Sainz wins thrilling British GP after huge Zhou crash

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took his first Formula 1 victory at the end of an extraordinary British Grand Prix packed full of incident and drama.

The Spaniard benefitted from questionable strategy calls from Ferrari, which cost his team-mate Charles Leclerc the win and a chance to revive his title hopes.

Lewis Hamilton was in the battle for victory, but finished third behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez after a frantic final nine laps following a late safety car.

Leclerc could finish only fourth and Ferrari missed the opportunity to make up significant ground in the title race on a bad day for championship leader Max Verstappen.

The Red Bull driver finished only seventh, his car slowed by floor damage caused by running over debris, but lost only six points to Leclerc as a result of Ferrari’s race management.

Verstappen leads Perez in the championship by 34 points, with Leclerc a further nine adrift.

The race was delayed for an hour after a huge pile-up at the first corner caused a red flag, which took attention away from environmental protesters who had invaded the track after the start.

Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu vaulted the barriers at the first corner after sliding upside down across the gravel trap, but was freed from the car by paramedics and declared uninjured after a check-up at the medical centre.

Williams driver Alex Albon was flown to Coventry Hospital for precautionary checks after he was involved in a separate accident, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel punting him into the pit wall.

Zhou’s accident was triggered when Mercedes’ George Russell and Pierre Gasly’s Alpha Tauri touched, spinning Russell into the side of Zhou. (BBC Sport)