And yet so many of the cars have their own unique designs, strengths and weaknesses, and can deliver brilliant racing.

Perhaps I’m being guilty of seeing things with too much positivity right now because there was a three-team fight for victory that led to all three teams genuinely racing each other wheel-to-wheel albeit as the eventual winner escaped up the road.

The battle between Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will live long in the memory. Leclerc was completely screwed by the Ferrari strategy – why he wasn’t brought into the pits during the safety car I will never know – but his ultimately unsuccessful attempts to remain on the podium were absolutely breathtaking.

To see drivers pushing the track limits but somehow avoiding contact was thrilling, and allowed for iconic moments such as Hamilton’s move on both Perez and Leclerc at Club, that threatened to take the roof off the Silverstone Wing such was the noise from the crowd.

But the fact Perez could fight right back and Hamilton was shuffled back to fourth just three corners later is a prime example of what these new cars can provide. Fight and fight back is now the name of the game, and a battle is never over once one driver finds a way through, even if they’re marginally quicker.

The prime example is when Hamilton went round the outside of Leclerc at Luffield, only for the Ferrari driver – on older, hard tyres and with a damaged front wing don’t forget – to pull an outrageous response around the outside of Copse. I still struggle to comprehend it, because the margin for error from both drivers was minuscule and the race reaching its climax, but the skill from each of them was quite frankly insane.

Copse was a flashpoint a year ago, and pushing the rules of engagement to the limit is something Max Verstappen often gets criticised for, but he deserves praise for the way he held off Mick Schumacher for seventh place. Some of the moves did seem borderline at times – most notably into Brooklands late on – but it was a place we’d seen a number of drivers run out of road on the exit and I think he was just the right side of acceptable, as the stewards deemed.

But the final corner, on the final lap, saw Verstappen defending like he was fighting for a win. Schumacher got the run on him at Club and looked like he’d sneak down the inside to snatch the position, but Verstappen closed the door just enough to make a collision likely without being inevitable. That meant Schumacher had a decision to make, and he sensibly backed out of it to take his first points.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but to see Verstappen fighting in that way regardless of position shows that he will never change his style, and will value every single point as crucial. Who knows, by the end of the season it still might be.

Silverstone just seems to ignite championships, as it did last year. Verstappen had a 32-point lead arriving in Britain 12 months ago, and while the dent was nowhere near as big this time round, Leclerc’s pace showed he can still realistically target wins at any and every track.

If he’s allowed, of course. Ferrari once again can be blamed for not maximising its opportunities, with Leclerc clearly quicker and yet held up by team-mate Carlos Sainz in the middle part of the race. With Hamilton in the mix, a quicker decision was needed to release Leclerc to disappear up the road, as it would have given a better chance of victory without the safety car, and would have provided a better pit stop window for the two drivers with it.

But strategic controversy is just another aspect that makes this a race you should show anyone on the fence about F1. And so too is the heart-stopping opening that we all witnessed.

The increasingly-impressive Zhou was completely blameless but once his car was upside down, the sport’s amazing safety systems kicked in. Even when the roll-hoop failed (and that will need analysing) the Halo protected the Alfa Romeo driver until he reached the gravel, when the survival cell picked up the load as he was flipped over the barrier and into the safety fence.

Of course, the Halo was also called upon again with the way Zhou landed, but the multiple lines of defence that he met ensured his car was eventually cushioned to a stop despite being totally out of control and heading for a grandstand.

The fact Alex Albon felt more pain from his head-on hit into the pit wall highlights the energy that is involved in such crashes, and everyone has become increasingly used to seeing drivers jump out of almost any wreckage unscathed. But Zhou’s crash transcended the sport as it was shared far and wide, providing a scarcely believable reminder of both the dangers and the brilliant work done on safety that will continue.

In front of a record crowd, it was a Sunday that had absolutely everything. And for all the controversies or complaints that will forever be part of F1, it shows it is on the right path.