Max Verstappen takes 6th straight F1 win at British GP after epic fight for 2nd

SILVERSTONE, UK: On a day when Brad Pitt joined the Formula One grid to shoot his new movie, defending champion Max Verstappen was reduced to a cameo role in his own win with F1 fans gripped by the fight for second place. Apart from losing the lead to Lando Norris at the start — and then taking it back — Verstappen’s cruise on Sunday to yet another win — his sixth in a row — lacked the Hollywood-style drama of Norris’ battle with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton for second. That fits a pattern this season of dominant wins for the Red Bull driver and increasingly hard-fought battles behind him as Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin and now McLaren jostle to be the second-fastest team.

“It’s very confusing, to be honest, because every single race it’s someone else,” Verstappen said. Filming for Pitt’s upcoming F1-themed movie had been taking place all weekend around the F1 sessions, using black-and-gold cars from the fictional APX team. Pitt himself and co-star Damson Idris joined the grid in racing suits before the start.

Verstappen extended his overall lead to 99 points over teammate Sergio Perez. First place in a race earns 25 points. Starting in pole position, Verstappen was overtaken off the line by McLaren’s Norris in what he later admitted was a “terrible” start but swept back into the lead on lap five and held on until the end.

Red Bull has won all 10 races this year, 11 in a row including the final race of 2022, matching the record of McLaren with 11 consecutive wins in 1988. Norris had been expected to drop back after qualifying a surprise second on the grid, but instead remained Verstappen’s closest challenger throughout the race. After a safety-car restart, he fought wheel-to-wheel with Hamilton, who had what