What did you think of today’s race? Share your verdict on the British Grand Prix.
Since 2008, F1 Fanatic has held polls on every F1 race to find out which fans thought of each round of the season.
Join in the latest poll and give your verdict on the race: 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest. 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 2016 British Grand Prix out of ten
- 10 (1%)
- 9 (7%)
- 8 (21%)
- 7 (30%)
- 6 (18%)
- 5 (11%)
- 4 (4%)
- 3 (4%)
- 2 (1%)
- 1 (3%)
Total Voters: 490
1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’
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2016 British Grand Prix
- 2016 British Grand Prix team radio transcript
- Second Driver of the Weekend win for Verstappen
- Wet race at Silverstone leaves many cold
- 2016 British Grand Prix Predictions Championship results
- Top ten pictures from the 2016 British Grand Prix
Debates and polls
- Will Alonso win a world championship title with Aston Martin?
- How long should Red Bull give Ricciardo to prove he’s not lost his touch?
- Were stewards right to penalise Alonso over his driving before Russell’s crash?
- Are Williams right to bench Sargeant so Albon can race after crash?
- Is the FIA right to make ten seconds the new standard for penalties?
Jonathan (@jonny705)
10th July 2016, 14:34
8. Frantic start, quiet end.
favomodo (@favomodo)
10th July 2016, 14:39
Terrible start, okay middle, fantastic move from max, slow end
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
10th July 2016, 14:47
Disappointing start, interesting middle which was then spoiled by the VSC, Max and nothing else, maybe the worst race of this season.
Tata
10th July 2016, 14:57
I think that about sums it up. A few things to note about the race though.
1) Nico will walk or worse receive yet another slap on the wrist *penalty even though he was clearly “coached” to use a particular gear in order to maintain his advantageous position in front of Max Vestterpen.
2) Talking of Max, Redbull have through no favoritism gained a clear number one star driver. Sorry Danny but Max is just too good.
sato113 (@sato113)
10th July 2016, 14:58
8 is high. 7 for me
photozen (@photozen)
11th July 2016, 0:14
I agree, 7 would be it. Safety car start, some good action at first, some scattered thru out, some good passes, but as a race should be and it should be even better. let ’em race, all of them.
BasCB (@bascb)
10th July 2016, 15:10
What was great about the start? The SC taking all potential for someone making up positions at the start out?
Leaving them out long enough to go straight to inters afterwards?
To me that was what took the race down the most. The best part was the good fight between Verstappen and Rosberg for P2.
Indiana
10th July 2016, 15:47
Best part of the race was the overtake from Verstappen on Rosberg
7,5
nobby shunt
11th July 2016, 10:03
9 from me. A football game is never 90 minutes of excitement, often it boils down to 5 seconds or so of brilliance. And so, the same is true of F1. Sitting up in Becketts and seeing Max come through alongside Nico, then having the sheer balls to see through the overtake is a memory that will last forever for me.
I agree that the unwillingness of race control to allow proper wet running was a frustration (either let them use the wet tyres for their intended purpose or get Pirelli to make wet tyres that are up to the job). But in the end, one moment of pure brilliance can make up for many hours of dross.
Excuse me :D (@square-route)
10th July 2016, 14:34
8 for the first half, 2 for last half… so 5 :(
PhilEReid (@philereid)
10th July 2016, 14:42
Same with me. The VSC kinda ruined what could have been by separating large chunks of the field, but at least there was fighting throughout in the wet. Shame that once it tried, DRS kinda ruined the work that drivers like Verstappen had done earlier.
Dewald Nel (@ho3n3r)
10th July 2016, 17:55
Agreed. They should close the pitlane under VSC.
Owen Smart (@smartez)
10th July 2016, 14:36
So disappointed. A great track in treacherous conditions, only to have little action with easy DRS flyby overtakes and no battles for the top points.
This is the first wet race I’ve watched and that I remember that was rubbish
4/10
roodda (@roodda)
10th July 2016, 14:43
A boring wet race, never thought i’d say that
Lauri (@f1lauri)
10th July 2016, 23:11
We just had one similar some time back, can’t recall which it was… when rain made the race totally boring.
Today it was almost no racing for places 3…12 with only some overtakes when cars had different levels of grip.
faulty (@faulty)
11th July 2016, 4:35
Yes boring race, plus the Rosberg penalty adds insult to injury.
John
11th July 2016, 8:10
Agreed. Utter boredom. Modern F1 is garbage. Almost every driver ran off the track today, many without consequences. Its dull. That knife edge moment that held the sport together no longer exists.
And that’s not even thinking of the safety car trundle at the start.
