Rate the race: 2015 British Grand Prix

2015 British Grand Prix

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What did you think of today’s race? Share your verdict on the British Grand Prix.

F1 Fanatic holds polls on each race to find out which fans thought of every race during the season.

Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.

What were the best and worst moments of the race? What was the main thing you’ll remember about it? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2015 British Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 (7%)
  • 9 (27%)
  • 8 (41%)
  • 7 (16%)
  • 6 (4%)
  • 5 (1%)
  • 4 (1%)
  • 3 (0%)
  • 2 (0%)
  • 1 (2%)

Total Voters: 789

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1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

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See the results for past seasons here:

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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250 comments on “Rate the race: 2015 British Grand Prix”

  1. 9/10. Great race! We had a team challenging Mercedes, some rain; a bit of everything. But I feel sorry for Rosberg, maybe one of the few who do. He was 2 seconds a lap faster before he lost out 9 seconds to Hamilton due to Merc’s policy of leader pitting first etc. Don’t get me wrong, Hamilton did well, but one does suspect that the only reason he won is because:

    1. Williams didn’t let Bottas through
    2. He got to pit first
    3. The rain came at the perfect time
    4. Merc’s pit policy again, which lost Rosberg 9 secs.

    1. Now I do also realize that it is Rosberg’s fault he was behind, but he seemed to have better pace.

      1. 9 as well , could never be sure what would happen next. The first few laps were unbelievably good , it was a bit disappointing to see Hamilton get an easy overtake in the pit stop but then the rain bought things alive again.

        Agreed you’ve got to feel sorry for rosberg, he was caught behind the Williams then gained hugely on Hamilton only to lose out with a slow wet lap.

      2. @mashiat2 There’s a reason I always wait a while before commenting post-race – I hate to look a fool.

        This from Nico – “Then Lewis boxed and I was pretty sure it was the wrong call. It was still touch and go at that time, so I was actually quite happy that he boxed.

        “But it was the right call in the end – it started raining more on that lap, so that was it.”

        So please don’t say Hamilton was lucky, or blame Mercedes’ pit strategy. It’s always wise to wait until you get the team’s and driver’s thoughts on the race before you judge :)

        1. @timi Touché. I thought that most drivers would be screaming to pit at that point and it was mainly the teams forcing them to stay out.

        2. I do think that Hamilton was lucky. From everything I have heard, it was a gamble. He knew he was loosing out big style to Rosberg, who would be on him in a few laps. OK, they knew there would be more rain soon, but did not know it would be enough to justify inters, but it was a gamble which paid off.

          Brilliant call, but very lucky.

          1. Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
            6th July 2015, 10:14

            I suspect his first pit stop was too early, and he was lucky the rain came out when it did, or he may have needed to 2 stop.

            Still a great call on lap 43, and looked like a champions drive as a result.

      3. rafael martins
        6th July 2015, 22:51

        Bottas tried to put some psychological pressure at Williams and the team made a mistake at pit strategy. He would have take care of Mercedes and let Massa open a larger gap. Williams would have called Massa early then Mercedes, he would enter pits on the next lap with Hamilton, then fighting on 3 cars for a win, if he was so quick than he scream at post race interviews.

    2. Aditya (@adityafakhri)
      5th July 2015, 14:34

      Rosberg have no choices. Too close with Hamilton. Double pitting while ended up in same result

    3. Rosberg was the lucky one because if it didn’t rain, he would have finished 4th.

      1. Exactly my thoughts.
        It’s true he was catching Lewis when the rain started, but that could be a result of Lewis being cautious and Nico more aggressive at that stage as the gap between them was in the range of 10 seconds.
        I’m more curious as to what it is about the Williams chassis that makes them lose so much pace in the rain (relative to the other teams They had similar issues last year and clearly need to improve in that area.

    4. @mashiat2 Now imagine what would have happened if refuelling was allowed? Either team wouldn’t want to pit their first car first because they would sacrifice strategy, not to mention that the car with the freshest tyres wouldn’t beat a car on an in-lap because of fuel weight.

      1. @peartree If we had bore-fueling it woudl have been a lot more dull because we woudl have seen a lot more of this silly pit-passing.

        There should be no pit stops at all unless a car hits trouble like in the past, Lets get ALL of the racing/overtaking done on the track & not in the pits!!!!!

        1. Michael Brown
          5th July 2015, 17:48

          Except Hamilton got ahead thanks to his early first pit stop. Riveting.

        2. I agree that I don’t want refuelling, but object to making ALL happen on track. Trying to win a fight in the pits is a risky choice. First, you have to time it right – as the car behind you’re trying to judge how late you can leave it without the car ahead making their stop anyway. Secondly, you have to actually wait for the pit window – assuming the car behind is faster, they’re losing their speed advantage every lap they’re stuck behind, in turbulent air, damaging tyres and overheating components. And there’s still no assurance it will work.

          Lewis tried an aggressive overtake just after the V-safety car came in, and paid the price of a position for it. Losing a position to a Williams, but losing it to a team mate (against whom any strategic tactics would not be allowed) and his main (only?) title rival would be an absolute disaster. It was absolutely the right call, and his excellent in and out laps provided the base for the move to work. That it didn’t work out for Nico prove that it isn’t an “easy” option.

          I do agree that when pit passing is the ONLY way to make up positions it becomes dull. If there’s no attempt – or expectation – to pass on track then the best anyone can hope for is really their qualifying position plus the number of pit stops in the race. I don’t think anyone wants that again.

          I’d like a balance – the majority of passing on track, but provide an extra option if there’s an obstacle to that (for instance, the car ahead has excellent straight line speed)

          1. Oops, meant the actual safety car – got over excited at seeing the VSC used later on.

      2. Mr win or lose
        5th July 2015, 15:09

        Actually I missed refueling in this race. In front no-one could really overtake (even Bottas couldn’t overtake Massa although he was much faster), so the only way for Mercedes to win the race was via the pitstops. Hamilton’s stop was well timed, but for some reason they pitted Rosberg in the next lap together with Massa, which was rather stupid. He only gained some places because the Williams’ are so bad in the rain. With refueling different fuel loads could actually help the Mercedes’ overtake, or allow Bottas to jump his teammate. Also the Ferraris could have been a threat if they had been carrying more fuel.

        1. i don’t know if that could be fixed with refuelling. I’ve rather want ground-effects cars so they can follow each other more closely

          1. Mr win or lose
            6th July 2015, 9:10

            At least it adds some uncertainty, which is badly needed in dry races. I agree with you that an enhanced ground effect (and no DRS) would be the best fix, but I think Imola 1994 still haunts F1.

      3. Yeah, so that the undercut into an overcut, common practice back then, so what’s your point?

    5. I think I’ve never said it… but rain spoiled the race!

      1. second this!

      2. for sure, definitely!

      3. The last shower did for me. Until then, it was looking pretty good: Rosberg vs. Hamilton, Vettel catching the Williams.

      4. Ditto!

    6. I think once the rain arrived point 1 became moot; the Williams were sitting ducks to the Mercs in the rain, I doubt Bottas could have built a lead large enough to cover Williams wet weather weakness.

    7. On your points:

      1. Why should they? Bottas said he was faster but never made any decisive move? You gotta ear your wins. And Lewis could well beat both Bottas and Massa.

      2. He pit first because he was the leading Mercedes on merit and Mercedes did a perfect undercut

      3. He was leading when it started raining and he made the perfect call to change tires

      4. C’mon!

    8. According to both Toto and Rosberg, Hamilton is the one who made the call to pit and go to intermediates. I thought he was nuts when he did, but I guess this bit of good luck makes up for the bad luck in Monaco…at least a little bit.

