SILVERSTONE, England — On Saturday Carlos Sainz earned his first Formula 1 pole, and on Sunday he did one better by scoring his first Formula 1 victory in the British Grand Prix at the famed Silverstone Circuit.
Sainz’s first victory for the Ferrari team was overshadowed by a wild first-lap accident involving George Russell, Alex Albon and Zhou Guanyu, whose Alfa Romeo went for a wild ride upside down and into a fence protecting fans from the race track.
Guanyu and Albon were transported to the infield care center after the turn-one crash. Guanyu was released, while Albon was transferred to Coventry Hospital as a precaution.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz has claimed his first Formula 1 victory after a breath-taking contest at the British Grand Prix, the Spaniard finishing ahead of the Red Bull of Sergio Perez and the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.
Key to Sainz’s victory was a late Safety Car caused by Esteban Ocon retiring his Alpine – Sainz then attacking teammate Charles Leclerc on fresh tires at the restart to claim the leadand check out for his first win on his 150th Grand Prix start.
The action was frenetic in the final laps, however, with Perez – who’d dropped to 16th after a pit stop, having had contact at the early race restart following a red-flag stoppage – coming out on top in a thrilling fight with Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to take an unlikely second-place finish for Red Bull.
Hamilton, meanwhile, delighted the crowd with his second straight podium and 13th at Silverstone — an all-time record at a single venue — in third.
Leclerc came home fourth for Ferrari, with Fernando Alonso rounding out the top five in his Alpine machine.
Lando Norris was sixth for McLaren and championship leader Max Verstappen came home seventh for Red Bull after an early incident damaged his machine.
It was a stellar day for America’s Formula 1 team, with Mick Schumacher finishing a career-best eighth and Kevin Verstappen taking 10th.