Lame.
glynh (@glynh)
10th July 2016, 14:36
8. An enjoyable race with cars sliding off, some great overtakes and tension with strategies and on track battles.
Just a shame it had to start under a safety car and Rosberg didn’t push Hamilton at the end.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
10th July 2016, 14:36
For a wet race, unusually boring.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
10th July 2016, 15:37
@kingshark Agree. That was in part for the VSC which split the field even more. The battles on track were good, specially the scrap between Massa, Hulkenberg and Alonso. It was great to see them trying to overtake on a track that had only 1 dry-ish line all.
It was also a bit dramatic on turn 1. But they were so spread out that it hardly mattered. Also, we spent 10% of the race behind the safety car only for it to pull in followed by half the field, to pit for inters.
I wonder why they spent 3 million litres of water to test the wet tyres at Paul Ricard… doubt it’s economical to research and develop a product that only gets used behind the Safety Car.
ColdFly F1 (@)
10th July 2016, 14:36
5/10 The decision to start under SC ruined this race; it took away the one weakness which Hamilton has and opportunity to have a real fight at the sharp end.
BasCB (@bascb)
10th July 2016, 15:12
I am waiting to vote on the race rating to see how the stewards decide on whether teams are or are not able to inform drivers of bits of their car failing.
But I agree with you that the SC start really set the deck for a boring race as ot really handed Hamilton the uncontested win.
Velocityboy (@velocityboy)
10th July 2016, 17:05
I agree that the SC start robbed us of the chance for a very dramatic start. I don’t know why they feel the need to be so cautious when it rains. I read an article a few years ago by a driver who raced in the wet at Mosport in 1967 and he felt that it’s up to the driver to control their speed and if you need to go 5 miles/hour to stay on the circuit then that’s what you do. I’m not sure if I’ll take it that far, but I do believe there should be a greater expectation for the drivers to adapt their driving to the conditions.
Pyon (@pyon)
10th July 2016, 17:59
Agreed. One one hand they told us they are the very best of the world, and on the other hand we are being told they cannot control a car is there is too much water…
hutch (@hutch)
10th July 2016, 14:36
Could have been amazing. Ended up ordinary. Disappointing.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
10th July 2016, 14:37
Rather dull to be honest.
juan fanger (@juan-fanger)
10th July 2016, 14:37
For …. sake, let them race in the wet. 6 is all from me.
John H (@john-h)
10th July 2016, 17:32
What about all those unsafe releases that went unpunished. Absolutely crazy!
John H (@john-h)
10th July 2016, 17:33
(Sorry, not meant to be a reply)
Martin
10th July 2016, 23:45
But absolutely spot on nonetheless !
ColdFly F1 (@)
11th July 2016, 12:26
about the unsafe releases, @john-h.
In general I hate penalties for ‘small infractions’.
But if safety is really that paramount to FIA that they take away the only real exciting part of a Mercedes pole start (i.e. the start), and that they ‘deploy’ the VSC as soon as car left its lights on in the parking lot, then I don’t understand how they can accept all those unsafe releases.
There might not be any cranes in the pit lane, but with all the personnel out there and cars passing at 80kmh it deserves some strict ruling.
Loen (@loen)
11th July 2016, 8:58
Some of those releases really were too damn close. But…if F1 pitlane people
can’t time things to a split mouse hair then nobody can ! Yes, we all remember
spectacular comings-together at crisis moments, and drivers taking fuel hoses
for a trip down the garage fronts…! I suppose the arrival more than half the
field in the pit lane at the same moment is absolutely certain to become chaotic,
and that’s what we got, alright !
There is still great danger in some teams taking huge liberties with releases and
we certainly saw that yesterday. But I suppose that is F1 !
Adam (@adamgoh)
10th July 2016, 14:37
7/10. As wet races go this was pretty boring. Safety car was out way too long. And to top it off a pointless investigation for radio rules.
AmbroseRPM (@ambroserpm)
10th July 2016, 14:38
Pretty boring race. 6/10. Race control are weak. Pathetic decision to start under the safety car, there is plenty of runoff at Silverstone.
Pyon (@pyon)
10th July 2016, 18:22
Indeed, for some reason they thought Monaco dull start was a fantastic success so they did the same at Silverstone… Pathetic is the correct word to describe that decision.
Gary
10th July 2016, 14:39
0, only because of Charlie Whiting whose mother must have constantly told young Charlie, as a youngster, to stay out of the rain, wear his rain coat and carry an umbrella.
HK (@me4me)
10th July 2016, 14:39
Decent race, but i’m gonna rate the whole weekend here: Qualifying was disappointing because of track limits, the start of the race shouldn’t have been behind the safety cars. 6/10.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
10th July 2016, 14:48
Qualifying was disappointing because of track limits / @me4me
– Please elaborate?
BasCB (@bascb)
10th July 2016, 15:15
I agree on the qualifying part @me4me, it was quite annoying how the drivers kept ignoring track limits all over the place even when they had been clearly warned about that before the weekend!