    9. pastaman (@)
      6th July 2015, 0:58

      Does anyone really think Williams would have won the race? I don’t. As soon as they had to pit, the Mercs would have taken the lead with either their in-lap or out-lap. It was clear the Mercs were being held up by the slower Williams. Letting Bottas through really wouldn’t have changed much.

    10. Well stated. Agree on all points Timing of HAM and inters was pure good luck. Williams botched letting BOT thru.

  2. I think Bernie was onto something… we need sprinklers.

    1. No, just need to run all the GPs in Britain so we can be sure of rain :).

    2. @david-a @charleski Why? so we can see no action, but this time with the cars crawling round even slower? There was nothing good about that.

      1. @strontium – It wasn’t a fully serious post, but changeable weather keeps drivers/teams on their toes and make the cars harder to drive.

        1. @david-a So we should take something unpredictable and make it predictable? I think you’d find the magic would wear off.

          Besides the fact that F1 would be a laughing stock for telling every race track in the world to build sprinkler systems because they can’t produce good racing without them…

          1. @keithcollantine Yeah, I know, since I wasn’t really being serious with my original post. Just pointing out to Strontium that wet weather has its upsides, as opposed to “no action”.

          2. Someone mentioned it on the sky broadcast, can’t remember who it was but they suggested a dedicated Wet race like Singapore is a night race. Could be an interesting idea for a future track.

          3. @keithcollantine Sprinklers are an absurd idea, but has anyone ever suggested an ice race? :P

      2. I wouldn’t want it every race but it’s always impressive watching cars slide around in the wet, it shows the skill of the drivers.

        It was a shame for Williams but Hamilton was already past before the rain and it added to the tension and unpredictability at the end especially with changeable conditions. Just look at the 2 ferraris.

      3. @strontium The biggest problem with British GPs is that we don’t have much in the way of large wildlife. Though frankly other countries aren’t really stepping up to the mark, a couple of birds and a groundhog don’t do much for the action. What Silverstone needs to do is build a zoo next to the track to add to the race-weekend experience for the fans. Then during the first lap they can ‘accidentally’ release a couple of rhino on the track.

        That’s as serious a suggestion as any discussion that involves sprinklers.

        1. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
          7th July 2015, 23:12

          I laughed. Ok?

  3. 8/10 Good to see Williams up front for a while and seeing a battle for the lead, rain made it very tense and I felt FOM did a good job on coverage for once

    1. Yeah I felt FOM did a better job than other times. I realized in the race they didn’t show Vettel on Ericsson, but then it was Ericsson…. But I would prefer it if they showed all the overtakes, they make sure to show the DRS ones….

      1. Now I heard Raikkonen spun! Since we didn’t see that I changed my opinion.
        He spun again on the start finish line…
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CowtAuigNz8

    2. AJ (@fifthlion)
      5th July 2015, 17:21

      I’ve got to disagree about FOM, every time the four leading cars got to the wellington straight (where any overtake was most likely to occur), the cameras cut to either nasr in the garage or a car in the pits!

  4. ColdFly F1 (@)
    5th July 2015, 14:34

    7 at best.
    Good race but nothing like the great wheel to wheel racing we saw in the past.
    I saw Rosberg overtake the Williams and Vettel overtake Raikkonen, but that was it.

    1. Wheel to wheel racing we saw in the past? In F1? When?

      I think you’re confusing and mistaken F1 with Indy or Nascar!

      It was great, with all elements that usually make an entertaining F1 race!

      1. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
        7th July 2015, 23:18

        When? In 2014, 2013, 2012 (especially), 2011, 2009 (especially) , 2008 (also especially), 2007 and even 2006 and the 2010-season; in all of the previous 8 seasons we had better racing, on avergage.

        Anyways, a good 8 from me.

    2. I’ll also give that a 7. It was an interesting race throughout with some decent wheel-to-wheel in the early stages.

      What made this race stand out compared to the rest this season were a few things:
      1. Unpredictability and teams having to strategise on the fly rather than by computer.
      2. Two teams having a legitimate long-term lead battle in dry conditions.

      It’s the lack of competition between teams that I feel has been a big flaw in the F1 racing over the past year or so, but if we get more races like today I wouldn’t complain one bit.

      1. 7? Really?
        Lack of competition? Really?

  5. Boring, anticlimactic, 2/10.

    1. @strontium If that is your opinion, then you’d be better off watching wrestling…

      1. @mashiat2 This race was wrestling. What really made it alive was 1st the pit strategy and then the weather.

        All the excitment brought from the brilliant Williams start was negated via the Williams own limitations and poor strategy. I think this race highlighted 50% of what is wrong sporting wise with F1. It’s almost impossible to overcome aero. There’s a massive gap between PU’s and races are won in the pits. Everyone is saying no to refuelling because racing was largely decided on the pits are completely blind to what F1 needs or what F1 should be. Refuelling would lead ultimately to a faster race time therefore it would be rational to pit in F1, and in this particular race, refuelling would have allowed Bottas who stayed longer to reap the rewards of being quicker and better on the mediums, as it’s teammate would have more fuel than him on the out lap. Refuelling would also pushed the 2 teammates to see who would pit last. Ultimately the offset of the pit stop would lower, and it’s undercutting or overcutting effect.

    2. 2 is utterly crazy, to be fair.

      It is genuinely probably worth watching a different sport, tbf, mate.

      I gave it somewhere between a 7-8.

      1. @ecwdanselby I disagree that it is crazy.

        What started off as a race which held great promise with the Williams jumping ahead, ended up being nothing but the usual Mercedes coming back forward to take 1-2, Kimi excelling with his car as per, and other than that the cars were all single file for the entire race.

        1. Plus then the rain at the end, which did nothing other than further reduce any competition which was left.

        2. While I understand your opinion, but I feel 2 is too harsh. If anything the dry part of the race should make it more than 2, otherwise by your standard, the average race score will be 1 because certainly this race is better than average.

      2. I am a 2 wheel fanatic and the Moto GP in all 3 classes show is so far superior to F 1. We get to see important overtakes and the racing is truly wheel to wheel. Oh , no pit stops unless flag to flag. Makes F1 look like a sleep aid. No team orders either. F1 could be way more exciting, but it is shaped by rules makers for their own greed, not for the racing.
        HAMis very good driver but far from great. Mansell, Senna and Prost and Jackie would eat him alive HAM makes way too many mistakes .

    3. Let @strontium have his say. I disagree with him and he disagrees with my score below. All is well. Complaining or criticizing has happened before on the interwebs, you know.

      1. @scalextric thank you very much :)

      2. My recommendation to watch something else I stand by, though.

        Honestly, if this was a ‘2’, i’d really recommend not wasting 2 hours of your life every other weekend. It’s not fair on yourself :)

        What did you rate some of the other races this season? Because on your scale, there have to be a couple in the minuses?

    4. 2? Alright. Your loss.

    5. petebaldwin (@)
      5th July 2015, 15:36

      :D No way am I falling for that.

    6. Better take up watching tidly winks mate. I found it a great race – 8/10 all day long.

    7. Agreed, I gave it a 4. Thrilling start, then utterly boring.

    8. If this was a 2, quit– You’re never going to see anything better than a 4.

      Unless, of course, you’re one of those who deducts 5 points because you don’t like the driver(s) who won.

    9. Sean (@spaceman1861)
      6th July 2015, 0:58

      But 2/10 is on 0% :o

      1. I was thinking the same, maybe he only voted in the comments and not in the poll.

        For the 8ish people who voted this race a 1 I think F1 may not be the sport for you.

    10. what on earth did u rate the other races this season!?

