Red Bull's Max Verstappen in action during the 2023 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, on July 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
Despite losing the lead to Lando Norris at the start, Red Bull's Max Verstappen roared back to win the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, extending his already huge lead in the Drivers' Championship.
By F1 correspondent Michael Butterworth
BEIJING, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Red Bull's Max Verstappen saw off the threat from the resurgent McLaren team to take victory in Sunday's Formula 1 British Grand Prix.
Starting from his now-customary pole position, Verstappen lost the lead to Lando Norris at the start, with the Briton taking full advantage of a raft of updates that have vaulted his McLaren up the order.
However, Verstappen's imperious form so far this season made it difficult to believe Norris could remain ahead of the Dutchman for long, and on lap 5 Verstappen breezed past Norris to take a lead he would keep to the flag.
"We had a terrible start, so we need to look into that why it was," said Verstappen, who also took home the bonus point for fastest lap.
"Even after that, both McLarens were super quick. It took a few laps to pass him but then I could ease out a gap.
"Very happy we won again, but it wasn't straightforward today.
"The [bad start] made it a bit more exciting having to push for it. Lando was very nice to me but he came back at me with the DRS. He did very well today."
Max Verstappen (R) holds off McLaren's Lando Norris early in the race. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
Behind Verstappen, Norris took his and McLaren's first podium finish of the season with an excellent drive to second place, with the Briton withstanding intense pressure late in the race from Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, who settled for third.
Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri had been running third, but lost time by making a pit stop just before the Virtual Safety Car was deployed to clear Kevin Magnussen's stricken Haas. The Australian ultimately took fourth place for his best F1 finish yet.
Hamilton's teammate George Russell finished fifth, ahead of Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull, once again having to fight his way through the field after a disappointing qualifying session.
Fernando Alonso took seventh in a low-key race for Aston Martin, with Alex Albon scoring points again for Williams with a fine drive to eighth place.
Lando Norris (L) takes the lead from Max Verstappen at the start of the British Grand Prix. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
On a disappointing day for Ferrari, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz rounded out the top ten.
Verstappen's win extends his already huge lead in the Drivers' Championship, with the Dutchman now on 255 points. Perez is second on 156, with Alonso third on 137 points.
In the Constructors' Championship, Red Bull are way out in front with 411 points. Mercedes are second with 203, and Aston Martin are third with 181 points.
The next round of the 2023 F1 World Championship is the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring near Budapest on July 23. ■