I hope the FIA start actually policing that rule at all tracks and all corners (or straights off course)
Uzair Syed (@ultimateuzair)
10th July 2016, 14:40
6/10. A bit anti-climatic and the first few laps behind the SC were a joke.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
10th July 2016, 14:41
The race had everything to be good, unfortunately anything that could’ve spoiled the race did spoil the race.
Safety car start was unfortunate, the timing of the VSC ruined the race. These last couple years have been so frustrating for good quality racing, all races are anti-climatic, last time around an otherwise epic last lap overtake is marred with controversy and this weekend a perfect set of conditions appear to favour and lengthen the advantage of the leaders.
roodda (@roodda)
10th July 2016, 14:41
Promised a lot, delivered little. What is the point of wets if they aren’t going to race on them? Safety car start, perhaps, but they needed two laps behind the SC not five. As usual everyone dives into the pits to jump onto the inters.
The VSC early on decided the race. Hamilton benefited massively from that.
Highlight was Verstsappen passing Rosberg where nobody is supposed to overtake. DRS ruined the Rosberg v Verstappen battle.
5.5 rounded to 6. And how about those hypocrites booing Rosberg? Get a grip.
George (@george)
10th July 2016, 14:49
@roodda
I think the Rosberg booing was mostly just retribution for the last race where Hamilton was booed.
roodda (@roodda)
10th July 2016, 14:51
That doesn’t make it right. Why pay top dollar to go watch a world class sporting event to boo? Webber handled the crowd like a champion.
Lari (@lari)
10th July 2016, 14:58
Indeed, British racing fans (not all ofc) have some disgraceful manner. Booing could be justified if something actually had happened during the race but nothing didn’t happen now. I bet you 10 quid this will happen every year in Silverstone as long as Ham-Ros are teammates.
Lari (@lari)
10th July 2016, 14:59
*manners* and *nothing happened now*
George (@george)
10th July 2016, 15:08
@roodda
I totally agree, I walked off as soon as I heard it, just offering a possible explanation. The Hamilton/Rosberg rivalry has been quite spicy and some people see Rosberg as acting in an underhand way at times so it’s not surprising that Hamilton fans aren’t very charitable towards him.
There’s no real malice in it, Rosberg is just like a pantomime villain. Compared to when Vettel was getting booed just for winning all the time I feel this is more understandable.
Ronald (@mosquito)
10th July 2016, 17:07
@George That reason only makes it worse.
Clucky (@cluckyblokebird)
10th July 2016, 14:42
6. Maybe a 6.5
Was great until about lap 30.
Im fine with no driver radio, but then they should make the cars less complicated. So that there is no point in telling the driver what controls to use, because they don’t even exist…
Alex (@arobbo)
10th July 2016, 14:42
SC Car start ruined it for me, 6/10.
Clucky (@cluckyblokebird)
10th July 2016, 14:44
Agreed. What’s even the point of full wet tyres anymore? Clearly they are there only to follow a safety car.
Mackeine Loveine (@cocaine-mackeine)
10th July 2016, 14:43
Really dissapointing, a start that could have been hectic ended up in a rolling start, VSC helping the front runners and a few good battles around but nothing special.
This is turning into 2015 all over again….
Sebas (@seabass)
10th July 2016, 14:43
The start was farcical. A rolling start would have been cautious enough, but 5 laps behind te safety car was too much. Let them use the full wets. This created a dangerous situation in the pits as almost the whole field dives into the pits for inters. Some risky releases to so the least.
The freebies for HAM, ROS and VES with the VSC cemented the podium in place. Decent battle between ROS and VES, but sadly decided by DRS.
The field was too far apart to create any tension. Some battles here and there, but it didn’t create any excitement. Mediocre race, but could have been fun. 5/10.
TMF (@)
10th July 2016, 14:43
5/10 – the start behind the safety car and the VSC timing ruined the race very early to see more midfield fights.
Alex (@arobbo)
10th July 2016, 14:44
SC start ruined it for me, 6/10.
AliceD (@aliced)
10th July 2016, 14:45
5/10 Not a very exiting circus today. I hope everyone has started developing next year’s car as this year’s championship belongs to the Mercedes team. Not very exiting if the championship result is 99% certain so early in a season.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
10th July 2016, 14:46
Obliged start behind the SC on wets killed the possible excitement a race start has, half the field pitted for inters right away and several laps later all pitted for a set of mediums so strategy wise it was a fun killer too. Somehow nobody seemed interested in gaining places but a few overtakes here and there. Luckily Verstappen made one hell of a brilliant move but it was inevitable he would be robbed of the spot as soon as the dry tyres came out. One of the most boring races I’ve seen for a while that whilst it had rain and happened on a very good track. Shame I skipped another event for this race.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
10th July 2016, 14:49
Highlight of the race? Webber on the podium.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
10th July 2016, 15:01
:D HAHA! Yeah good one @xtwl..
that and Ves – Ros battle.