  6. 8/10. Battles through the lead, strategy calls and rain. Mistakes and luck. Would have scored higher if there had been more cars running after lap 1

  7. Pretty nice race! Although the midfield was a bit quiet, the rain was tense as well as the start with those incredible Williams. Such a shame! 8.

    1. Hakeem (@themonkeyhead)
      5th July 2015, 14:41

      williams should have team ordered bottas through – finishing as low as they did when leading for so long is a kick in the teeth

    2. There were Ferraris and Red Bull with Force India in the midfield. Others were mostly out of race all together. But then Ferraris passed some without DRS, Vettel even passed Raikkonen. It was decent I think.

  8. According to Niki Lauda, it was the engineers’ call to pit Lewis on Lap 43 (unless I heard wrong). Payback for Monaco, I feel.

    1. @mashiat2 I think Niki was speaking of the 1st stop. It appears Lewis made the call for inters but I think there was a degree of serendipity nonetheless!

      1. Wolff just said it was Lewis’ call

        1. petebaldwin (@)
          5th July 2015, 15:38

          Sure but he pitted because he was really struggling on his tyres, not because he knew it was about to rain. Even whilst he was pitting, I think everyone would have agreed it was a bad call. I thought he’d thrown the race.

          And then it rained.

          1. No it was raining on track at the time, I could see it from my seat in Club corner. Also it appears radio Silverstone were ahead of TV coverage for several laps before they were reporting wet surfaces and increasing rain. Kimi was switched to early and then struggled. Lewis and Vettel timing was spot on and Williams should have bought one car in at the same time, club corner was a mess and the drivers Nico, Felipe and Valterri had to creep round.

          2. @petebaldwin I was already soaked when Hamilton pitted.

          3. @mashiat2 @psynrg @njoydesign @petebaldwin @ju88sy @xtwl If you’re referring to the interview Lauda gave to Sky immediately after the race, I think he had misheard the question. It was clear from the radio communications it was Hamilton’s call. See here:

            https://www.racefans.net/2015/07/05/pit-decision-was-perfect-hamilton/

            And here:

            https://www.racefans.net/2015/07/05/hamilton-banishes-memories-of-monaco-with-home-race-winning-pit-call/

    2. Monaco was Lewis’ call as well. Or is it only his call when it works out for him but the teams call when it does not?

      1. No, it was not.

        1. Monaco was partly his call but all the blame has to lie with Bonno. Most telling part of that radio convo is when Lewis says everyone else has pitted. Should have been given the right information there.

      2. AJ (@fifthlion)
        5th July 2015, 17:24

        erm no lewis only raised the question about pitting in monaco, which would not have been a bad call if it was a free stop, the error was in the team not knowing that actually the gap wasn’t big enough!

        1. The gap was big enough – it was the switch from VSC to actual Safety Car that caused the gap to vanish..

    3. @mashiat2 I think Niki mistakes the question for 1st pitstop because he talked about perfect undercut. On 2nd stop Lewis doesn’t have anyone to undercut so I fairly sure Niki just misheard the question ;)

      1. Yes I am fairly sure Laud misunderstood the question and got the stops confused.

      2. Yeah often when Niki is interviewed by Sky after the race his comments can be a little mixed up, then again I’m not sure how many times by how many different people from Mercedes needed to tell Sky it was Lewis’s decision before they all understood. It normally takes Lazenby quite a long time to understand most things F1 but he was still questioning it at the very end.

    4. Monaco was bad luck, whats with people saying “payback for Monaco”? saying payback i feel is rubbish. Bad decisions happen all the time

  9. Easily the best race of the season, so it gets an 8/10 for me.

    The start was great with Williams getting the lead and all the discussion about team orders and pit strategy and then the rain kicked in.

    It wasn’t a classic, but compared to the rest of the season, it certainly stands out.

    1. @fer-no65 You’ll probably get people yelling at you for voting relatively as opposed to “objectively” but I agree with you. Good race at the front and rain made it interesting.

      1. @hobo I don’t really care. People voted China 2011 as one of the best races that year because of the first couple of races’ snorefest. I’m entitled to do it now :P

        Objectively, it wasn’t a classic. But if I vote by what I felt watching it, the emotions involved, it was an 8.

        1. @fer-no65 – Yeah, like I said, I agree. Solid race, kept me interested. I voted same as you.

    2. @fer-no65 I gottta say I disagree with you since I think it would be classic. The 3rd team that outqualified by almost a second getting ahead before first corner and seems to have the pace to keep up with the dominating team, then finished nowhere near podium is a good ingredients for classic race ;)

      1. Plus Ferrari qualifying so low and having a bad start to the race, then recovering to their starting positions. After that making a mess of it with Raikkonen while Vettel made the spot-on decision of pitting and ended up on the podium. Who made the call for Raikkonen anyway? I heard they were arguing about it on the radio, and I heard Vettel made the decision himself, and Vettel was faster than Raikkonen when he overtook him. But they were all over the place. Vettel was hanging on points with little margin, then pitted and ended up on podium.

        1. Kimi told Lee McKenzie on the BBC that it was his decision.

          1. He also had a spin we didn’t see on the TV.

          2. Ferrari on Twitter:
            Arrivabene: “It’s the driver who makes the final call on pit stops when it rains”

  10. So… is McLaren scoring a point the new definition of an unpredictable race?

    Race had some promise overall, didn´t really get to life though, a bit anti-climactic. 7/10

  11. Good race.. really a 7/10 … its only a great race in comparison with the other boring races this season.

    1. That’s probably fair. I went for 8 because i was feeling generous and it was a much better race than i expected. 7 is probably a more accurate reflection considering Williams served up a large plate of disappointment.

    2. petebaldwin (@)
      5th July 2015, 15:41

      Probably true but if I enjoyed it more because its been a long time and I’ve missed what F1 should be, so be it. I vote based on how much I enjoy a race.

    3. Agreed. Good race, kept my interest throughout but not something I’m going to insist people watch in replay.

  12. Really good race.

    Going to throw out a thought, see what people think. Before his stop for intermediates, HAM was so far off the pace. Anyone else have the thought that maybe he was driving slower on purpose? The idea being that (1) he would give himself more time before getting to the pit lane entrance to see if it was going to rain or not because presumably he wouldn’t have come in at all, or at least not when he did, if it was going to dry up. And/or (2) it bunched him and ROS up so that if he was going to pit, ROS would be less likely to follow him in. If ROS was still 7 or 9sec back when HAM pitted for inters, ROS might have just done the same.

    Just some thoughts. Anyway, like I said, much more interesting race than recent weeks.

    1. ‘…see if it was going to rain *heavily* or not…’

  13. All ingredients were thrown in. What a great race that was! 10.

    1. Ahh I hate being ‘that guy’, because I totally understand it’s opinion, but is that race genuinely Brazil 2008 levels of good…?

    2. @jeff1s – Not yelling at you for voting how you feel, but got to disagree. I think we’ve seen better races in even the past year and a half. I couldn’t put this down for a 10.

      1. All you guys @ecwdanselby @hobo doesn’t know how to have fun or what?

        We just had a fantastic race today and still some are losing their time replying to people who liked the race.

        What’s wrong with F1 fans? Do they want IndyCar, it exists; do they want GP2, it exists; do they want NASCAR, it exists; do they want WEC, it’s another series.

        I found this race great, would’ve rate it 9.5 but there’s not.

        1. 10 really should be reserved for races where you spend the entire race on the edge of your seat with your heart pounding in your ears :P

          OK, an exaggeration, but you know what I mean ;)

      2. Exactly, mate.

        It’s not about being ‘killjoys’ or anything of the sort, it’s about being realistic and giving a real indication as to what this race was about.

