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Hot & dry

IF VALTTERI Bottas looked a little hot and bothered after his drive to P3 in the British Grand Prix, there was a good reason, with the Finn’s drink system having failed during the race. Bottas endured a pair of bad starts in the British Grand Prix, first at the race start itself – where he was passed by Charles Leclerc – and then at the red flag restart, where he was overtaken by McLaren’s Lando Norris. “I had no drinks,” said Bottas after the race, which was run in temperatures of nearly 30ºC. P3 marked his third consecutive podium, following a dry run of races for the Finn in Monaco and Baku, and comes at an opportune moment. | IOL Motoring

Slammed

FORMULA 1, the FIA and Mercedes have condemned the racist abuse of Lewis Hamilton after the seven-time world champion was targeted on social media after winning last Sunday’s British Grand Prix following his collision with Max Verstappen. “Formula 1, the FIA, the drivers and the teams are working to build a more diverse and inclusive sport. Such unacceptable instances of online abuse must be highlighted and eliminated,” they said. Hamilton, whose Hamilton Commission – the initiative set-up to increase representation of black people in UK motorsport – published its first report into the issue last week. | IOL Motoring

Positive

CARLOS Sainz said his P6 finish at Silverstone was “still a positive result” – but couldn’t help looking wistfully at Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc’s podium finish. Sainz came into the pits from P2 on lap 29 but a stubborn leftfront tyre change meant his stop lasted 12.3 seconds and the Spaniard lost 37.5 seconds in the pit lane. “We are indeed looking to improve all the areas … at this circuit we thought it was not going to be very good for us; we delivered, and the car was very nice to drive,” Sainz said. Scuderia Ferrari left Silverstone with Leclerc having taken his first podium since the 2020 British GP. | IOL Motoring

Top 5

DANIEL Ricciardo said he wasn’t convinced he could hold off Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz during the British Grand Prix last Sunday but the McLaren driver did exactly that for his first top-five finish with the Woking squad. Ricciardo ended up just under a second ahead of Sainz at the finish. “So it’s getting there … but it’s obviously taken 10 races to get a top five so I’m aware that it’s probably still going to be a steady process.” The Australian said before the race that a first top-five for Mclaren was his aim, and having hit the target, he joked that he should have aimed higher than that. “Next time I’ll say I’d love a top three!” he quipped. | IOL Motoring