F1fan
10th July 2016, 16:22
This track is a downforce track. In the wet even better for a downforce car like the Red Bull. In the wet it is harder for a car with the power of the Mercedes to find traction. Thats why Max got by Rosberg but in the dry it was a deferent story. Impressive is a midfield car like the Force India running with top team cars for so long.
ILuvSoundtracks (@)
10th July 2016, 14:46
5. Hype to no hype.
George (@george)
10th July 2016, 14:47
I gave it a 7. Some good moments, especially at the beginning, but not much strategy and a pretty predictable result.
dex022 (@dex022)
10th July 2016, 14:48
Terrible race from SC start then stupid VSC removed any strategy variation.Remove wet tires cause there is no use for them.
joe jopling (@jop452)
10th July 2016, 14:49
7 for me….quite a good race….Rosberg has to be disqualified for the radio instructions…..not the avoid 7th gear bit…but what setting to adjust…without which he prob would not have finished…and it was a team error not his…..also before the podium, hamilton and rosberg totally ignoring each other…and thats good between them??? More fireworks to come I think…good for us though
Sridhar
10th July 2016, 14:49
Terrible I gave it a 3. No sense in starting with a SC tht took out mosr of the racing and chances of places swapping.
HAM had it in the bag and with no contest it was a snooze fest.
Canderous (@yoshif8tures)
10th July 2016, 14:49
Safety car ruined it. Boring race. 1/10
Gabriel Rocha (@gabrielrocha)
10th July 2016, 14:52
It’s a race that could have been awesome, if not for some poor decisions from Race Control. First of all: Why, god, do we have to start behind the safety car!? Second, Why leave that safety car in for 5 laps!? Then, after Werhlein’s crash, why force the VSC period, that ruined any chance of an actual race for the front? It completely isolated the top 6, and no one could catch them. If not for these poor decisions, It could have been fantastic, but… 5 for me.
Martin
10th July 2016, 20:03
“why force the VSC period”
Yeah why bother with the VSC when it would have been so much more fun to risk another Bianchi style accident -_-
Gabriel Rocha (@gabrielrocha)
10th July 2016, 21:00
Werhlein’s car was in a pretty good position to take it off without any risk… Far from the track, inside the gravel. It could have been done without the VSC, just my opinion of course.
Martin
10th July 2016, 23:01
Yes it is just your opinion luckily. We saw lots of cars leaving the track at that point and more than one getting further into the gravel than Wehrlein did. He was right in the firing line of anyone else coming off the track and VSC was 100% the right call. In fact Wehrleins situation was the reason VSC was brought in in the first place!
Michal (@michal2009b)
10th July 2016, 14:53
6/10. I know there was some action but it was one of the most predictable wet races I have ever watched. VSC at the beginning robbed us of more excitement. The offs at Abbey might have given the impression it was an entertaining one but the order was pretty much stable the whole race. Hamilton’s win was never in jeopardy.
Understeer (@abdelilah)
10th July 2016, 14:53
It was worth a 7 but with investigation suspense I’ll give it a 8/10 hoping this time the FIA will stop their jokes.
Proteus (@proteus)
10th July 2016, 14:55
3/10 Catastrophic, shambolic and embarassing. Embarassing start behind the safety car and embarassing asphalt runoff areas providing rewards for driver mistakes rather punishing them…At one point noone even bothered to turn into the corner. Such a shame. I gave it a 3 only because of Verstappen provinding a bit of driving, but still he didnt deserved his position due to the fact he was saved by the asphalt runoff area….
Johnny H.
10th July 2016, 15:39
Like Verstappen also Hamilton, Perez, Raikkonen, Vettel, Sainz and many more went wide there! They didn’t got any advantage going of there! So what’s your point
Proteus (@proteus)
10th July 2016, 16:22
No advantage? U serious? They lost almost no time and they were rewarded with keeping their positions. If there would be gravel they would probably not retain their positions. Many of them could also retire. And i meant for all of them that u counted. And everybody is surprised that the viewership is dropping? No wonder at all if the drivers are rewarded for their mistakes. Shame where the sport came to…
Johnny H.
10th July 2016, 16:36
No advantage…”For Sure”….Lewis lost 2-3 seconds when he went wide towards Max, when Max was running second in the race. Absolute BS what you are preaching!
Proteus (@proteus)
11th July 2016, 14:24
Woooooow, he lost whole 2-3 seconds, wooooooooooow. If there would be gravel he would be lucky to escape out of it and he would lose atleast 10 seconds and the lead. So BS is on youre side.
