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It was undoubtedly a British GP weekend for the history books, with the first trial of the sport's new sprint qualifying format. But the event will be best remembered for the controversial clash on race day between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen - which may prove a tipping point of the entire 2021 world championship. Have a read through our F1i Driver Ratings.
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Max Verstappen (Sprint P1, Pole, Retired Lap 1, 3 pts): 9/10
Red Bull had been hoping to land a knockout blow this weekend: if they could take on Mercedes at its traditional Silverstone stronghold and win, then they really would be favourites to snatch the 2021 driver and constructors championships. But despite topping FP1, a 'strange feeling' with the car meant that Max Verstappen wasn't quite able to come out on top in qualifying even when Lewis Hamilton made a mistake on his final push lap. Maybe Max wanted to start the sprint qualifying from second, as that seemed the fastest side of the track and enabled him to snatch the lead at the start, keeping it for 17 laps to secure pole position for Sunday. But that meant Hamilton now had the slight edge when the lights went out, and the two fought hammer and tongs over that first lap. Verstappen was very close to the line in his defence, but it was Hamilton who ended up making the error and caused the slight contact that sent Max spinning out into a hefty impact with the barriers. If that hadn't happened, it seems likely that Verstappen would have claimed his fourth win in a row.
Sebastian Vettel (Retired Lap 41): 6/10
Sebastian Vettel had been looking set for points at Silverstone after finishing seventh in practice, and he duly made it through to the final round of qualifying on Friday evening. Unfortunately having his initial Q3 time deleted for track limits seemed to interrupt his flow and he was only tenth on the grid, but he made amends by picking up two spots in the sprint qualifying race the next day putting him eighth on the grid for the Grand Prix. The initial start went well for him and he was able to quickly pick off Fernando Alonso before the safety car was scrambled for Max Verstappen's retirement. Unfortunately the restart was calamitous for him: Alonso counter-attacked and Vettel went spinning off at the old pit entrance. He got back underway but was now firmly at the back, and his fortunes didn't improve from there before the team decided to call it a day and retire the wounded Aston Martin on lap 41.