        You surely have to have a scale as to what’s the worst race you’ve seen (i’m thinking some of the processions in the mid 00’s), compared to the very best (Brazil 08 is usually regarded as one of the finest F1 races in modern history).

        I just can’t see how you could put this race in that same echelon.

        It’s fine saying ‘it was a really good race’, but races don’t have to be 1, or a 10. That’s why we have 2-9 :)

        1. petebaldwin (@)
          5th July 2015, 15:44

          You need the people who vote it 10 when they’re still excited from the race to counteract the people who vote it really low because the drivers they like had a DNF. It all equals itself out. :)

    3. The only reason I question it is because you’ll have to vote genuinely great races as 11’s or 12’s! haha

      1. I went 9 but I can see why it would be 10, it doesn’t have to mean the best ever just that it was everything you want from a race.

  14. The stupid mandatory pit stops forcing them to run both compounds completely ruined that race.

    It was a great race over the 1st stint, Top 4 right together…. But then when Lewis pitted & got the lead having overtaking nobody the middle part was dull. It got a bit better with the rain but even that managed to hurt the race because with Nico closing on Lewis we had a good fight the the lead coming up but when Lewis pitted for Inter’s 1st & Nico had to do the extra lap it was race over.

    5/10.

    1. This is a perfect comment. I think they should have tyres which should easily do the entire race. More overtakes as you said

    2. From your comments, it’s very clear that Lewis is your least favorite driver.

      1. He is no where near my least favourite driver, but I just want to see more than 3 drivers win races in an entire season where if we had not pit stops, probably would have happened today

        1. To be honest, probably not. If an undercut hadn’t been an option, Lewis would have been forced to try continuing to pass Bottas, and then Massa. As it was, his first attempt on Massa (after the VSC came in) caused him to lose a place. With his main rival behind him, and with the undercut an option he would have been a fool not to wait. Without that option he is likely to have tried to press on. Sure, there’s a chance that it would have gone wrong again, but I’d say it’s probably likely he would have got past. I’ve commented elsewhere about my view of “pit passing”, so I’ll leave it at that.

      2. Lewis isn’t my favorite driver but he’s not my least favorite either.

        Regardless my comments have little to do with who won & i’d have said the same regardless. I just don’t like seeing pit-passing, I’d rather there be no pit stops at all so that all of the racing & all of the overtaking was done on the track.

        That race woudl have been so much better had Lewis had to overtake the cars infront to get the lead/win the race… passing in the pits via the undercut always leaves a bad taste in my mouth because it never feels as earned as a proper ontrack overtake.

    3. Nico had to do the extra lap it was race over.

      Should just say, Nico didn’t have to do one extra lap, he wanted to do one extra lap

      The difference between the 2 at the time is really simple, Lewis was out in front trying to keep the gap and keep the car on the road, Nico was battling with with the Williams for position so his tyres hadn’t lost the temp and pressures in the same way as Lewis’s. Once you have lost temp & pressure of these slicks you aren’t going to get it back in the wet and it’s a downward spiral from there, which explains the massive difference in pace for those 2/3 laps.

      A strong drive from Nico all weekend though, especially when he knows who the majority of the crowd want to see win and his support there is rather limited in comparison he didn’t seem to let it bother him so well done on him for that.

  15. Good race, despite the result. 7/10

  16. James (@jamesjames123abc)
    5th July 2015, 14:43

    8/10 for me. Probably the best race of the season so far. A great start for the two Williams kept the race at the front alive for the majority of the race, but the lack of cars running when the rain came made the switch from dry tyres to wet tyres a little less interesting than usual, and there weren’t many close battles afterwards.

  17. 7 Could be the best race of 2015, that’s a bit like being the best looking serial killer.
    At least a race broke out at the front between two teams for a time, something the WEC’s enjoyed all year.
    In the end it was more about what could happen than what did happen.

  18. Finally, 2015 gets an awesome race!

  19. As a Kimi & Bottas fan, the result is absolutely depressing, but since the race was entertaining I gave it 8/10.

    1. Joni (@theflyingfinns)
      5th July 2015, 15:05

      Yeah, it’s been quite frustrating year for the finns hasn’t it. I keep hoping that we would get at least one win this season, but even that seems too much…

    2. This result may just push Bottas away from Williams on over to Ferrari which I’m pretty sure will trigger the retirement of Kimi which will be a huge shame, I’m not the biggest Kimi fan in terms of his driving (apart from some greats drive with Lotus) but he brings something different to the sport and it would be a shame if this would be his last year.

  20. A good race overall I think, particularly the first stint, but the rain spoiled that outcome for me a little, as I don’t think it did much for the actual racing, just swapped the positions about a bit, and left Williams with a worse outcome than they deserved today; they were much closer to the Mercs on pace than expected today and looked like 2nd and 3rd was on without that rain.

  21. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    5th July 2015, 14:45

    Gave it a 9. That was a fantastic race!

  22. 9 for me, judging just on this year so far – absolute fun from start to finish, not a dull moment.

  23. 8. Now that was a race. I only opened up my laptop once (a record low this season)–and that was to look at a weather radar! Williams put the cat amongst the pigeons early on, despite Mercedes having a clear pace advantage, and the pitstop bluff added intrigue. The late, unpredictable rain showers kept me guessing, and we ended up with a British winner as a bonus. Disappointing that Williams’ conservative approach has once again robbed them of greater rewards, though–releasing Bottas immediately and pitting for inters a lap earlier would’ve helped at least one car reach the podium.

    And Frankie Dettori, fresh from winning the Coral-Eclipse on Golden Horn yesterday, hosting the podium interview. Good stuff.

    1. Massa was much faster in the wet (3s at first, then 2s, 1.5s)

      1. I didn’t necessarily mean Bottas to reach the podium. If, say, Massa had pitted a lap earlier, going by his speed on inters (as you quote), he was the likely candidate. Who knows what might’ve happened if Williams had made it past Massa in the opening laps.

        1. *Bottas had made it past Massa.

  24. 9, great race.
    The best place to have a good race like this.
    Best of the season so far.

  25. 7/10 for me. Best race of 2015 so far IMO.

  26. I can’t see why people are saying it was the best race of the season.

    We’ve had races earlier on were there was far more racing & overtaking than what we saw today. For the most part on the track nothing happened today, Virtually no overtaking, Not a great deal of close racing & it was far more of a procession overall than a couple other races so far.

    I’d put Austria, Sepang, China & possibly Spain above today.

    1. Not everything is about overtakes. There was a lot of tension during the race, with the outcome decided very late on. Although not great, probably the best race of the season for me with a 7.

      1. @john-h I agree its not all about overtakes but its nice to see some along with some good close racing & compared to a few races this year I feel the majority of this race fell flat on both counts.

        i am not saying today was a bad race at all, i’d probably score it somewhere around 6-7, i just do not believe it was the best race of the year as some are saying.

    2. No overtakes? Most of what we saw was non-DRS-assisted overtakes. Off the top of my head I remember Vettel on Perez and Raikkonen.

    3. What makes it great was the unpredictability of it. With Williams ramming ahead at the start, Ferrari coming up from behind and the rain potentially mixing up the result, you couldn’t tell what was going to happen until the end. Most races this season are pretty predictable, which makes them duller.

  27. 10/10
    Amazing racing and strategic calls throughout.

    Williams should have done better strategy wise.

  28. Good race, very entertaining. 6/10.

  29. Simon (@weeniebeenie)
    5th July 2015, 14:50

    A race of three parts really. First part was good with the four cars so close together, kept in interesting to watch. Second part from the pit-stops until the rain came was very boring, nothing of note happening whatsoever. Then the rain did come, and whilst it wasn’t as good as the first part, with the cars eventually spreading out, it did bring back some tension, as a drop of water usually does.