Hamish Curtis (@ayrtonsenna26)
10th July 2016, 14:57
Good first 20 or so laps but after that a bit boring. Sadly another Hamilton domination. :(
Illusive (@illusive)
10th July 2016, 14:58
Safety car start ruined it, while it was understandable in Monaco since it was a narrow street circuit, but today it was unnecessary. I gave six.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
10th July 2016, 14:59
This would be an easy 10…
But safety car start, then straight to inters? This is not Monaco, there is run off, acres of run off. That pretty much took away any fight for race lead, (to) easy Hamilton win.
Imagine a race if Verstappen took Lewis on start, and we would have a mighty scrap for the lead.
That being said, racing was good, start was poor, end of race was undramatic, but it was always gonna be like that with Lewis in clean air.
George (@george)
10th July 2016, 15:10
@jureo
It’s even more ridiculous considering as soon as they switched to inters they started flying off the track, then the whole race on slicks they were flying off the track…
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
10th July 2016, 17:14
Race start would be just fine… Cars flying off track is good for the show.
MrKii
10th July 2016, 15:01
What’s the point of Full Wet if when needed they throw a safety car? That broke the race for me
Ed Marques (@edmarques)
10th July 2016, 15:06
8, good beggining and interesting fight between ROS vs. VES
Very nice to see a break of the protocol after the race.
MacLeod (@macleod)
11th July 2016, 8:30
+1 but in the end is became dull otherwise it was a 9
Still if there was a real start it really would be great.
Jamie89
10th July 2016, 15:12
Switched over to watch the Tennis instead. A dull race with a predictable result. They may as well get rid of wet tyres as they never seem to do any actual racing on them anymore. I’m not sure how much longer I can continue to follow a sport which has become so dull and predictable.
Alex W
11th July 2016, 9:15
The Tennis was too dangerous for me to watch, sorry. Antiques roadshow is probably more dangerous than F1 nowadays… did you see the moto gp race the other day… when it was red flagged, it was after many laps in atrocious conditions, and the riders were furious! And that’s on bikes!!! Let drivers race with full wets and rivers….
josh
10th July 2016, 15:12
I used to love rain races but after this season I dread them because of the safety car crap. 2 for Max and 1 for Lewis. -4 for the safety car start and -3 for Nico because he sucks. 3 of 10.
SauberS1 (@saubers1)
10th July 2016, 15:12
From that time Pirelli makes the rain tyres in the F1
There is no race in the rain.
I guess they can’t make useable rain tyres.
SauberS1 (@saubers1)
10th July 2016, 15:13
6/10, Verstappen and some driver can make the show. Otherwise Fia and the Pirelli ruin the other chance for the interesting race. I think next time I will not see the boring drive behind the safety car.
sam3110 (@sam3110)
10th July 2016, 15:17
Boring race, neutered by Werlein’s crash and the safety car start. The tyres are way too conservative as well, shouldn’t be able to do 40+ laps on the medium compound
Steve
10th July 2016, 15:19
Understand and believe we needed a Safety Car start, but did it really need to stay out that long? I don’t think so.
As a Williams fan, it was a pretty bad race for me to watch. 5/10
Rick Lopez (@viscountviktor)
10th July 2016, 15:22
8. Entertaining, interesting race. Certainly not the worst of the season as some people are saying.
Gary
10th July 2016, 15:22
How would you feel if you’d dropped GBP 900 for two tickets to watch that race, particularly that exciting safety car start?
Ju88sy (@)
10th July 2016, 16:21
The 100,000 who have tickets today feel fab thanks!
If you have ever been to a race you’ll understand the tv coverage and spectacle is secondary to appreciating the other aspects of watching live Motorsport.
The driver skill around club corner was spectacular to watch today with slippy conditions for 2/3rds of the race.
Proteus (@proteus)
10th July 2016, 16:24
Especially their skill to use the asphalt runoff area, that was brilliant…
Gary
10th July 2016, 19:06
“If I’ve ever been to a race”. Hilarious. My father raced in the 1960s and 1970s so I grew up at race tracks (SCCA). I went to the US GP at the Glen many times. I raced for years.
I am sad for what has happened to racing. I might walk across the street to go to an F1 race today were it free, but of course it’s not. I’d much rather watch a Formula 5000 race from the 1970s than a modern F1 race.
Jerejj
10th July 2016, 15:23
Not as good as the previous race in Austria nor last year’s race, but excluding the first five laps quite an OK race overall with an exciting battle for 2nd for several laps and also some other battles for a position elsewhere.
Sonics (@sonicslv)
10th July 2016, 15:34
7/10 The track and weather provided us with nice setup for the race, race control destroys it with SC start, and worse hold it for too long. Everyone doesn’t look like the best driver in the world, especially Vettel. The one who looks comfortable with their car during the whole race only Hamilton and Verstappen, and even they take a trip on turn 1.
