It was a close qualifying session and so the race was expected to be closer still at the 2018 British Grand Prix. Hamilton secured P1 by thousands of a second over a resurgent Ferrari, who clearly now (after introducing upgrades) have the faster overall package. Hamilton’s only upgrade came from the adrenaline rush of performing in front of his home crowd, this alone propelled him to the top. But Sunday is the real business end of a Grand Prix weekend, qualifying is spectacular and headline-grabbing but it doesn’t win you the championship.

And Sunday is where it all went wrong for the Mercedes driver, a poor start allowed Vettel and Bottas to outflank Hamilton into turn 1. Hamilton’s tardy getaway allowed Raikkonen to close up as the two approached the tight turn 3 section popularly known as the Village Complex. Raikkonen sensed his opportunity to attack, Hamiton sensed he was under attack and left more than enough space for Raikkonen to challenge, with the intention of defending as the two accelerated out of the corner. However, Raikkonen locked up and staggered into Hamilton which immediately spun him off the track, this on the opening lap. Hamilton was momentarily stationary as he allowed the field to stream by and immediately rejoined dead last. Hamilton then set about making his way back up the field as Sebastian Vettel built up a solid lead over second-placed Valtteri Bottas. meanwhile, Raikkonen had been demoted down the order having picked up a time penalty for being adjudged to have caused an unavoidable accident. As Hamilton surged back into the points, the race was turned on its head when the safety car was brought out to allow the marshals to clear up the remnants of Marcus Erricson’s Sauber which had crashed at high speed into turn 1, a turn that defines the 2018 British Grand Prix. The first round of pitstops had already been made before the Erricson crash, and the leading pack decided to take advantage to pit for fresh tyres. Mercedes kept both of their cars out which allowed Bottas to take the lead of the 2018 British Grand Prix, with Vettel second and Hamilton now in third. Not soon after the first restart, a second safety car period was called after Grosjean and Sianz got it together in their respective Renault and Hass cars. This allowed both Mercedes to preserve their used tires that little bit longer, but they were still at a disadvantage. On the second restart, Bottas was clearly holding up the Ferrari but did a valiant job of defending his position. But Vettel had superior pace, his fresher tyres alone offered him better performance and ultimately allowed the Ferrari driver to take the lead. But Vettel was made to work for victory, a late diving lunge going into Brooklands secured victory in the most dramatic manner. By now the tryes on Bottas’ Mercedes were beginning to yield and he soon fell victim to Hamilton who initially pitted later and therefore had more tyre performance remaining. Hamilton tried to charge Vettel down, but ultimately Vettel had a slight edge. Behind the leading two, Raikkonen had brutally dispatched Bottas who faded into 4th. Hamilton was clearly unhappy after the race insinuating Ferrari may have deliberately staged the collision involving Raikkonen to disadvantage him in the championship and thereby depriving him of wining the 2018 British Grand Prix. Highly unlikely, such tactics are not in Raikkonen’s DNA, it was a simple racing incident. Hamilton now has to refocus and channel the disappointment into beating a resurgent Ferrari at the next race in Germany. 2018 British Grand Prix Results: Silverstone Race Circuit