for the Woking team in 2012. However, Norris’ time at the top lasted only four-and-a-half laps after Verstappen, in his superior Red Bull machine, drew alongside the Briton on the Wellington Straight before making the move stick into Brooklands. Piastri was running in third with Russell trying, but failing, to find a way past Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Hamilton started seventh but dropped to eighth at the end of the first lap before regaining the position when he nailed Fernando Alonso on lap seven. A tedious race came alive on lap 33 when Kevin Magnussen spluttered to a halt in his Haas. Flames briefly engulfed the rear of his machine before turning to smoke. With Magnussen’s Haas in a precarious position at the start of the Wellington Straight a full safety car was deployed and Hamilton, who had yet to pit, was the main beneficiary, turning a net seventh into third when the order shuffled out. Verstappen and Hamilton bolted on the soft rubber, but Norris, despite pleading with his McLaren team to follow suit, was given the hard compound. When the safety car peeled in at the end of lap 38, Norris’ mirrors were suddenly occupied with Hamilton’s black Mercedes. Hamilton sensed his opportunity racing around the outside of Norris through Brooklands and then Luffield, only for the McLaren man to hold position. A third chance arose for Hamilton on the run down Copse but Norris expertly defended the position, leaving Hamilton with nowhere to go. Hamilton backed out and tried again on the following lap but Norris kept his elbows out and the elder Briton was unable to find a way past. From there, Norris was able to keep Hamilton at arm’s length, crossing the line 2.9 sec clear of the Mercedes car. “That McLaren is a rocket ship,” said Hamilton as he crossed the line. Piastri finished fourth on a fine afternoon for McLaren, one place ahead of Russell, with Sergio Perez sixth after he started a lowly 15th. Alonso took the flag in seventh with Alex Albon enhancing his reputation with a fine eighth for Williams. Verstappen crossed the line 3.7 sec clear of Norris to maintain Red Bull’s unbeaten streak this season. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen snatching pole ‘ruins everything’ for Lando Norris at Silverstone Max Verstappen pips Lando Norris to pole position at British Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton 15th in practice for British GP as Max Verstappen dominates again

Max Verstappen extended his championship lead with a convincing victory – and sixth win on the spin – at the British Grand Prix on a day of triumph for McLaren too. Verstappen, starting on pole, lost the lead to driver of the day Lando Norris at the start but soon took back first place on lap five – and maintained position despite a safety car just over halfway through the race. McLaren star Norris finished second for his joint-best result in Formula 1 with eight-time winner at Silverstone Lewis Hamilton completing the podium in third. George Russell finished fifth with Norris’ McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri unluckily missing out on a first podium in F1 with a nonetheless highly-respectable fourth place. “We had a good race. Last stint was difficult with these tyres but overall pace was good,” said Verstappen after picking up Red Bull’s 11th victory in a row. More to follow... Read More Kevin Magnussen’s car catches fire in scary flashpoint at British Grand Prix Hamilton demands ‘so slow’ Mercedes take British GP qualifying as a ‘wake-up call’ F1 British Grand Prix LIVE: Race updates and times at Silverstone

Kevin Magnussen’s car caught fire in a flashpoint during the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The Dane, driving for American-owned team Haas, came to a halt on the Wellington Straight while under pressure from the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll. Magnussen weaved to the left of the straight before the engine of his car blew up, with a huge fireball forming at the rear. Fortunately, Magnussen rapidly disembarked the car, with the incident resulting in a safety car in which the majority of the field pitted. Max Verstappen currently leads the race with British driver Lando Norris in second and Lewis Hamilton in third. More to follow… Read More F1 British Grand Prix LIVE: Race updates as Lando Norris falls behind Max Verstappen at Silverstone

Max Verstappen dented Lando Norris’ dream of a shock pole position at the British Grand Prix by taking top spot in the closing seconds of a dramatic qualifying session. Norris surged to the summit of the order to the delight of the Silverstone crowd, only to see Verstappen snatch pole by 0.241 seconds as the last driver over the line. F1 grid: Starting positions for the British Grand Prix Norris starts alongside Verstappen, who took his fifth consecutive pole, with Oscar Piastri third on an excellent day for McLaren at the British team’s home race. Lewis Hamilton could manage only seventh, one place behind George Russell in the other Mercedes. Read More Max Verstappen pips Lando Norris to pole position at British Grand Prix F1 grid: Starting positions for British Grand Prix Jackie Stewart suffers stroke and falls ‘unconscious’ in frightening health scare