    Overall for me a 7. It would’ve been higher if the middle part didn’t nearly send me to sleep. At one point it almost seemed like only four cars were in the race, the others were doing nothing.

  30. Probably the best race of the season, the first 20 or so laps were an absolute nailbiter: for once four cars just went flatout, with no messages about saving tyres, fuel, or brakes, and even the DRS seemed to make the racing better!

    The middle part was a bit of a bore, until the rain came. However, taking nothing away from Lewis’s great drive, I would have loved to see a surprise at the front. But it seemed like whenever something was just about to happen, he dived into the pits and a lap later he had a five or a ten second gap to P2, pretty much ruining the excitement.

    Gave it a 7/10.

  31. 10/10, wonderful race!

    Williams seemed to have secured a 1-2 at the start, but their not letting Bottas thorugh killed the race for them. Great racing. And great strategies when the rain came.

    Pity for Williams, they deserve at least a podium. Their first bad call is not letting Bottas through, their second bad call is to pit 1 lap later than Vettel. I think Williams should just fire their strategist right now.

    1. Bottas was much slower in the wet (3s at first, then 2s, 1.5s)

    2. @ducpham2708 Williams also screwed up not pitting one of their cars before or on the same lap as Hamilton at the first stop, as neither car actually covered him off from the undercut.

  32. 5/10. Second best race this season. I hate pit stops. It ruins wheel to wheel racing as now it seems that undercutting is now the only way people seem to think they can pass them. Hamilton got extremely lucky and Vettel did too but Hamiltons stop was out of desperation. Congratulations to mclaren and alonso though

    1. Yeah Hamilton was about to get caught by Rosberg, but it wasn’t just a lucky decision. Both Vettel and Hamilton are very good wet drivers and they made a good call. Maybe Vettel deserves a bit more credit because he had a stable gap to Kvyat unlike Lewis. But very good from both of them nonetheless.

  33. Great race. Good victory for champion Hamilton, pity for Williams. And Kimi, please go home, thanks for all that races in the past. But go home, now!
    15 cars after lap 4. Bernie, go home, Old Godfather!

  34. 8 for me, my 3 highlights:

    1) Williams fantastic start
    2) Lewis’s pit stop to inters, contender for pit stop of the season
    3) Alonso getting his first point

    1. I think Vettel’s pit stop to inters might just beat Hamilton’s pit stop to inters as the pit stop of the season. lol

  35. 9, great race, it would have been better if Williams had let them race, cause i am not sure if Bottas was quick enough to overtake Massa or if he wasn’t trying too hard cause of the team order. Rosberg surprised me with his pace in those conditions on the slicks.

  36. It didn’t rain here, but I’m wet from excitement and didn’t fall asleep either. 8+/10

  37. Mixed feelings. The close racing up front made it a lot more intense even though there were few overtakes on track. Disappointed in the end that Williams messed up their strategy again (not for the first time) and the rain ended up resulting in an anticlimax coming just as Rosberg was about to catch up to Hamilton. Still more enjoyable than the rest of this years races though. I would give it 7.5 but rounded it up to 8/10

    1. I had only just forgiven Williams for Austria 2014 and now this. It’s very tough to see that level of incompetence at this level and it some what ruined what could’ve been a spectacular race. I think it is safe to say they Williams are no threat to Mercedes and never will be. We can only hope that Ferrari get the upper hand back (pace wise) for the rest of the season.

      1. When it rains the gap between Mercedes and Vettel disappears. Hope for more rain…

  38. i hope people dont forget the horrible pass attempt on massa by hamilton in the first lap after safety car was in, that compromised his second place at that moment.
    good race, but could have been a classic

  39. 7/10 for me.

    Good not great, I think people are perhaps getting a little carried away, influenced by how dull most of the rest of this season has been.

    But gosh, that Williams is awful in the wet. It’s been a weakness for a while now, I can only assume it’s a general lack of downforce. They do need to sort it pronto.

    1. Bottas is also not good in wet.

  40. Great race, 9/10.
    The start made it really interesting, with Bottas and Massa very close in the lead. Such a shame that Williams didn’t let them race, it would have been awesome.
    I agree that the middle of the race could have been better, but come on, it’s irrealistic to expect excitement in every single lap. I was a bit disappointed with Williams because they could have stayed in P1.

    The rain spiced things up, Rosberg made two very good moves and was catching Hamilton like crazy, it’s a shame that the switch to inters froze the positions.

    It’s strange, if you look at the result that’s the most predictable result ever, but the way we arrived there was very entertaining.

    1. Williams didn’t let them race only for 2 or 3 laps.

    2. Yeah. I realized that Hamilton-Rosberg-Vettel result came around in a very different way and it was very interesting.

  41. It was a good race but I wouldn’t call it a great race….. I’d ever go as far as saying some races a bit earlier this year were a bit better from a pure racing POV.

    I think it would have been a much better race if we didn’t have these mandatory pit stops that forces them to run both of the tyre compounds. I say that because the 1st 20 or so laps with the top 4 right together was great, But as soon as Lewis made his 1st stop & got the undercut it made the next section of the race quite dull until the rain started.

    1. I gave it 6/10 BTW.

    2. I agree. I enjoyed Malaysia more than this race. It had the potential to be a much better but watching Williams “try” to take on Mercedes was painful in the end.

      Looking at the grid i was expecting a very poor race so i was pleasantly surprised and give it an 8. However, 7 is maybe a better reflection of what we saw.

  42. Good 8/10. Up there with Malaysia this year, a bit better maybe.

  43. Vote for 9.

    Even without the rain it already a good race at the beginning, and while getting stale at the mid-race there still a hint of late race shake up from the two-stoppers (looks like a solid 7/10 if it stay dry, the rain just amped it up :D). Too bad Williams strategy team makes a lot of fatal mistakes:
    1. Not letting Bottas pass thru Massa in the beginning at the race (they could do it with agreement that if Bottas not pulling away he’d give back the place).
    2. Not covering Mercedes pit stop fast enough. Even though if it’s not optimal strategy for them, they should at least split the strategy because until that point they have really big chance to challenge Mercedes for the win. Both Ferrari already running quicker than them after their pit stop so it’s obvious Mercedes would succeed in the undercut.
    3. Not changing to inter fast enough, which to be fair apart from Hamilton and Vettel, everyone is too late to make the switch. But, considering they already behind Rosberg at that point, the rain already fell quite hard (enough for Ferrari crew to decide to take Vettel in that lap), and its clear they will have to stack the pit if the rain got harder, they should try the split strategy again. Of course hindsight is 20/20 so I won’t be too harsh on this.

    Highlight of the race is definitely how both Williams get past both Mercedes at the start, Bottas defending 3rd place from Rosberg on his first pit stop exit, Rosberg pace with slicks in damp track, and finally Hamilton got a good pit call.

    The real loser in this race sadly must go to Bottas and Raikkonen, their race is arguably destroyed by their own team strategy.

    1. Ferrari crew didn’t decide for Vettel’s pit stop. He did.

  44. 9/10, could have been 10 but the last bit of rain just took the fun out of the last few laps

  45. 10/10 A battle for 1st like we wanted!!!!! Amazing Williams v Mercedes, best race since I seen in a long time alongside Hungary, Canada and Bahrain last year :D

  46. A straightforward 8 – it was very very eventful, but I only give 9 to those who belong in a pool from which I may one day choose my one and only 10 (the best one).

    1. And this was not one of them, I’ve seen more thrilling endings, such as the Canadian GP and the Hungarian GP last year.

