Adrian Newey has recalled his concern over the “horrible” incident between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 Formula 1 British Grand Prix.

Newey, who will formally leave Red Bull for a new role at Aston Martin in March, said that the crash left him fraught with concern on the pit wall that the Dutchman, who went on to win his first title the same year, was seriously injured.

Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Newey recollected the moment that the pair touched at Copse corner, sending the Red Bull skidding into the tyre wall at high speed.

“I mean, they’re horrible [those sort of incidents], they really are.

“I think Max’s one at Silverstone was the last one where we thought, ‘Is he okay? Is he badly hurt in there?’

“And then when he did come on the radio, because he was so badly winded, he was just grunting, and you don’t know what that means.

“He was very sore. He had a quite nasty concussion. He was very sore for a week after, but he was okay.

“So those sorts of accidents still can happen, and do happen. The one at Spa in the Formula 2 race with Anthoine [Hubert], was horrific, and it’s never going to be 100 per cent safe.”

Mercedes conveys ‘regret’ over handling of Verstappen shunt

After the race, many in Red Bull’s camp took exception to the attitude from the Mercedes team, which they believed was unsympathetic to Verstappen’s situation.

Speaking to PlanetF1, Bradley Lord, the team’s Chief Communucations Officer , spoke of his contrition when reflecting on the incident now.

“If we were to talk something we regret, I think, having taken the word of a member of the Red Bull team – and therefore taken a little for granted – Max’s condition after his shunt at Silverstone in 2021,” he said.

“I think how we were perceived to handle that aftermath was a point at which that relationship in that season soured quite dramatically.

“We could have handled that in a different way that would have been more reflective of the concern we had for Max’s well-being at that point in time, regardless of our view of the incident and the rights and wrongs of it.

“There was that side of things, and then to have, albeit unintentionally, antagonised the relationship, and the relationship with the fan bases in quite an extreme a way as it happened.

“That’s probably the moment. If we could go back in time and change it, I think we would change our responses and what we did at that point in time, around that afternoon.”

READ MORE: FIA president makes cryptic British GP remark in attack on F1 media

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Mercedes Chief Communications Officer Bradley Lord said the team regrets its response to Lewis Hamilton’s clash with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the 2021 Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Hamilton and Verstappen were embroiled in an intense title fight that year and things went up a dramatic notch at Silverstone.

Wheel-to-wheel on the opening lap, the pair clashed at Copse corner and Verstappen was sent careening into the barriers, suffering a 51G impact but luckily escaping serious injury.

However, the Dutchman was knocked out briefly and sent to hospital as a precautionary measure.

Hamilton meanwhile, recovered his damaged car to the pits, which was repaired during a red flag period to allow him to mount a comeback victory after being penalised for the Verstappen incident.

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner and Advisor Helmut Marko were critical of Mercedes and Hamilton’s jubilation post-victory and their apparent lack of concern for Verstappen’s well-being.

A right of review was launched by Red Bull but was later dismissed and Mercedes responded with the following statement: “We hope that this decision will mark the end of a concerted attempt by the senior management of Red Bull Racing to tarnish the good name and sporting integrity of Lewis Hamilton.”

Why Lord wishes Mercedes handled Silverstone 2021 differently

There were further clashes on track between Hamilton and Verstappen post-Silverstone in 2021 and the rivalry between the two teams became very public and heated.

Looking back on the incident with PlanetF1, Lord wishes things were handled differently.

“If we were to talk something we regret, I think, having taken the word of a member of the Red Bull team – and therefore taken a little for granted – Max’s condition after his shunt at Silverstone in 2021,” he said.

“I think how we were perceived to handle that aftermath was a point at which that relationship in that season soured quite dramatically.

“We could have handled that in a different way that would have been more reflective of the concern we had for Max’s well-being at that point in time, regardless of our view of the incident and the rights and wrongs of it.”

Another product of the crash was the animosity generated between fan bases on social media, which remains to this day and has contributed to Lord’s regret.

