The biggest moments from Silverstone: What they mean ahead of Belgium and the rest of the 2025 Formula 1 Season
21 July 2025The British Grand Prix brought the usual fervour and excitement seen around the historic Silverstone Circuit. With rain falling, it was destined to be a spectacle, with plenty at stake. Max Verstappen was starting on pole, once again showing that even without the fastest car, he will find himself in the fight.
Behind him the two McLarens, a championship fight getting closer with everything on the line for Lando Norris. The hopes of a home win, the one victory a year that every driver dreams of. Lewis Hamilton starting fifth, desperate to keep his 12-year podium streak alive in his maiden year with Ferrari.
However, Silverstone is rarely predictable. With changing weather nothing was impossible, and the British Grand Prix once again brought a show with a few key takeaways from the weekend.
The Championship fight is not over
Oscar Piastri led the British Grand Prix. From the early laps until the final pit stop it seemed as though it would be another weekend where the Australian triumphed his teammate.
However, the race wasn’t over until the chequered flag and under the safety car restart stewards noted a possible infringement. Then disaster hit for the Australian, receiving a 10-second penalty that put him behind his teammate after the final pit stops.
From there the race was over, with Lando Norris maintaining the gap to his teammate and taking his first home victory. But it was more than just a dream realised for Norris, it was also a significant milestone in the championship.
It has felt inevitable that the 2025 Formula One championship will be won by a McLaren with the overall question being which McLaren will come out victorious.
In the early rounds of the season, it seemed as though Piastri had a significant edge over Norris, making fewer mistakes and keeping a calmer head in difficult situations. Canada was a sign of the difference between drivers, Norris’ desperation to get past his teammate leaving his MCL39 in the barrier.
Silverstone was different. It was Oscar Piastri making the crucial mistake. Harsh braking on the safety car restart being the difference between beating his teammate, extending his championship lead and being forced to reside on the second step of the podium. Leaving Silverstone, the championship gap between teammate is just eight points.
As the pressure continues to mount on both drivers searching for their maiden championship titles, more mistakes will show. With weekends like Silverstone continuing to be proof that to win a World Drivers’ Championship, you need near perfection every weekend.
Red Bull in trouble
Max Verstappen started on pole for the 2025 British Grand Prix. Most years that would be a sure-fire sign of the Dutch National Anthem ringing out across a circuit roughly two hours after the lights go out.
2025 had been a different story, struggles inside the Milton Keynes based team feeding into struggles on the track. Max Verstappen was able to make the difference behind the wheel of the RB21 in qualifying, but even the four-time world champion was unable to push his car any further than fifth in the race.
Many thought the rain would benefit Verstappen, the Dutchman often finding confidence others lacked in the wet conditions. However, that confidence never came, with Verstappen spinning mid-way through the race in the treacherous conditions and finding himself fighting through the midfield.
The other Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda sat dead last as the chequered flag was waved. The once dominant team, that seemed unstoppable now finding themselves struggling through the midfield with no end to the difficulties in sight.
But the team’s woes weren’t over even after the race weekend ended. Red Bull once again found headlines, with Christian Horner being fired from the team after 20 years leading them. Coupled with the departure of Wheatley and Newey, it feels as though the problems in Red Bull are not just intrinsic but far from over.
Monumental moments for Sauber
Lando Norris may have won the British Grand Prix, but there is no doubt the biggest winner from the weekend was Nico Hülkenberg. On the German’s 239th Grand Prix start, 15 years into his Formula One career he finally stood on the podium.
Rain in F1 can be a miracle or a curse. If a team is able to make the right call, putting their drivers on the optimal tyre at the right time, the fortunes of the team can shift quickly even without the race pace of those around them. Hülkenberg saw firsthand just how fast things can change.
The German started 19th. Coming into the weekend looking for a possible chance of points, but hopes were tempered with the team struggling for pace. But with the weather shifting, opportunities presented themselves in a way Hülkenberg has seen before in F1 but never managed to hold on to.
After the final pit stops, Hülkenberg sat in third but it wasn’t over and Lewis Hamilton was in fourth, not far behind Hülkenberg heading into the final stint. The Sauber driver was cautious of letting himself hope for the podium when the Ferrari behind could just as easily take it away.
However, Nico Hülkenberg held on. As the 52nd lap neared the end, the gap had stabilised to Hamilton in fourth and Nico Hülkenberg ended his 15 years podium-less streak. For the team it marked the first podium since 2012.
Embraced by his team in parc fermé, the podium was one that fans of any team and any driver cheered for. Hülkenberg's rookie teammate, Gabriel Bortoleto, running to the German the second Hülkenberg pulled into parc fermé. It may have been a third place, but it was celebrated like a win.
Lewis Hamilton’s heartbreak and Ferrari’s struggles
With Lando Norris’ home win and Nico Hülkenberg’s maiden podium the energy was buzzing in Silverstone, the cheers flooding the stands and track as fans made their way to the podium.
Although Silverstone celebrated two monumental moments in the 2025 season, there was a cloud hovering over the results. Nico Hülkenberg beat Lewis Hamilton to the final step on the podium, which in turn ended Lewis Hamilton’s historic 12-year podium streak at his home race.
In 2024, Hamilton took a surprise win, returning to the top step igniting magnificent scenes around Silverstone. Even when Hamilton had found himself in difficult machinery, there has always been something about the British track that ignites something in the home hero.
He showed glimpses of it at Silverstone in 2025. Fastest in FP1, faster than his teammate in most sessions. Something that Hamilton has struggled to achieve in the 2025 season. He qualified fifth. Not ideal but not out of reach of a podium.
In the final stint of the race, he sat in fourth, desperately trying to close the gap to Hülkenberg and take the step onto the podium. However, much like Hamilton’s struggles throughout the season he was unable to find a competitive race pace. The seven-time world champion couldn’t get close to the Sauber, let alone pass it.
Charles Leclerc struggled equally with a lack of pace. That coupled with the wrong strategic decisions on tyres left Leclerc in 14th, unable to fight his way through the field.
Silverstone showed that Ferrari still lack key aspects that could make them competitive. Not just missing the race pace that stops them from competing at the front but the fundamental strategic issues holding them back from even mounting a significant title challenge.