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Lando Norris accused Max Verstappen of “ruining everything” after he was denied a shock pole position at the British Grand Prix by Formula One’s dominant Dutchman. For a dozen seconds, Norris sat at qualifying’s summit in front of a sell-out Silverstone crowd only to watch Verstappen – the second-but-last man over the line – knock him off his perch. Verstappen snatched top spot from Norris by 0.241 seconds, with Oscar Piastri third on an excellent day for McLaren. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth for Ferrari, with Mercedes’ George Russell and Lewis Hamilton only sixth and seventh on another sub-par afternoon for the grid’s once dominant team. Norris, 23, has endured a poor season in his under-performing McLaren machine, but the British team’s first major upgrade of the season worked wonders on home turf. Norris threatened throughout qualifying – sitting at the top of the timings at various stages in Q1, Q2 and Q3 – before a knockout blow from Verstappen stopped him landing only his second career pole. “I was so close,” said Norris. He added with a smile: “Max ruins everything for everyone. “I was watching the TV screens and I was surprised how long I stayed up there for. I did not make a mistake. It was all about when Max crossed the line and if he made a mistake, not if we could beat him.” McLaren CEO Zak Brown celebrated wildly, hugging and high-fiving anyone he could find dressed in the team’s papaya colours. Norris added: “I could hear Zak on the radio during the in-lap, which was the best thing ever. To be second and third was amazing for the whole team.” Norris will have his work cut out to claim what would be a maiden win in his 92nd start, with Verstappen in a class of one this year. The 25-year-old Dutchman will be bidding to take his eighth win from the 10 rounds so far on his unrelenting march to a third straight world championship. “I have some reason to believe we can do OK but not enough to beat this guy,” added Norris, pointing towards the Red Bull man. “It is clear we have made some progress and we have made a decent step forward. It is payback for the work that has been done by the team. “Max and I are very good friends. We grew up at a similar time, and we share the same mentality because we love it. “But as soon as we put the helmet on, all the respect we have off the track, we forget that. It makes no difference about us being friends.” No driver has won the British Grand Prix on more occasions than Hamilton, with the 38-year-old winning seven of the last 10 races staged here. But the Mercedes driver will be deeply frustrated to start only seventh, half-a-second off the pace, in front of his home fans. Sergio Perez’s dismal run of form continued after he was eliminated from the opening phase of qualifying. The Mexican was first out of the pits when the action resumed following a red flag to clear Kevin Magnussen’s Haas. Perez momentarily headed to the top of the order, but the evolution of a drying track saw him tumble all the way down to 16th when Q1 came to an end. It marked the fifth consecutive grand prix in which Perez has failed to make it into Q3 in a machine Hamilton described as the fastest the sport has ever seen. Despite the threat of action from Just Stop Oil protesters, qualifying passed off without incident. However, F1 bosses, Silverstone and Northamptonshire Police remain on high alert that a protest could yet disrupt Sunday’s 52-lap race where 150,000 spectators are expected to attend. Security has been beefed up, with facial recognition cameras posted around the 3.66 mile track in a move to foil a potential plot. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen pips Lando Norris to pole position at British Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton 15th in practice for British GP as Max Verstappen dominates again Lewis Hamilton promises to keep his cool on team radio after Austrian flashpoint

Lewis Hamilton said his “disappointing” result in qualifying for the British Grand Prix must serve as a “wake-up call” for Mercedes. Hamilton will start his home race in front of a 150,000 sell-out crowd at Silverstone only in seventh place, with team-mate George Russell one spot better off on the grid. As Max Verstappen, perhaps predictably, raced to his fifth consecutive pole position, McLaren stung a surprise with Lando Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri second and third respectively in their upgraded machines. Informed of his position over the radio, Hamilton said: “We are so slow.” McLaren’s resurgence means Hamilton is now even further away from the front – qualifying half-a-second off Verstappen – despite Mercedes bringing a new front wing to Silverstone. “It is not a blow, but it is just a wake-up call for us,” said Hamilton. “Others are overtaking us and we need to do more. “I will be optimistic and do my best to get on the podium, but realistically I am not sure we can. We have two Ferraris and two McLarens ahead of us so it is going to be a tough race. “It is always a great feeling to be at the British Grand Prix, but today it was disappointing that we could not deliver for the fans. Hopefully we can tomorrow.” Hamilton is the most successful driver at the British Grand Prix – winning seven of the last 10 races staged here. But 580 days have now passed since Hamilton last took to the top step of the podium – a run of 32 races which extends back to the final round of the 2021 season. Mercedes’ major upgrade arrived at Monaco in May, and Hamilton delivered successive podiums at the ensuing rounds in Spain and Canada to provide him with hope he might soon be back in winning contention. But he finished only eighth in Austria a week ago, and he is facing a tall order to salvage a respectable result on Sunday. McLaren have been well off the pace so far this year, but their new package – which Hamilton likened to Verstappen’s dominant Red Bull machine – has propelled them ahead of the Silver Arrows. “I am not surprised by McLaren because if you look at the car it makes sense,” said Hamilton. “If you put it alongside a Red Bull, it looks very similar down the sides and it is working. They had the edge on us at the last race so I anticipate tomorrow will be the same. “McLaren have been on a bad run for so long so I am happy for them. We have another team up in the mix which is what we want to see in the sport.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen pips Lando Norris to pole position at British Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton 15th in practice for British GP as Max Verstappen dominates again Lewis Hamilton promises to keep his cool on team radio after Austrian flashpoint