“There was that side of things, and then to have, albeit unintentionally, antagonised the relationship, and the relationship with the fan bases in quite an extreme a way as it happened,” he said.

“That’s probably the moment. If we could go back in time and change it, I think we would change our responses and what we did at that point in time, around that afternoon.”

Mercedes handled Abu Dhabi 2021 better than Silverstone

The heated title fight in 2021 raged on until the final lap at the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP.

As has been well documented, a controversial safety car call rewarded a savvy late pit-stopping Verstappen with just one car ahead of him – Hamilton – on his path to championship glory as opposed to having to navigate lapped traffic.

The fan debate over this incident will rage on for many years to come, but whatever way you see it, Mercedes and Hamilton were devastated by the title loss by a means with which they felt was wrong.

Lord, however, unlike the Silverstone incident, was happy with the way the team handled communications in the aftermath of Abu Dhabi 2021.

“I look back on Abu Dhabi 2021 and how we handled the aftermath of that and, actually, the decision to say nothing and to not communicate was, hopefully, a powerful and elegant way to handle such a difficult situation where no words would have been sufficient to express how we were feeling,” he said.

In addition, keeping Nico Rosberg’s retirement announcement amid his 2016 title victory a secret was another communications challenge that Lord was proud of.

“Another highlight was Nico’s retirement,” he said. 

“Being in a room where you knew a bombshell was about to land and no one in the room had a clue that it was coming.

“That was a really memorable moment,” Lord continued. 

“It’s rare in our sport that you have a story that doesn’t leak beforehand. That was one of the few occasions where we had something that hadn’t gone anywhere, and when he announced his retirement, that was a real shock for those in the room, without it being telegraphed beforehand in any way.

“So that was an interesting thing to observe and to be part of. Crafting those press releases late the night before, after he told us that news – that was a fun time as well.”

READ MORE – Red Bull ace Max Verstappen opens up on Mercedes F1 interest

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Lewis Hamilton winning at Silverstone, in his last British Grand Prix with Mercedes was a standout highlight among the several that occurred across a riveting 2024 Formula 1 campaign.

Motorsport Week’s writers have charted their favourite moments of the 2024 F1 season with Reporter Harry Whitfield picking Hamilton’s return to the top step of the podium at Silverstone.

“Charles Leclerc’s first Monaco Grand Prix win, Lando Norris’ maiden victory in Miami: there have been some fantastic races in 2024. But my personal favourite was Hamilton’s record-breaking ninth British GP victory and his first since 2021.

“After two seasons without a race win, it felt weird not to see Hamilton stand on the top step on the podium. However, the victory made the wait worthwhile.

“You couldn’t write a better send-off for the Briton in his final year with the Silver Arrows. The pace was there all weekend and, after narrowly missing out on pole to his team-mate George Russell, Hamilton kept his cool to stay in the fight with the ever-changing British weather.

“Despite a late charge from Max Verstappen, he held on and, I have to say, I have never heard the seven-time World Champion so emotional over the radio.

“The celebrations afterwards and the hug with his dad Anthony was super special. I just hope he can get that famous win in red next year… maybe even in front of the Tifosi.”

Hamilton reacts to Silverstone win

Speaking after his return to winning ways, Hamilton was overcome with emotion at Silverstone.

“Yeah, I can’t stop crying,” Hamilton said in parc ferme.

“I think, you know, since 2021, I’m just every day getting up, trying to fight, to train, to put my mind to the task and work as hard as I can with this amazing team and this is my last race here, the British Grand Prix, with this team so I wanted to win this so much for them, because I love them, I appreciate them so much, all the hard work they’ve been putting in over the years.

“I’m forever grateful to everyone in this team, everyone at Mercedes, and all of our partners.

“And I just want to say thank you to all of you for being here with us today. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

“And then otherwise to all our incredible fans, I could see you lap by lap as I was coming around, and there’s just no greater feeling as to finish at the front here.

READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton named F1 gamers’ favourite driver

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The MotoGP British Grand Prix at Silverstone doesn’t have the same feel as it once did. Something feels missing from the pinnacle of two-wheeled racing at one of the world’s most prestigious and historic venues.

Silverstone has been a key part of the two-wheeled Grand Prix calendar since 2010 after MotoGP decided to call it quits on Donington Park. The Northamptonshire circuit previously hosted the race from 1977 to 1986, before Donington Park’s stint from 1987 to 2009. The decline of the British Grand Prix was noticeable even before the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are numerous factors to consider as to why this is the case.

Attendance Figures

The pictured graph discloses attendance figures in recent years on each day (Friday-Sunday) and then the total figure for the weekend. Silverstone’s return to the calendar in 2010 appeared to be a welcome edition, with 145,247 attending across the weekend. From 2011-2016, each year, bar 2014, saw the total number increase from the inaugural 2010 total. The facts show that turnout has dropped massively every year from 2017 onwards, bar 2021. In 2024, the total weekend attendance was a reported 117,867, fractional up on last year but Sunday figures went down from 48,564 to 42,529. Motorsport Week details five key factors explaining the rapid decline at the British Grand Prix.

The Valentino Rossi effect?

First and foremost, the explanation of the increased attendance at the 2021 British Grand Prix was predominantly down to one reason. The nine-time champion and modern icon Valentino Rossi announced earlier in that season his decision to bow out of the sport, with the Italian rider waving his final goodbyes to the British fans in attendance at Silverstone. It was no surprise to see such an increase in attendance (up by almost 30,000 over the previous race run in 2019) due to the size and stature that Rossi has brought to the sport. Thousands of fans will say their first interest in the sport was largely down to The Doctor, purely because of his incredible riding ability on the track and his popular antics off it.

While his final appearance in Northamptonshire in 2021 saw an increase in turnout, it’s safe to partially assume the low turnouts all the other years prior were related to his form on track. After his last MotoGP win came in 2017, two-wheeled motorsport never saw Rossi on the top step of the podium again. Meanwhile, it can be concluded that attendance figures post-Rossi era show Silverstone is simply missing MotoGP’s two-wheeled giant. His lack of presence on track in MotoGP is apparent even three years later, despite his continued legacy through his own satellite team.

No British riders in MotoGP

Aside from Italian rider Valentino Rossi, the Brits love to cheer on their own. Cal Crutchlow was the last full-time rider in MotoGP and even came close to winning the British Grand Prix in 2016. Since he retired from full-time racing in 2020, no British rider has featured on the grid except for occasional wild card or stand-in appearances.

Crutchlow was the most successful British Grand Prix rider in the top class since Barry Sheene, who rose to immense popularity in the 1970s and was even Britain’s last champion in the premier class. However, he could not follow through on his agreement with Yamaha as a wild-card entry for the 2024 edition at Silverstone due to the repercussions of his recent surgery to remedy an injury.

Britain is crying out for talent to come through who will be able to emulate one of the sport’s most iconic figures and be in illustrious company with fellow greats John Surtees, Phil Read, and Mike Hailwood. Until more Brits successfully make the jump up to MotoGP, Silverstone’s attendance will likely suffer.

Is the racing product worth it?

One factor that cannot be attributed to Silverstone’s dwindling attendance is the racing product that has been put on display since it rejoined the MotoGP calendar. Its comeback has seen races finish much closer, with Silverstone bringing out numerous successful battles. Jorge Lorenzo and Alex Rins’ last corner and lap overtakes on Marc Marquez in 2013 and 2019 spring to one’s mind, with Marquez enacting revenge on Lorenzo in 2014.

But the key takeaway is that Enea Bastianini’s win this year makes him the 10th different winner from the last 10 editions of the British Grand Prix. In other years, races have been influenced by one-rider dominance. Still, the stat indicates the competitive characteristics of the track, considering Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Aprilia and Ducati have all won around the Towcester roads. As a result, it is hard to put Silverstone’s dwindling attendance figures down to the nature of the circuit itself.

