Torrential rain at Silverstone turned the opening laps of the 2025 British Grand Prix into a stop-start contest, with two Virtual Safety Cars and a full Safety Car deployed inside 14 laps. Pole-sitter Max Verstappen initially held the lead, but McLaren’s Oscar Piastri swept past on lap 8 to head the field ahead of Verstappen and team-mate Lando Norris when the race was neutralised. Liam Lawson, Franco Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto retired in the early chaos. Verstappen had secured pole on Saturday with a 1 min 24.892 sec lap, collecting his award from visiting football manager José Mourinho. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc qualified sixth and berated himself over team radio, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton lined up fifth in front of a home crowd. Rain began falling again during Sunday’s formation lap, prompting several drivers including Leclerc and George Russell to gamble on slick tyres before quickly reverting to intermediates. Changeable weather also disrupted the support programme. In Formula 2, Italy’s Leonardo Fornaroli claimed his first series victory in the sprint race, finishing ahead of Colombia’s Sebastián Montoya and the Czech Republic’s Roman Staněk. The Formula 3 feature was halted after 14 laps because of heavy rain, with Spain’s Mari Boya declared the winner, France’s Théophile Naël second and Mexico’s Noel León third. With 52 laps scheduled, teams expected further showers and shifting grip levels to dictate tyre strategy in the closing stages. The grand prix remained under Safety Car at the time of publication, leaving Piastri, Verstappen and Norris poised for a weather-driven battle once racing resumed.
There's very heavy rain out there, and the track's too wet, so the Safety Car has been deployed 🇬🇧 P7: Esteban 🇫🇷 P17: Ollie 🇬🇧 #HaasF1 #F1 #BritishGP https://t.co/lB9CG11UpT
LAP 14/52 Conditions are treacherous 🌧️🌧️ ⚠️ SAFETY CAR ⚠️ #F1 #BritishGP https://t.co/2bi3vFRA5x
Silverstone is always such a roller coaster. #BritishGP #F1