Lewis Hamilton the VILLAIN as Silverstone has new hometown hero - British Grand Prix Hot Takes

british gp, silverstone, lewis hamilton, lando norris, alex albon, george russell, ollie bearman, graphic — Photo: © IMAGO

British Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton the VILLAIN as Silverstone has new hometown hero - British Grand Prix Hot Takes

There were a plethora of incidents at Silverstone

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 6 July 2025 18:57

A thrilling, chaotic British Grand Prix finished with a British winner, with Lando Norris taking home his first victory at his home track.

The Silverstone race did not disappoint, with plenty of crashes, safety cars and dramatic spins for the likes of George Russell and Max Verstappen, who recovered to finish up in fifth.

F1 HEADLINES: FIA announce HUGE Silverstone penalty as disqualification warning issued

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One of those safety car periods saw Oscar Piastri surrender his lead, when the championship leader was penalised for a safety car infringement.

Piastri braked too hard - according to the FIA race stewards - as the safety car period was coming to an end, and he was handed a 10-second penalty for the incident, allowing Norris to take full advantage.

But arguably the story of the day was Nico Hulkenberg, with the German veteran FINALLY claiming his first podium, in his 239th race start, the most without a podium in F1 history.

Here's what the GPFans crew had to say about the thrilling race at Silverstone!

GPFans British Grand Prix Hot Takes

Matt Hobkinson - Global Lead Editor

It might be the first time I’ve ever said this, but Lewis Hamilton was the villain at the British Grand Prix.

Everyone was cheering for Nico Hulkenberg there as Hamilton threatened the German’s first ever podium finish.

Nico Hulkenberg finally claimed his first podium in the sport

But the fairytale finally came true for Nico. Hamilton’s podium streak comes to an end at Silverstone but you’d be hard pushed to argue that he deserved it.

The race was chaos and a Hulkenberg podium is fitting of the madness that came with it.

Time for me to watch Daniel Ricciardo yelling 'NICOOOOO HUUUUUULLLLKENNNNBERRRRGGG for the rest of the day.

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Three races in America? Two races in Spain next year? Excuse me F1, but why on earth are we not returning to Silverstone multiple times a season?

Silverstone has everything going for it. A great atmosphere! A crowd of devoted fans, a track you can actually race on and - the best trait of them all - the unpredictable weather!

Intermittent rain showers made the British GP incredibly thrilling, with tyre strategy conundrums, safety cars and the wet conditions all helping to spice up the order - not to mention Nico Hulkenberg’s first podium!

The 2025 British GP isn’t even an outlier. Every year fans are treated to spectacular racing at Silverstone and the race weekend represents the very best of F1 (I promise my British bias isn’t showing here).

But, if we went to Silverstone more than once a year, would it be as special?

Maybe Silverstone is more exciting as an annual event, something to look forward to in a season of damp squibs such as Las Vegas, Qatar, Abu Dhabi etc, a shining beacon in the ever greying F1 landscape.

For pure F1 action and racing, it's hard to imagine racing anywhere else other than Silverstone.

P.S. Sky Sports F1. Shut up about Brad Pit!!!

Sam Cook - F1 Journalist

Move over Lewis, the British GP has a new hero. Or should I say heroes.

Lando Norris rightly took the adulations of the Silverstone crowd as the 25-year-old shone even in the treacherous conditions, and he has cemented himself as a British racing hero with the win.

The Landostand were out in full force, and they can now look forward to seeing him challenge for a championship in the second half of the season.

But, unfortunately for Lando, the story here is Nico Hulkenberg! 239 races to claim his first podium, the most in F1 history!

I still remember a young Hulkenberg claiming pole position for the 2010 Brazilian GP, and I was gutted when he got swallowed up by the faster cars behind and ended up finishing down in eighth.

A few fourth-place finishes have followed, as well as a sabbatical for a few years where most thought his F1 career was over, but now he finally gets the podium his performances have often deserved.

Ronan Murphy - Social Media Editor

There are too many races in the desert. But Formula 1 will keep adding more because, well, money. Most of these are devoid of entertainment, but when new races are announced, they are inevitably in the places with the most money. This does not guarantee good racing. But who cares? More money, please. Yes.

Silverstone is the home of Formula 1. But it's also the home of rain. Nothing beats a bit of British rain. All year round. Racing in July? Yeah, good chance of rain. And that's exactly what the 2025 British Grand Prix gave us. Some lovely, tasty, delicious manna from the sky.

The damp conditions caused a dramatic start to the race

Man, did it also give us some great entertainment. That's what Formula 1 needs more of. Not shiny circuits in the heat. Rain. The more the better. Britain, has it in spades.

How about an Irish Grand Prix? Loads of rain too. Or how about a Monsoon GP in India. Ideal.

Global warming is ruining the climate. So the least it could do is make millionaires driving in circles a bit more entertaining while we all wait to die.

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

View full biography

Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton FIA Lando Norris Oscar Piastri George Russell