Max Verstappen dented Lando Norris’ dream of a shock pole position at the British Grand Prix by taking top spot in the closing seconds of a dramatic qualifying session. Norris surged to the summit of the order to the delight of the Silverstone crowd, only to see Verstappen snatch pole by 0.241 seconds as the last driver over the line. Norris starts alongside Verstappen, who took his fifth consecutive pole, with Oscar Piastri third on an excellent day for McLaren at the British team’s home race. Lewis Hamilton could manage only seventh, one place behind George Russell in the other Mercedes. “It was a crazy qualifying session and quite hectic,” said Verstappen. “I was surprised to see those two (Norris and Piastri) there but it was great for McLaren. “I am looking forward to tomorrow.” Norris said: “I was close. Pretty insane. My last lap was a good lap. I could hear Zak (Brown, the McLaren CEO) on the radio during the in lap which was the best thing ever. “To be second and third was amazing for the whole team. But Max ruins everything for everyone. I am happy for the whole crowd here. I look forward to tomorrow.” Verstappen, a winner at seven of the opening nine rounds of a one-sided campaign, has already established a commanding 81-point lead in his pursuit of a hat-trick of world championships The Dutch driver cruised to the chequered flag a week ago at Red Bull’s home race in Austria and he will head into Sunday’s race favourite to extend his lead, particularly after Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez failed to make it out of Q1. He lines up a lowly 16th. No driver has won the British Grand Prix on more occasions than Hamilton, with the 38-year-old winning seven of the last 10 races staged here. But the Mercedes man will be disappointed to start only seventh, half-a-second off the pace, in front of his home fans. Perez’s dismal run of form continued after he was eliminated from the opening phase of qualifying. The Mexican was first out of the pits when the action resumed following a red flag to clear Kevin Magnussen’s Haas. Perez momentarily headed to the top of the order, but the evolution of the track saw him tumble all the way down to 16th when Q1 came to an end. It marked the fifth consecutive race in which Perez has failed to make it into Q3 in a machine Hamilton described as the fastest Formula One has ever seen. Perez’s early exit capped a frantic few minutes which saw Verstappen and Hamilton dice for position on a piece of asphalt now named after Britain’s seven-time world champion. Verstappen fought his way ahead of Hamilton, with the latter almost colliding with the Alpine of Pierre Gasly in the mad scramble to post a lap before the chequered flag fell. Prior to that, Verstappen required a new front wing after he grazed the wall along the pits just moments after he left his garage. And even earlier Hamilton survived a spin through the gravel when he lost his control of his Mercedes on the entry to Stowe. Despite the threat of action from Just Stop Oil protesters, qualifying passed off without incident. However, F1 bosses, Silverstone and Northamptonshire Police remain on high alert that a protest could yet disrupt Sunday’s 52-lap race where 150,000 spectators are expected to attend. Security has been beefed up, with facial recognition cameras posted around the 3.66 mile track in a move to foil a potential plot. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lewis Hamilton 15th in practice for British GP as Max Verstappen dominates again Lewis Hamilton promises to keep his cool on team radio after Austrian flashpoint Lewis Hamilton defends casting ‘iconic’ Brad Pitt as F1 driver in new film

Formula 1 heads back to one of its most famous sites as Silverstone hosts the 2023 British Grand Prix this weekend. Last time out in Austria, Max Verstappen continued his dominant form with a fifth straight win this season, extending his lead in the world championship to 81 points, with team-mate Sergio Perez in second. EXCLUSIVE: 20 years since Irish ‘lunatic’ invaded the track at Silverstone Lewis Hamilton endured a mixed weekend in Spielberg, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished on the podium. Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris will be eyeing strong results this weekend at their home race, with recent upgrades for both Mercedes and McLaren renewing optimism in both camps. On Friday at a bright and sunny Silverstone, Max Verstappen was quickest in first and second practice. Carlos Sainz won last year’s action-packed race for Ferrari, his first and only win in F1. Follow British Grand Prix live updates with The Independent this weekend - qualifying started at 3pm (BST). Read More Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes struggle as British Grand Prix gets Hollywood sprinkling Why is Brad Pitt filming at Silverstone during the British Grand Prix? Jackie Stewart suffers stroke and falls ‘unconscious’ in frightening health scare