Vettel equals Prost and fills up with confidence at Silverstone

Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) signed a victory rich in symbols this Sunday at Silverstone (Great Britain). The Scuderia strongman put an end to the long streak of four consecutive victories of Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) in his garden and took the opportunity to join Alain Prost in the tablets of the Formula 1 with 51 Grand Prix won.

That trophy though…

Win number 4 for Vettel in 2018#BritishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/cQIQ0x8Cth

- Formula 1 (@ F1) July 8, 2018

Author of a better start than his rival Lewis Hamilton, the four-time world champion took the lead from the first corner. The race was looking good since Valtteri Bottas was kept at a distance of at least two seconds (maximum of five seconds).

However, the two interventions of the Safety Car (to remove the wrecks of Marcus Ericsson, then of Carlos Sainz Jr and Romain Grosjean) revived interest in the event. Sebastian Vettel even had to take back his property after Valtteri Bottas decided to make only one pit stop, compared to two for the ex protégé of Red Bull.

« The Safety Car spiced things up but I had the advantage of the soft tires on the restart; It wasn’t so easy to make my way against Bottas! » Indeed, Sebastian Vettel struggled several laps against the Mercedes, before boldly finding the opening.

“I managed to surprise him. I wasn't sure I would be able to negotiate the turn well but it worked. Yesterday I was a little damaged, but today I felt in great shape, I had no problems” , explains Sebastian Vettel, in reference to his neck pain.

Finally, questioned about the declarations of Toto wolff on a possible anti-sporting strategy of the Scuderia against Mercedes, the winner of the day defends his team. « It’s stupid to think this was a deliberate act. I don't think it was intentional, I think it's pointless to suggest that. I would have difficulty maneuvering with precision to get someone off the track. In France, I lost my front wing so I ruined my race. »

Regardless, Sebastian Vettel now has an eight-point lead over Lewis Hamilton in the overall Drivers' standings. “We are performing well on just about every type of track now. But we will have to continue developing the car until the end of the year. This will be the key.

Discover the analysis of the British GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2173 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.