Affordability

Most notably, Silverstone’s pricing has increased for the fans attending. A general admission ticket for the weekend was priced at £130, but occupying certain corners started from £170. Silverstone looks soulless on national television, and the grandstands are predominantly empty even on race day.

Silverstone’s lack of attractions away from the racing highlights some of its faults, with personal experiences not meeting the same expectations in the years preceding. With a downturn in self-employed personnel operating memorabilia tents and activities organised for fans alike, combined with a lack of accessibility to meeting the top riders compared to WorldSBK, Silverstone is falling rapidly behind.

A WorldSBK weekend ticket lets you sit anywhere for €75 with exclusive access to the paddock areas, including live entertainment and a chance to win paddock passes.

Compared with Formula 1, albeit where fans paid a lot more for the weekend, MotoGP can’t compete with the amount of entertainment to look forward to both on and off the track.

Silverstone is the perfect circuit for facilitating attractions for new audiences, and Dorna should work together with Silverstone to take lessons from the MotoGP sister series in bringing more bang for buck.

2025 and Beyond

MotoGP will return to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix in 2025, with the race being moved forward for the first time since its 2012 edition.

Silverstone is the only confirmed date on the calendar, occupying the May 23rd-25th slot in an attempt to try to attract a larger audience despite further complications.

That same weekend features the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 and just a day later, the first week of the Isle of Man TT gets underway. Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta stated that he wanted to move the slot earlier in the season, with the dates now falling on a bank holiday rather than peak British summertime. Although a massive increase in turnout seems unlikely, it is an actionable step toward discovering solutions in one of the sport’s biggest markets. It remains to be seen how successful the weekend will be, given that it’s now taking place on the same weekend as two prestigious events and a day ahead of one of the biggest motorcycle events in the world. If Silverstone sees attendances dwindle further in 2025, tough questions will be asked about the validity of holding a British GP on the MotoGP calendar.

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Marc Marquez chose to bring home important points to the Gresini Ducati team rather than risk crashing out in Sunday’s MotoGP race at Silverstone, following a tumble in Saturday’s Sprint.

The eight-time champion explained the reasoning behind his decision not to mount a late race podium charge, stating his crash in Saturday’s Sprint race still played on his mind.

He crashed out of the Sprint race at Vale with two laps remaining while sitting in fourth spot, chasing a top-three finish.

On Sunday’s race, Marquez was once again one of the lead riders aboard the GP23, running fourth with future factory Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia occupying the last podium spot.

The Spaniard opted to secure fourth place rather than risk everything for a podium with a chance of his race ending in the gravel trap.

“Without the crash of Saturday, maybe the podium was possible – or another crash, you never know,” he said.

“When I overtook Aleix [Espargaro], I just pushed two, three laps to open a gap and then I was controlling [the pace] more behind Pecco for my mentality, because I cannot make two mistakes in the same way, Saturday and Sunday.

“For that reason I said I prefer to finish and to have a good feeling for [the next round in] Austria than to arrive there without good confidence.”

Marquez struggled and stated he felt “lost” on Friday, leaving him with no other option but taking a tow from Pramac’s Jorge Martin to make it through to Q2.

Marquez tried to use the tow once more in Q2, but the plan backfired as the Gresini rider had to abort the lap due to being stuck behind the VR46 duo of Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio.

After finishing fourth in Sunday’s GP, the 31-year-old stated that he performed above his expectations considering where he started the weekend.

“Honestly speaking, [fourth place] was a great surprise because the [main] thing of the weekend is that we were always on delay,” he said.

“Then in the warm-up we tried something that helps me a bit more, for that reason I was able to keep the pace with the front riders in the beginning of the race so this was the best surprise for me.

“I never have been quick and fast with the medium rear tyre and medium front, but I feel super good in the race.

“I was quite conservative in the end because the mistake from Saturday was in my shoulder [sic].”

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Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia conceded that the “maximum was third place” after completing the podium during the MotoGP British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday.