  47. petebaldwin (@)
    5th July 2015, 15:25

    Loved it. DRS wasn’t particularly effective but did what it was supposed to – let cars follow each other closely. The rain was perfect rather than raining too much or too little. The drivers and the teams had a difficult task on their hands rather than simply managing tyres and fuel! Some great moves, fights for the lead… Brilliant race :)

  48. Jean (@jeansilva02)
    5th July 2015, 15:25

    We fans are the ones who makes F1 possible , we have the right to complain, i think that everyone can see that.

  49. Decent battle at the front.
    Safety car helped save some fuel so no real need to conserve fuel.
    Tires performing consistantly with little need to protect them.
    DRS quite weak so no highway style passes.
    Some very good driving from a few drivers, Rosberg’s charge at the end when he was trying to catch Hamilton was very good.
    A bit of rain may have denied us the chance to see a couple of Williams on the podium, but it gave the drivers a chance to show their skills.
    Packed grandstands and an enthusiastic crowd added a lot of atmosphere to the show on TV.

    It wasn’t a classic we’ll be talking about for years but it was a decent race, kept me reasonably entertained, had a few good moments and is probably the best F1 GP I’ve seen this season.

  50. Pretty good race, one of the few this season that hadn’t had me look at my second screen as much as the TV. Some nifty battles, some unpredictability in the large number of retirements and the weather.

    Ultimately, I think this race kind of ‘sealed’ my opinion on what F1 needs more than anything; unpredictability. While I’ve never had much enthusiasm for Williams, I was very happy to see them lead. I feel I personally need more buzz from randomness in races, either ‘aided’ or naturally like today, where a different winner would have been the icing on the cake. It doesn’t have to be 2012 Pirelli lottery levels of unpredictable, but I ended up kind of disappointed we had another HAM-ROS-VET podium, while I consider them to be the best 3 in F1 right now.

  51. Adam (@rocketpanda)
    5th July 2015, 15:50

    5/10

    Best race so far, mind you. Nothing gave me more pleasure than seeing the Williams scythe past at the start. An actual battle at the front was so much fun. Admittedly disheartened to see that excellent first half give way to exactly the same result that was expected.

    Wasn’t terrible, but not great either – but in the context of the season it was brilliant. So… Best of a bad bunch I guess.

  52. Best race of the season so far, so I reckon a 7 would be fair.

    It was a good race of strategies, especially with the rain-stricken end but fair and square, the real race for the win ended right after the first stint. Decent overall but it still felt like something was off. Lack of competitiveness, the midfield looking like it’s struggling all the time, being too clinical altogether… I wouldn’t know.

  53. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
    5th July 2015, 16:01

    9/10. A welcome tonic to a run of boring races. The late charge by Rosberg was spectacular and probably forced Hamilton’s hand; giving him a perfectly timed change to the inters; Rosberg said afterwards that he thought Hamilton had come in too early (as did Coulthard, as did I), but with hindsight it was exactly the right time. Very very enjoyable.

  54. We had a 10/10 race at the start, and first 10 laps…then the DRS nonsense started…and again last 10 laps became very interesting, but jet again whole spectacle was ruined, because there is no sandtraps where they used to be, and both Hamilton and Rosberg went off the track and they lost nothing due to the tarmac….because im in a good mood i give it 8/8, but i still think i am generous

    1. i meant 8/10 :)

  55. 8/10. Best race of the season, though I would have preferred for it to end after 20 or so laps. Until the first pit stops, it was excellent. Having said that, though, Hamilton’s pace immediately after his pit stop was impressive, as was Rosberg’s in wet-dry conditions on slicks. Bottas was oddly slow on intermediates.

    The silver and turquoise cars may have won again, but it was nice to see them actually having to fight for the win and to have someone get in front and stay in front on outright speed (at least for a while).

  56. No classic, but an entertaining race in it’s way. Cars still can’t follow each other and impedes racing

  57. Andy (@andybantam)
    5th July 2015, 16:58

    I gave it an 8. The highest I’ve rated any race this season.

    What a show! Fantastic.

    Even though they had a strong race, I’m gutted for Williams. They just weren’t strong enough in the wet.

    I wish Button could have seen the finish, but a point is everything McLaren could have dreamed for. Well done Fernando!

    If only Kimi’s gamble paid off, but, being on the wrong tyres at the wrong time, challenging was impossible. A good result for Seb, given the circumstances.

    A great drive from Hamilton.

  58. 8/10
    Yet to watch it properly but Dany Kvyat’s perfomance was a blast keeping within 2 seconds to Vettel in dry part of the race and gaining 3 seconds a lap to Bottas with 0.7 seconds left at the finish line. And looks like almost nobody noticed his perfomance.

    1. Andy (@andybantam)
      5th July 2015, 17:13

      @syntezzz
      .
      It’s a good point, that. He was fast, yet, seemingly invisible!

    2. He might have caused the first lap craziness. But he was very good. I think today Red Bull was actually faster than Ferrari but overtaking would be difficult. Then he was good in wet as he kept up with Vettel who is a very good wet racer. Then he caught up with Williams of Bottas, but he was unlucky the race finished. Apparently Williams is bad in wet, but Bottas is not good either.

      1. Sorry. It was Ricciardo who caused the incident I guess.

    3. He did spin in wet though. But other than that it was a good performance. I mean, Raikkonen also spun, but they didn’t show it either.

  59. Graham (@guitargraham)
    5th July 2015, 17:01

    8/10 a real race on a real race track

  60. A 7 from me but on second thought it was a 6. For a race featuring rain it was boring. Again 1-2 for Mercedes, Who cares about the rest, they didn’t do anything on the racetrack, some of them made the good call, some of them didn’t – as always. No heroic defending, no outstanding passing, nothing – just endless talk about pit stops and weather. Alonso winning a point while lapped was pretty funny. Congrats! :)

  61. Just got home and unpacked the car after three nights at Silverstone. Best race of the weekend was the main event. Like others have said, it had all sorts to spice it up. Rain. VSC. Drying up. Rain again.
    Hamilton was brilliant. But hats off to Vettel who came from a long way back to get that podium place. At one point I began to wonder if Manor might even make the points. 9/10.

  62. For those who rated this race more than a five I’d say you are either easy to entertain. No wonder F1 is losing millions of fans.

  63. 8/10 – Brilliant start, lots of strategy and.. oh the drama at Williams. The first 15 laps were simply incredible with the cameras laser-focused up front to capture the 4 lead cars burning up those medium tyres in an attempt to gain some sort of edge.

    Really it’s everything that makes F1 great in one race – great driving, the importance of the right speed and strategy in the pit, a bit of weather and plenty of wheel-to-wheel racing.. even when exiting the pit (Rosberg v. Massa).

    I would have liked to see a bit less attrition and, sadly, Williams wasn’t up to the task of seeing their race through to the end, but all-in-all probably one of the best grand prix thus far in 2015.

  64. An exciting race! Formula 1 can still do it! It’s always lovely to see Williams at the front, it’s just a shame they couldn’t hold it when the rain began. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that it was fun while it lasted, and it was still pretty fun for the rest of the race! 8/10

  65. The race was good yes, but great, not really, not compared to races like Bahrain, Canada & Hungary last year.

    This race will be rated higher than it should be, simply because it was so much better than what we’ve had of late.

  66. OmarR-Pepper - Vettel 40 victories!!! (@)
    5th July 2015, 18:05

    I think it was a good 8. Even when in the end you can see it always ends the same (2 Mercs and 1 Ferrari on the podium) at least it had my heart beating fast almost all the race.
    The only flops in my opinion:
    – The inability of Williams to manage being in front WITH TWO CARS!!!
    – How Raikkonen keeps getting all the bad luck / bad decisions.
    – How the rain didn’t really add unpredictable results in the end (I mean, Hamilton-Bottas-Vettel are the only permutations on the podium most of the races).