Nick (@npf1)
10th July 2016, 15:51
Entertaining but not much more. 7/10.
Would have instantly voted a point higher had there not been a SC start. What’s the point of the wets if nobody gets to use them and it causes mayhem in the pits for stops?
There were some battles, there were a lot of mistakes through turn 1 so it was entertaining, but I stress, not much more than that.
Jules Winfield (@jules-winfield)
10th July 2016, 16:39
Awful, just awful. 2/10 from me (one each for Hamilton’s overall brilliance and for Verstappen’s move on Rosberg).
Watching this race, it became apparent to me just how frustrating watching modern-day F1 has become. I have been watching for at least two decades and I think it’s time for me to have a break. As a sporting spectacle and a piece of entertainment, it’s just not up to scratch. Between them, Charlie Whiting, the FIA, Bernie and the teams are ruining this sport. Occasionally it provides something worth watching, like Verstappen’s maiden win in Spain or Hamilton’s drive at Silverstone in 2008, but these moments are few and far between.
Whiting is plain incompetent, cowardly and timid. The sooner he retires, the better. We’d never get a race like Silverstone 2008, Barcelona 1996 or Monaco 1997 now, because at the first hint of rain before the start of a race, he orders out the safety car, which then tools around at a low speed for far too long, whilst the drivers moan that it was time to go racing three laps ago. These are supposed to be the best drivers in the world, but he treats them like they’re a bunch of first-season Formula Ford drivers. The racing (such as it is) is ruined by over-bearing and petty rules where drivers face potential penalties because they drive too slowly or their team tells them what to do so they can avoid a gearbox failure. When penalties are handed out, they are inconsistent and sometimes result in no meaningful punishment at all (as per the last race with Rosberg). There is no public accountability at all for these people.
The non-Mercedes teams and engine suppliers should be ashamed of themselves. After almost two and a half years of this hybrid engine formula, they’ve made next to no impact on the dominance of the brilliant Mercedes team (and their superb driver in car 44). Even teams with the same engine are nowhere (and in the case of Williams, seemingly getting worse as time goes on). The only times that they tend to luck into a win is when the Mercedes drivers have a collective brain fade or when the silver cars hit reliability problems. These non-silver teams employ hundreds and hundreds of talented people and have hundreds of millions of Euros/dollars to throw about, yet Mercedes still can easily be a second a lap faster. So we get all-time greats like Vettel and Alonso fighting for scraps, whilst Hamilton could probably win even if he started one lap behind everyone else or if he drove in reverse.
The media doesn’t help either. The rapacious greed of 85-year-old Bernie Ecclestone and CVC has driven the sport behind a paywall in most of its major markets. Channel 4 in the UK go a good job, but I found their coverage a bit disjointed today as they constantly cut away from Ben and DC to Webber and Chandok for insight. Sky’s coverage is tabloid journalism at its worst. The only decent part of their coverage is Brundle, and he’s hobbled by the clueless oaf Croft and the self-indulgent, cringeworthy buffoon Kravitz. Herbert is utterly out of his depth and offers no meaningful insight at all and parrots annoying cliches and soundbites (when he’s not getting into arguments drivers). They manufacture controversy out of nothing and seem to think it’s fine to get Kravitz to spout conspiracy theories from mindless idiots on social media to the ever-patient Toto Wolff after races. Croft invites the public to share their thoughts after the race as if he’s some expert (here’s a clue, “Crofty”: you aren’t) and then moans when people express different views to him. It’s embarrassing to watch at times. People pay good money for this, and what do they get in return? It’s utter tripe.
I’ve had some good times watching F1 over the years, but it’s just not worth it any more.
Sander (@)
10th July 2016, 16:43
SC start and the boos for Rosberg is what made this race and the public a joke, if this was racing coming home it should never return home ever again.
KaIIe (@kaiie)
10th July 2016, 16:44
Not very exciting.
I understand the safety car start, but going round lap after lap when the track is dry enough for inters is too much – the FIA should just clearly then state that there will be no racing if the track is too wet for the full wets to be used.
The “battle” for the lead was over after SC came in and Lewis was two seconds clear by the time the field got to the S/F line. There were some decent scraps further down the field and plenty of mistakes in the wet, but overall this British Grand Prix lacked that something to make it exciting.
Jim Manna
10th July 2016, 16:45
7/10. Don’t get the negativity. Okay, for wet weather it wasnt the best, but still a good show.
The ROS/VES fight was great. Lots off people spinning, going wide and struggling with the circumstances. And some very good fights in the midfield.
Dont understand at all why people give a 4 or something. It was a good race, only thing missing was a fight for the lead.