The double reigning champion’s streak of four Sunday wins in a row ended at the Northamptonshire circuit last weekend as he was beaten by title rival Jorge Martin and team-mate Enea Bastianini.

The Italian’s weekend wasn’t all plain sailing as he crashed out of Saturday’s Sprint race while sitting in podium contention and as a result he needed a bounce-back performance in the Grand Prix.

Bagnaia led in the first half of Sunday’s main event following a strong launch off the line but was passed by Pramac’s Martin and later his team-mate Bastianini, who went on to win and complete a first-ever weekend double.

Martin’s second-place finishes on Saturday and Sunday means Bagnaia now trails his Pramac rival by three points at the top of the Riders’ standings.

The Italian expressed his disappointment with the weekend’s events but said he would do his homework on what went wrong.

“First thing that I want to do this afternoon is to check everything on the data because I want to know what I did wrong,” he said in the post-race press conference.

“I was thinking I was managing everything well in terms of pace and tyre, but when Jorge overtook me I see that he was in a better shape than me and I lost the front [and] Enea overtook me.

“I just decided to slow down a bit and just finish the race. Honestly today that was better than try to fight for a better position. I tried to the maximum and the maximum was a third place.

Tyre wear played a pivotal part in Sunday’s race, with all but two riders opting for the medium front tyre.

Bagnaia opted for the medium front, which inevitably caused him to ride more conservatively with the rear.

“Every time I’m not happy with the front tyre, I finish the rear because I can’t force the bike to turn with the front,” he explained.

“It’s not the first time that it is happening. I’m not fully happy with the front tyre, today we chose the medium.

“I finished the rear more because I can’t force the front tyre to let the bike turn and I struggled a bit with the rear tyre consumption.

“I was having a lot of movement, I was locking. And when I was wide it was because as I entered it and when I touched the gas I lost it. So the tyre was having less support than what I was expecting and it was difficult for me to turn the bike.”

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Jake Dixon pulled off a last-lap masterclass to defeat Aron Canet to win the Moto2 race at his home British Grand Prix.

The duo rode to perfection as the two built a strong seven-second lead over the rest of the field in a truly dominant display.

Pole sitter Ai Ogura rocket shipped off the line aboard his MT Helmets to lead the majority of the opening lap of the race.

Canet then made an aggressive move to lead proceedings at the end of the first lap, with Ogura under threat from Dixon.

Hometown favourite Dixon elevated from fifth to third before mustering an audacious move on Ogura to take second to the delight of the crowd at Copse corner on Lap 2.

Joe Roberts darted past Ogura to position his American Racing Team bike in the final podium spots. Ogura sustained a better line on entry to the back straight to reclaim track position.

Pertamina Mandalika Gas Up Team rider Jaume Masia race ended on the fast Turn 14 on Lap 2.

Marc VDS rider Tony Arbolino ran wide at the back straight at Turn 6 and could not get it stopped resulting in a fall on the gravel traps, putting him out of proceedings altogether.

Roberts attempted another move on Ogura, but once more, the Japanese star reclaimed the third spot at Turn 6.

Roberts sat back for the remainder of the lap and seized an opportunistic move at the end of the Hangar, this time making it stick.

Ogura fell down to fifth following a move on Diogo Moreira on the start-finish straight before the Brazilian rookie later losing control of his bike which ended his race on Lap 6.

Big names Somkiat Chantra and Joe Roberts followed in the gravel trap in Lap 6 and Lap 7 respectively, which put Gresini’s Alberto Arenas into the final podium spot.

Both Canet and Dixon stretched out a four second lead over the rest of the field, with the final spot on the podium all to play for.

Championship leader Sergio Garcia qualified in 16th before claiming seven spots to ninth by the halfway stage.

The Gresini duo of Arenas and Manuel Gonzalez pulled out a lead over the next pack of riders, featuring Darryn Bonder, Ogura, Celestino Vietti and Garcia.