    1. OmarR-Pepper - Vettel 40 victories!!! (@)
      5th July 2015, 18:05

      Bottas? Rosberg (I wish I could edit with a button!!!)

    2. So you think this race Hamilton-Rosberg-Vettel was predictable? At the beginning Hamilton winning was not guaranteed. Later on Rosberg coming 2nd seemed less likely. But Vettel finishing on the podium? lol At one point he was 9th I think. That was a magic pit stop call from him.

  67. I thought it was a good race up until the Hamster regained the lead, after that it just went downhill in the usual bleh….

  68. 8 for me. Very good race.
    And it’s always a pleasure to see F1 cars in high speed corners. So much fun for everybody: drivers and fans !

  69. 8/10 for me. Lots of action and the only bummer for me is that I think Williams could have had a double podium if it hadn’t been for the rain. Their car just was not designed for anything resembling rain!

    Also, what happened on that first lap? I never got a good look at who actually started that massive bumper car action on the NBC feed here in the US. They keep cutting the replays RIGHT before you can see who started the blasted thing!!!

    1. @daved – Ricciardo squeezed down on the inside of Grosjean, and as Grosjean turned in, he hit Ricciardo’s rear wheel, which flung him in the other direction, into Maldonado. To avoid the colliding Lotus cars Alonso stood on the brakes which locked his wheels and turned him into Button.

  70. 8/10, I wished Massa and Bottas stayed in front of Rosberg so he will be denied a podium finish and loose a chunk of points if favour of Lewis it was also to help Williams more in the constructors championship.
    But all in all it was a great race, MB got to do their homework for their bad starts they could have lost the race.

  71. I gave 4. Williams disallowed Bottas to win and Ferrari destroyed Raikkonen´s race. Nice.

    1. Raikonnen destroyed Raikkonen’s race. He called it – it was clear on the radio…

    2. @gentleman

      Ferrari destroyed Raikkonen’s race

      It was Raikkonen’s call – see the quote from Arrivabene.

      1. Yes, you are right. It turned out that Raikkonen destroyed his race all by himself. Did not have the correct information when I wrote my first comment.

    3. @gentleman

      Williams disallowed Bottas to win

      They didn’t. They initially told him not to attack Massa but quickly changed their approach. From lap 7 or so, Bottas had the permission to overtake Massa if he manages a clean manoeuvre.
      And even if Williams had team ordered Bottas ahead (I honestly find it nauseating that all of a sudden people are suggesting team orders would’ve been the only sane option as soon as the “wrong” driver is ahead), it wouldn’t have helped them a single bit. Massa was quicker on the harder compound, so after the pit stops, it would’ve been Massa knocking on Bottas’s door.
      Did I mention Bottas finishing half a minute down at the end of the race? Well, that’s what he did. After losing a bit of time after the first pit stop (0.8 seconds gap to Massa after the pit stop, 2 seconds by lap 37), he started losing more time during the first shower (8.5 seconds by lap 44 – he was even lucky to be that far back, as this enabled the team to pit both their drivers in the same lap without losing any time) and lost a further 18 seconds in the remaining 8 laps.
      So, what would there have been to gain for Williams by ordering Bottas past Massa? Strictly nothing. At worst, Bottas would’ve impeded Massa at some point in the race, and the resulting battle might’ve cost him the precious little advantage that Bottas had over Kvyat at the end of the race.

      Long story short:
      Massa didn’t cheat anyone – he qualified better than Bottas, had a killer start and, unlike Bottas, didn’t lose a place after that by forgetting to close an open door, he managed to defend himself from Hamilton’s furious onslaught and even helped Bottas get past th Merc. In the laps after that, he did seem to struggle for grip, but was never too seriously threatened by Bottas’s DRS-aided attacks. And then, after his first pit stop, he beat Bottas fair and square.
      So, I can’t even remotely fathom how and why on earth people, who have ssemingly watched the same race as I have, can somehow come to the conclusion that it was a bad idea for Williams not to resort to team orders. I’m just not getting this. At all. Seriously.

      1. Dear Nase, you certainly know that F1 is a very delicate game. There may suddenly open a window for doing something and then it’s as suddenly closed again. Bottas was absolutely able to pass Massa during a quite short period but was prohibited by the team. If he had been allowed to pass he might have managed to pull out so much that neither Mercedes could have passed him. This has nothing to do with the fact that Massa was faster later on. You say that you don’t like team orders. I don’t either. The drivers sould be let race without silly orders. After telling Bottas and Massa that they were not allowed to race with each other Williams suddenly understood how bad order it was and gave new ones. But then the passing window for Bottas had been closed already. Very confusing, indeed.

  72. People arguing the race spoilt Ros s chances are contradicting themselves…..the only reason Ros had managed to reel in Ham at 2sec per lap was exacrly because of that very same rain, Had it remained dry Ros would have never had a chance in hell of catching Ham, in fact Ros would have never overtaken the Williams, and in fact ended up 4th. Ros should thank the rain for his 2nd place.

  73. 8/10. An overall very good race. While it doesn’t subtract from my rating, I think the TV coverage was incredibly bad. Entirely missing Raikonnen’s spin and in the final four’ish laps they only bothered showing Hamilton cruising his car home… That was incredibly frustrating.

  74. 8/10 – what a hoot. Would have actually been more exciting without the rain I think.

    1. How is that possible? Nothing would happen in that time rain fell down. How would that be more exciting to watch?

  75. I thought the race had all the elements of a good F1 race and therefore gave it 9/10.

  76. 8/10

    A good race overall – I was hoping the Williams would be able to stay ahead, but great call on the undercut and Lewis really nailed his out lap.

    Looking at two of the leading candidates for Raikkonen’s seat, not really great showings for them. Massa deserved to be in front of Bottas. Since Monaco, Kvyat’s shown himself to be on better form than Ricciardo. Yes, RIC had engine issues, but Kvyat got it done in qualifying and the race, and once again, Ricciardo lost positions at the start.

    Vettel clearly is having a good time and after his bad luck the last couple of races, finally had a break go his way. Good P3 and exceptional driving in the wet on the Hard tire.

  77. Having gone live I think its clear what F1 needs to do, not broadcast team radio, going there and not hearing any team radio was brilliant I got the feeling they were really going for it, apart from Alonso when you could hear him clearly saving fuel because that Honda sounds horrible when its saving, sat at Luffield surprised with the lack of overtaking there but I thought the racing there was pretty good, saw a few lock ups and Stevens spin.
    Only downside was afterwards finding out Bottas was told to stay behind Massa

  78. As a Team Enstone fan, the race was a 0, for obvious reasons.

    But overall, I’ve given the race a 7. A four way battle for the lead for a good part of the race was great to see. I found that the anticipation of the possibility of rain made things quite tense, and when it did eventually arrive, the uncertaincy of what was going to happen kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire afternoon. Incidentally, this is the first time I’ve been on the edge of my seat all season. It’s good to get a decent race finally.

  79. 10/8 This race was very exciting with interesting fight and tactics.

  80. 8/10. The result may have been the usual one, but that is pretty much granted if there aren’t retirements: the quickest wins. Unless he gets stuck behind someone due to a lack of downforce, which we are all against. True, Hamilton made his move in the pit lane, but that was a good call again, or a bad one by Williams who never take the decisions into their own hands. There were four cars within two seconds for half the race, good fighting on track and on the pit walls.

  81. Really solid 7.

  82. I keep trying to explain to my colleagues who work in the USA/India/China why we Brit’s are know for talking about the weather…

    Really good show!