Jorge Lardone (@jorge-lardone)
10th July 2016, 16:48
6/10. Another easy walk for Hamilton. Good for him, bad for us. Great race for Verstappen again.
bukester (@bukester)
10th July 2016, 16:50
Not a great race imho. Horrible Safety Car Start, good action when VES passed ROS and VES amazing ability to master the sport at such a young age. The drying track made for the usual DRS passes, although they were a little more interesting than usual due to the dry lines and remaining wet patches. ROS getting booed was disgraceful from the British Fans. Ferrari and Williams were disappointing. VET not being able to come up in the field was also disappointing. RAI did the best he could but still sad.
Ronald (@mosquito)
10th July 2016, 16:54
Verstappen made the race for me after Race Control once again ruined a nice possibility for an exciting wet race. I understand that they start behind the SC in wet conditions. But just release these guys after one or two laps. Otherwise we can just keep those full wet tyres in Italy.
EC (@dutch-1)
10th July 2016, 17:07
At the end a below average race, despite the rain. Disappointing.
Most remarkable: taking away all the expectations of a start in the rain, by the safety car. Now we could only hope that there would be another Merc on Merc crash, but not with ROS. HAM almost took out the Safety car and what will they do then? Bring out the safety car? But that’s already on track then….
The safety car was clearly an advantage for HAM, after that he could easily cruise home. I
find this guy just as annoying as Ronaldo. Both are good in their sport but horrible personalities. Id on’t understand why the Brits like this guy that much. Maybe the same xenophobic / anti Europe sentiment as the booing of ROS?
Further: the driving and the pass of VES on Ros was a highlight. For the rest there was not much to see besides almost all drivers made he same fault without much consequences.
k400
10th July 2016, 17:08
Rain robbed us of a great race. Hate rain.
Rooney (@rojov123)
10th July 2016, 17:13
The race was a snooze fest. The only fun part of this grand prix was Max following Rosberg around the track. If this was on any other track it would be a solid 4.5 to 5. However, this being a UK site with a majority of Uk folks, the rating will get bumped up to 7 and above. Ridiculously boring. Rated 5 by me.
sonia luff (@sonia54)
10th July 2016, 18:04
It’s the first time in 50yrs of watching F1 that i didn’t watch all of a race. The non start blew it straight away, no chance for anyone to make up places. These pilots are supposed to be some of the best drivers in the world. I drove in worse road conditions on my way to Prestwold race track yesterday and still managed to give a Mclaren 570s a good going around a wet track and still with plenty of water on it for aquaplaning in a couple of places.
The best part was watching Max and Nico scrap it out.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
10th July 2016, 18:05
I think it was more tense than exciting. Abbey was clearly an issue for all, from Hamilton to Haryanto.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Rosberg and Verstappen battle. Top driving by both. It would be a shame though should Rosberg’s hard work be undone by a rule which should not exist.
Some of the saves made by the drivers were absolutely epic, and thanks to the rain track limits was a complete non-issue.
troutcor
10th July 2016, 18:13
The best part of F1 right now is watching the Merc bigwigs squirm during the post-race interviews when they once again have to face up to the truth that their fair-haired boy is the second-best driver on a two-car team.
It is as if HAM was toying with little Nicky in the first part of the season and is now saying, “Well, I guess it’s time to go to work.”
Luca Nuvolari (@nuvolari71)
10th July 2016, 18:28
I am sooooo disappointed with those 5 laps behind the safety car. This is NOT racing anymore. Yes we don’t a 1997 SPA (right date?) but the conditions were good enough for 22 of the best drivers in the world!! They were all on full wet! We want to see spinning wheels at the start, Verstappen passing the Mercedes, 4 cars arriving at the apex at the same time. We want to see a thrilling start of a FORMULA 1 race on wet. And it wasn’t even raining. Take Assen last race on Moto GP…. 350 kmh motorbikes on wet. I have watched nearly 40 years of racing and this is NOT fun anymore. I have raced 24 hours races in karting on wet tarmac under torrential rain with slick tires because there weren’t enough rain for everyone. And we were nobody. You start, you race, stay out of trouble and continue…
Gary
10th July 2016, 19:43
Exactly. One time I ran the 24 hour kart race at Le Mans (Circuit Prost) and we started the race, in the rain, on wet tires. Unbelievable.
MacLeod (@macleod)
11th July 2016, 8:35
+1
Nick Wyatt (@nickwyatt)
10th July 2016, 19:41
Y’know, I’m wondering if I watched the same race as some of the people posting here. I really enjoyed the race and voted it a seven. Nothing like perfect, but hugely enjoyable.
As a completely irrelevant question, which drivers didn’t have a spin or major wobble at turn 1? I think Button, Hamilton and Massa although Massa got collected by Vettel at that place. Who else avoided being caught out by what the BBC is calling the ‘naughty puddle’?
