Max Verstappen left fuming after late mechanical failure ends British GP
Max Verstappen had a disastrous ending to the British Grand Prix on Sunday. The Red Bull driver was in third place and set for a second podium spot of the season when his car gave out in the 48th lap, resulting in a retirement of the car. The race was won by Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari.
Verstappen began the race in seventh, with qualifying on Saturday showing that the Mercedes and Ferrari vehicles were significantly quicker on the Silverstone circuit. He was trying to build on his best race of the season last week in Austria, where he finished second.
It was a great start for Verstappen. He went past Lando Norris of McLaren at the start of the race and then also passed his teammate Isack Hadjar to climb to fifth place.
He then moved towards George Russell in an attempt to climb to fourth place, although he was telling the Red Bull team that he was struggling with the downshifts in his vehicle.
He went past Russell on the 17th lap. This was set to lead to a battle between the two for third place, but Verstappen, somewhat surprisingly, went in for an early pit stop.
Verstappen eventually climbed to third after coming back out, and this led to a three-way battle for the last podium spot between Verstappen, Russell, and Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari.
It was fortunate for Verstappen that Russell received a slow puncture in his back tire, although this did not prevent the Brit from continuing the fight with Verstappen.
Eventually, Russell had to go into the pits to replace his tires, but this did not lead to much respite for Verstappen, as he now battled Hamilton for third place. Hamilton went past Verstappen on the 38th lap, with Verstappen going into the pits shortly after.
Verstappen climbed back into third place after Kimi Antonelli, who was launching an attack on first place, had to pit and then drop in the standings after an issue with his car.
To this point, everything had been going Verstappen’s way, but that was about to change significantly in the 48th lap. A car was seen in the dirt, covered with smoke from the gravel, and only the FIA’s broadcast was able to identify it as Verstappen’s vehicle.
Replays showed that the back of his car gave up on him, leading to the off-track vehicle. “I'm stuck, mate, fuck this car. Fuck,” Verstappen said to his team right after the incident.
It was another hugely disappointing afternoon in what has been a frustrating season for Verstappen. He is currently in seventh place in the season rankings. The next race will likely have a high number of Verstappen’s fans. It is the Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