Mario Aji made a monumental highside at Turn 7 on Lap 10 while sitting inside the top ten positions.

Canet and CFMoto’s Dixon’s rapid showing of pace continued with the duo boasting a seven-second advantage at the top, but Dixon looked poised to eye up a move for the win in the closing laps.

Gonzalez overtook his team-mate Arenas to put himself third ahead of Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP rider Binder, with a Garcia resurgence on the horizon.

The championship leader gained a further three places to place himself in sixth spot, but can sense a podium place in his grasp.

Elsewhere, 2025 Ducati rider Fermin Aldeguer suffered all weekend, showing far off the standards of his ability as he was placed in the final points-scoring positions with four laps to go.

Garcia overtook Binder at Copse corner to mount that last grasp podium, whereas his team-mate Ogura had gone backwards over the course of the race and fell down to 13th.

Garcia lunged passed Gonzalez on the third to final lap with Vietti following suit on the start-finish straight.

With Vietti appearing more comfortable, he forged his way past the Spaniard on the second last lap.

Out ahead on the last lap, Dixon found a way through Canet and sped off in the distance in the first half of the lap.

Canet tried to find a gap in the second section of the race, but Dixon pulled off a masterclass in looking after the tyres till the very end.

This win marks his first win at Silverstone since joining Moto2, with Canet featuring on the rostrum for a second time this season.

Red Bull’s Vietti rounded off the podium spots ahead of MT Helmets Garcia who recovered from 16th to finish fourth.

Gresini rider Gonzalez defied a late charge from Binder to take fifth, with Jeremy Alcoba finishing in seventh.

Arenas dropped back to eighth following an early charge, with Alonso Lopez enduring a quiet race that put him ninth.

Senna Agius rounded off the top ten, fending off a late battle with Zonta van den Goorbergh and Aldeguer.

Bo Bendsneyder was able to bring back home points for his Pertamina Mandalika Gas Up Team following his team-mates crash, with pole-sitter Ogura finishing all the way back in 14th.

Marcos Ramirez produced solace for the American Racing Team after his team-mate and championship contender Roberts crashed out of proceedings, with the Spanish rider claiming the final point.

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An Enea Bastianini tyre wear preservation masterclass ensued at the British Grand Prix, with the Italian winning both the Sprint and Sunday races at Silverstone.

Bastianini becomes the 10th different winner in as many races at Silverstone and gains his first win of the season.

The factory Ducati duo of Francesco Bagania and Bastianini got out of the floodgates well to take the lead in the first corner, with Jorge Martin overtaking pole-sitter Aleix Espargaro.

Brad Binder’s promising qualifying position of sixth was meaningless as his start, which caused him to fall to the back of the grid. His engine collapsed which put him out of proceedings before the first lap’s completion.

Trackhouse Aprilia rider duo Raul Fernandez and Miguel Oliveira both crashed out in the opening lap in what was a disastrous day for the American outfit.

Lap 3 saw Pramac’s Martin and Espargaro establish overtakes on factory Ducati’s Bastianini, with four bike lengths distance separating Bagnaia to second and third.

Espargaro formulated the fastest lap on Lap 3 to try and keep himself in contention with the two title contenders at the front.

The Gresini Ducati brothers were keeping themselves in contention with the GP24s, but younger brother Alex Marquez was losing time to the leading five.

Fabio Di Giannantonio overtook Pedro Acosta aboard his VR46 Ducati, elevating himself up to the seventh spot.

The VR46 Ducati rider showed the world why he is Ducati’s chosen one for a GP25, making a successful lunge on Marquez on Lap 7 to place himself sixth.

Bagnaia and Martin continued to lead proceedings heading into the second half of the race, with the pair establishing a second advantage over Aprilia’s Espargaro.

Espargaro ran wide at the end of the Hangar straight, which allowed Bastianini to reclaim third spot.

The factory Ducati rider notoriously improves as the race progresses, which would lead to a close end.

Martin found an opening to forge his way through Bagnaia at the start of Lap 12, but the following Lap ran wide in the same corner, which brought Bastianini back into contention.

