Bernadette Soriano

Lando Norris seized a landmark home victory at Silverstone Circuit, England on Sunday, July 6 (10:00 PM Philippine time), mastering treacherous conditions and pouncing on a teammate’s penalty to top a rain-lashed, chaos-strewn British Grand Prix.

Photos Courtesy of Sam Bagnall/Sutton Images/Formula 1.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri had seized early control, slicing past Max Verstappen on Lap 8 through dense spray, only to see a 10-second penalty undo what had looked like a front-running charge.

The sanction stemmed from a Lap 21 Safety Car restart, where Piastri was said to have braked erratically along the Hangar Straight, forcing Verstappen to take evasive action and drawing swift response from race control.

“Article 55.15” became the paddock buzzword, as FIA stewards cited failure to maintain a predictable pace after the Safety Car lights were switched off—a move deemed a breach under sporting regulations.

The moment proved pivotal.

Verstappen, still running second, spun at Stowe Corner moments after the restart and dropped to tenth, clearing the lane for the homegrown talent to hunt within the critical 10-second window.

The No. 4 McLaren kept his lines clinical and pace controlled, shadowing his teammate until Lap 43, when Piastri boxed to serve the penalty and relinquished the lead.

"This is where it all started for me, and now thankfully I've been able to have my go," Norris said, soaking in the ovation from the grandstands.

The result marked his maiden triumph and fourth win of the season, trimming the championship gap to just eight points behind Piastri in the intra-team title fight.

While the papaya duo dominated the front, another storyline emerged from the spray: Nico Hulkenberg finally snapped his 239-race podium drought in a Kick Sauber that flew under the radar all weekend.

The German crossed the line in third, shutting Lewis Hamilton out of a 13th straight Silverstone podium and etching one of the sport’s most overdue finishes into the books.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Hulkenberg.

“I was thinking that he's going to give it his all here, in front of his home crowd,” he added.

“And I was like, sorry guys, but it's also my day. I got to stick my neck out.”

The Haas stalwart, long stuck with the nearly-man tag and written off more times than he could count, finally flipped the script as he carved through the mess with nerve, grip, and raw composure to bank a podium a decade in the making.

Piastri, clearly frustrated, bit his tongue post-race: “I’m not going to say much. I’ll get in trouble. Apparently you can’t brake behind the Safety Car anymore.”

He added, with a wry nod to Hulkenberg’s feat, “Well done to Nico. I think that’s the highlight of the day.”