Lando Norris took victory in a dramatic, rain-hit British Grand Prix after McLaren team-mate and long-time race leader Oscar Piastri was penalised.

The race included two safety car and several virtual safety car periods as heavy rain hit the circuit, making conditions treacherous.

Piastri led almost the entire race but was given a 10-second penalty for slowing down too much under the safety car, ceding the lead to Norris when he served the penalty with seven laps to go.

From there, Norris was able to cruise to the finish line to take his first home victory in F1.

Nico Hülkenberg scored his first Formula 1 podium after 239 starts, finishing third for Sauber after a sensational drive in tricky conditions.

That meant Lewis Hamilton was denied a 13th consecutive British GP podium, the Ferrari driver having to settle for fourth position.

Pole-sitter Max Verstappen came home down in fifth after spinning during the second safety car period, ahead of Alpine‘s Pierre Gasly.

Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll finished in seventh ahead of Alexander Albon in the Williams, team-mate Fernando Alonso and George Russell in the Mercedes.

Story of the race

The entire field started the formation lap on intermediate tyres after heavy rain in the morning, but several drivers, including Russell and Leclerc, dove into the pits to switch to slicks, taking the start from the pitlane.

Verstappen made a worse start than Piastri but managed to keep the lead on the opening lap, which included an incident by Liam Lawson that triggered a virtual safety car. The Racing Bulls driver hit the Haas of Esteban Ocon and was forced to retire with rear suspension damage.

Antonelli used the VSC period to pit and switch to hard tyres, although he went slightly off track right after rejoining the damp circuit.

When the race was restarted, Gabriel Bortoleto went off and beached his Sauber in the gravel. Although he still managed to get going and rejoin the track, his rear wing had too much damage and he eventually parked the car, causing another VSC period on lap 6.

Up in front, Verstappen was under massive pressure from Piastri, and both started to struggle with the intermediates as the track dried up, but the threat of more rain made switching to slicks a gamble for them.

Piastri took the lead on lap 8 when Verstappen lost time as he slid slightly wide after the Maggots-Becketts-Chapel section.

By lap 10, the drivers on slicks were lapping much quicker than those on mediums, but Antonelli, running on hards, made the switch back to intermediates as a deluge hit parts of the track. All the drivers on slicks immediately pitted for intermediates.

On lap 11, Verstappen went wide once more, allowing Norris to take second place before the two McLarens and Verstappen himself dove into the pits for new intermediates.

While Piastri’s stop was flawless and he kept the lead easily, Norris’s was much slower due to of a problem with the front left tyre, the Briton losing the place to Verstappen again as they rejoined the track.

After the pitstops, Piastri enjoyed a 10-second lead over Verstappen, with Norris two seconds behind but closing in fast.

The rain continued to fall, making the conditions very tricky, and so race direction decided to neutralise the race with the safety car on lap 14, not before Leclerc had a dramatic off as he claimed he couldn’t see anything.

Before the SC period, Stroll had managed to climb up to fourth thanks to a timely switch to softs before moving back to inters.

The race resumed on lap 18, still under very tricky track conditions, but that didn’t even last one lap, as Isack Hadjar crashed at Copse, triggering another SC period.

The replays showed that Hadjar had hit the back of Antonelli’s car, which was almost impossible to see in front due to the spray. Hadjar spun off the track and hit the barriers, while Antonelli was lucky to continue, but with a very damaged diffuser. He retired two laps later.

The second safety car period lasted until lap 21 and, as the race restarted, Verstappen lost control of his car, spinning and losing eight places in the process.

Right before that, the Red Bull driver had a scare when Piastri suddenly slowed down before the restart, Verstappen almost making contact with the McLaren. The incident was put under investigation and the Australian was handed a 10-second time penalty.

At the halfway point of the race, Piastri had a four-second lead over Norris, the McLaren duo leading Stroll and Hülkenberg, who had also climbed up the field during the pitstops.

Behind them, Hamilton continued to make progress towards the front, moving into fifth position with 22 laps to go.

Hülkenberg moved up to third on lap 35 when the DRS was finally re-enabled, passing Stroll, who was under pressure from Hamilton straight away, the Canadian losing fourth a couple of corners later.

On lap 38, Fernando Alonso was the first driver to switch back to slick tyres as the track continued to dry up. He was followed by Russell, who spun off the circuit soon after rejoining the race. He was lucky not to hit anything and continue down in 14th.

Hamilton, Stroll and Verstappen pitted with 10 laps left, switching to slicks, dropping to fifth, eighth and ninth respectively, the Briton going off track soon after rejoining. Hülkenberg pitted from third a lap later, leaving the McLarens as the last drivers to switch to dry tyres.

Piastri pitted and served his penalty on lap 44, rejoining in second behind Norris, who came in a lap later, taking a lead he wouldn’t relinquish.

2025 British GP results