  83. Sorry just a 7…..if you took away the dynamic start from the Williams……and the rain at the end, you were reduced to cars totally unable to overtake even with DRS (thought they were changing the aerodynamics to help this??)…….although a step in the right direction for some better racing

  84. 1. I didn’t like the coverage. British patriotism aside, there were approximately 16 other drivers that also raced…not just the British favorite. Little if any coverage was given to 5th position or less.

    2. Considering the obvious mistake(s) made by Hamilton, he was clearly NOT the best driver in the field. His winning streak should be attributed to a far superior power plant, as evidenced by so many other teams that came to the forefront using Mercedes power since the last Formula Change.

    Congratulations Lewis, and Britain!!!

    1. sorry @greenspyder, but how can you say it was the powerplant when the williams were making things hard for Merc. but ultimately slower in wet; with same powerplant.
      The chassis is best too.

      It was quite understandable that the coverage initially was mostly with those fighting for the podium – I do agree that it was sad we didn’t see much of the VET/KVY fight that got aborted thanks to the rain.

      1. Their difference didn’t change much throughout the race. Nothing got aborted really. Kvyat pitted after the magic lap, that was his loss. Also he did spin at some point, like Raikkonen, we didn’t get to see those spins though.

  85. 9/10 This is the race you tune in every week hoping to see. It was unpredictable and people were fighting for positions. We got a real surprise seeing that pace from Williams and watching Rosberg destroy Hamilton’s pace in the damp was truly shocking. He got away with that by the skin of his teeth.

    Anyone rating this lower than 7 is obviously watching the wrong sport and certainly on the wrong website.

  86. Mark (@overshadowed)
    6th July 2015, 0:30

    Overall a great race, would of been a 9 had Williams not held up Bottas with team orders and let him try and pull a gap to the field.

  87. Sean (@spaceman1861)
    6th July 2015, 1:02

    8 For me good fun race to watch needs more cars and less car troubles but good stuff.

  88. Pete (@petecarney47)
    6th July 2015, 3:29

    7 I reckon, many edge of the seat laps, and wondering towards the end.. baring in mind Manor were running in 12th and there were only 13 runners remaining for the latter part, that if there was an incident involving 2 cars, whether they would score a point. I reckon Bottas should have been ordered to play the team game and hold the pack up after Massa got ahead at the start, to give Massa a clear pit window and the advantage of being ahead of everyone else when interactive were needed. Funny how Ecclestone says that Germany has no appeal for F1, yet winning team today is German that also fielded a German driver that finished 2nd and the 3rd step on the podium also occupied by a German 4 times world champion. Interesting race :D

    1. F1 may have little appeal for Germany, but obviously Germany has the appeal for F1, as everyone finishing on the podium is either German or his team is German, or both.

  89. Pete (@petecarney47)
    6th July 2015, 3:31

    Inters*

  90. Gave it a 8. There was a terrific start followed by suspense in terms of the first 4 cars following each other very closely with many of Bottas’ failed attempts providing some action. The next 4 were relatively close as well and there was even an overtake on Perez by Vettel although he conceded a few places easily at the start.

    The first rain shuffled the pack a bit with Rosberg getting past both the Williams and chasing down Hamilton and almost successfully passing him on track.

    Hamilton and Vettel then managed to play the situation to their advantage and get their pitstop right on cue. The last few laps were all about how the drivers managed the wet conditions and Kvyat chasing down Bottas was fun.

    A nice three week break to savor the essence of the race and for teams to review their mistakes (which was plenty esp. for Williams and Kimi/Ericsson).

    Hopefully we get a repeat of 2014 Hungarian GP to keep the good stuff going.

    1. Well said @evered7, that’s more or less my evaluation too (incl. 8/10 rating)

  91. 8/10 for me. Surely better than average and being there live made me give one point more from the 7/10 I would’ve given this.

    Though I can’t but be frustrated the still massive advantage the Mercedes has. They don’t even bother overtaking the WIlliams, just wait for the pitcall, do a lap or two and they’ll be fine. Hamilton was never really going to finish third. Another proof of the still massive pace of that car is when Rosberg finally passed Bottas it took hime one lap to close a serious gap to Massa. Vettel might have finished ‘close’ to them but only because Rosberg had to do an entire lap on a very wet track by then. In the end I respect their dominance but it surely makes the races all the more predicatble.

  92. AMR (@aiera-music)
    6th July 2015, 9:28

    9/10. This might be a tad biased, given the rather dreary season we’ve had so far, but any race that has you on the edge of your seat until the chequered flag falls is one to remember.

  93. I’m really surprised by the high ratings. The race had great promise in the beginning with the Williams being ahead, but in the end boiled down to an undercut by Lewis. The rain put an end to the fight between Nico and the Williams (another bummer). Lewis’ call gave him a huge advantage over Nico (another bummer), the only excitement was the start and Nico closing on Lewis and the Williams boys fighting (ruined by pit calls/confusion). The camera coverage was really bad and partly Sky’s coverage was so over-hyped, that it felt like an Apple event where adjectives made up entirety of what they were saying. I really don’t get why this race was so good for others…

  94. Not sure how to score this race. If it wasn’t for the rain at the end the race would have been another major problem for F1. The start was good but any first lap battles were stopped by the safety car call, the restart had a few seconds of action but then we had 4 car following each other for lap after lap and what racing may have taken place Williams tried to call off and in doing so stop the one possible move Bottas had to overtake! Ferrari tried something different and showed they had pace if they weren’t stuck behind other cars (at some stages over a second a lap faster than the cars they were unable to over take at the start of the race), Mercedes were also faster than Williams when not stuck behind them.
    Thankfully the rain came and shock things up unfortunately not enough to change the normal result of racing at the moment, but it was still worthwhile watching. One rain shower can’t alter the fact that over taking in F1 is so difficult you need a signicant advantage to do it, the lack of development means the engine advantage Mercedes gives isn’t being eaten into 18 months on and safety cars seem to be called too quickly (perhaps this is due to the Bianci crash and can be understood)

  95. Gave it a 5.
    The lack of sufficient or satisfying tv coverage made my race experience a very sad and dull event.
    When will they learn?
    F1 is avery expensive show to watch.
    If I am a paying customer, I should be entitled to a premium service.
    Instead we are all gifted with a dull race with the same ‘ol SD cameras, same crappy onboards where you can only see ¼ of what’s going on, same lack of respect for the smaller teams, same crappy replays where you can’t understand what is going on, same thing compared to 20 years ago.
    When are going to get our money’s worth of F1 coverage?

  96. That’s a 8.09 so far, the highest we’ve seen since the Malaysian GP – in fact, in my personal opinion and from a neutral point of view (I’m a Ferrari fan otherwise), I think it was even better, it had more twists, the same amount of strategic variety and more wheel-to-wheel action.

  97. Easily the most entertaining race of the year — not that hard to be though considering how predictable things have been.

    That start by Williams was killer.

  98. I rated the race as an 8.

    Although perhaps there wasn’t as much on track action as I would have liked, such as the change in the lead came about through the pit stops, I think a large part of the enjoyment for me was the fact I wasn’t sure who would win the race until the end of the race.

    After the both Williams got ahead of both Mercedes at the start and the restart it was a case of could they keep the faster Mercedes cars behind them, then when Hamilton took the lead after the first round of pit stops I wasn’t sure which of the lead drivers would be able to make a one stop strategy work and who would need to pit again if it stayed dry.

    When the rain did come it was all a question of who made the switch to inters at the right time and then who was quickest in the wet conditions.

    It was a shame that Williams lacked pace in the wet and didn’t even get a podium after been first and second early on.

    One think that did stick in my mind was about the podium on the new pit complex, for me it is too far away from the track and the fans when they are let on the circuit after the race, I think they defiantly should have done something similar to the Monza podium.

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