EC (@dutch-1)
10th July 2016, 21:20
HAM also went off there as almost everybody.
Don’t remember Massa or Button, but who cares, they just took the secondary road to the tarmac and most of them lost 1,5 to 2 seconds to go on like noting happened. This corner was the only thing that kept me from falling asleep after the rounds 5 to 25.
Nick Wyatt (@nickwyatt)
10th July 2016, 21:48
Oh yes, I had forgotten that Ham went off there too. It’s not often that one corner seems to catch almost everyone out. Maybe we should have Bernie’s sprinkler idea at just one corner on each circuit. Y’know, like a sort of reverse DRS!
mateuss (@mateuss)
10th July 2016, 19:44
There were moments, but the weekend and recent developments has lead to me feeling cold towards F1. Over obsessed with safety, halo etc. Obsession with white painted lines. The SC start, 2nd, 3rd, 4th lap were the final straw.
Philip (@philipgb)
10th July 2016, 22:45
I’m going to ignore the radio rule penalty which honestly makes me want to mark the race zero and instead give it the 6 it deserves. It wasn’t that gripping a race, some interesting moments but it never quite felt like the drivers were on it like in Austria.
Cyber
10th July 2016, 23:09
A bit of water on track. And they have to start the race behind SC?
And oh yeah, please don’t race hard going beyond the white track lines.
Races being decided by penalties and not by the driver able to go around the fastest.
F1 has become a kindergarten joke.
Parade lap after parade lap.
Most boring race for long.
5/10.
Eric (@fletch)
11th July 2016, 0:17
8 for me.. Safety car start sucked and it would have been great to see if max could have challenged Lewis for the win with a fresh set of rubber and 20 to go.
Mark (@overshadowed)
11th July 2016, 0:18
Safety car start stayed out yet again 2-3 laps too long.
The drying track kept it interesting with nearly all drivers finding turn 1 tricky almost to the end of the race.
If only Nico could of closed the gap a bit more and made it a fight in the last few laps.
The penalty should of been made as the rules stand now, way I understand is that they cannot give those directives unless a failure is imminent and the fact he was able to drive to the end with no pace issues shows it wasn’t that close to failure.
I do however think the rules should be relaxed some how to allow messages but still ban the ones where drivers were being coached on corner speed, gears, driving techniques etc.
Minardi (@gitanes)
11th July 2016, 0:42
To think that a dry start would have been more exciting than that because the Bulls might have gotten by.
For the first time in my 40 years of watching F1, I no longer look forward to a wet Sunday. How sad. SC start utterly ruined today.
BNKracing (@bnkracing)
11th July 2016, 1:09
It was completely ridiculous they started the race behind the SC. Why fit the full wets then? Ham hard a hard time going slow enough to stay behind the SC, that should have been a sign there that they didn’t need it. Rest of the race was pretty decent I thought. Although I was outside working on a project and hopping in every 5 mins to see what was going on. I must say it was more entertaining than France vs Portugal!! What a horrible game, but you don’t see the Portuguese fans complaining. (Why can’t F1 fans be more like that?)
Matt
11th July 2016, 3:36
Thoroughly enjoyable race, slightly ruined by the safety car start. We wait and get excited about the possibility of a wet race, only for the safety car to pull in when it’s time for inters. This greatly reduced the chances of someone in a slower car being able to excel or execute a clever strategy.
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
11th July 2016, 4:50
The long safety car start ate into the number of laps. It also meant that there was a rolling start. The top three positions remained unaltered in the race, only to be changed later due to Rosberg’s penalty. Some of the positives were: Lewis building a strong lead in the damp conditions, Max overtake on Rosberg, Force India has a clever strategy team and the car is doing well, Toro Rosso still in the top 10, Alonso still has plenty to offer if placed in a competitive car. Turn 1 offered entertainment as it challenged even champion drivers.
But, there were some negatives too: Rosberg not doing well in variable weather conditions and challenge for the lead faded away as soon as the safety car pulled in. For Ferrari, nothing is working out at the moment. For Ricciardo, even Saturdays are now a cause of concern. Was Williams in a F1 race or F1 drift and spin challenge?
Voted 6/10
Would have given more if at least there was a challenge for the lead at the start.
PJA (@pja)
13th July 2016, 18:56
I gave the race an 8.
As seems to be the case now whenever it is a wet start to a race, they start behind the safety car and then it usually seems to stay out a few laps too long, this is proven as drivers come in straight away to change to inters. It is not ideal but it is something we just have to accept.
Once the race did get going there was action throughout and with almost everyone having an off track excursion sometime with the track not fully drying for quite a while there always seemed the possibility that someone would crash out so I wasn’t certain of the finishing order until the end.