Martin pushed his lead out once more, but Bagnaia was under pressure from his team-mates.

In Turn 7 at Luffield championship leader Bagnaia made a small mistake which put Bastianini up into second, with the factory Ducati rider eyeing the main prize.

Joan Mir’s race ended abruptly, and he was forced to enter the pitlane early, a disappointing outcome for the 2020 champion who was once occupying the tail end of the points.

Older brother Marquez was the next rider to overtake Espargaro to take fourth spot, eyeing up a late podium move.

Martin’s tyres fell off a cliff in the closing laps, which enabled Bastianini to squeeze past following a mistake in the second last lap.

Bastianini and factory Ducati’s win puts him back in contention for the championship as Martin regains the lead off Bagnaia following the reigning double champion’s Sprint race crash.

Bagnaia could only muster third position, with Marquez slotting his Gresini in fourth and only a second adrift of his future GP25 team-mate.

Di Giannantonio snatched fifth off Espargaro in the final laps, with the Aprilia not being able to extract anything in the latter stages.

Marquez and Gresini salvaged seventh with Marco Bezzecchi a distant eighth, ahead of lead KTM rider Pedro Acosta.

Pramac rider Franco Morbidelli rounded off the top ten despite the double long lap penalty he was issued from Saturday’s Sprint, ahead of old team-mate Fabio Quartararo and KTM’s Jack Miller.

Maverick Vinales finished in a below-par 13th for Aprilia despite its strong pace over the weekend, with Johann Zarco earning two important points for Honda.

Luca Marini rounds off the point-scoring positions in 15th to make it back-to-back point-scoring weekends ahead of LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami.

Augusto Fernandez and Remy Gardner rounded off proceedings with the final two places in the classifcation.

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MT Helmets star Ivan Ortola converted his pole position in a stunning last-lap battle win with David Alonso and Colin Veijer, earning his second Moto3 win of the season at Silverstone.

Ortola and third place starter Joel Kelso launched off the line, taking the top two places into the first corner.

Kelso, aboard his KTM Boé Motorsports, went one position better to take the lead heading into Turn 3 and went off into the distance, formulating a half-second lead after the first lap.

The chaotic opening lap continued as David Muñoz and Jacob Roulstone ran wide and rejoined in the lower pecking order. The Australian Roulstone received a long lap penalty.

Daniel Holgado aboard his GasGas Tech3 wanted to make amends for his recent form to formulate together a podium spot, with the Spaniard sneaking up on the inside of Ortola in Copse corner on Lap 2.

Both MLav team-mates of Scott Ogden’s and Vincente Perez’s race ended in the final corner of lap 2, with Ogden caught up with nowhere to go when Angel Piqueras lost control on his Leopard Racing bike.

Holgado elevated his GasGas Tech3 to the leader Kelso, he overtook on Lap 3 which allowed the rest of the grid to close up.

Kelso regained the lead down the Hangar straight on Lap 5 with leading pack riders Alonso and Stefano Nepa formulating moves on Ortola at the same corner.

Holgado retook the lead at Copse once more on Lap 6, but Ortola and MT Helmets later reclaimed the lead in Maggots and Becketts.

The leading seven riders continued to jostle for track position as the race entered the second half, with tyre wear starting to take effect.

The main protagonists heading into the final five laps were Ortola, Holgado, Alonso, Veijer and Kelso.

Kelso ran wide in the first sector on Lap 11, which put him back down to seventh, and therefore ending his race wins hopes.

Ortola formulated a half-second lead once more but championship leader Alonso and Holgado put themselves back into contention, with Veijer announcing himself to the podium runners in the closing stages.

Alonso led proceedings on Lap 13 with tyre wear appearing to benefit him, with the Columbian looking to make it his seventh win of the season.

Ortola and Holgado’s aggressive fight heading into Lap 14 led to Ortola and race leader Alonso, but multiple overtakes saw the top five change positions left right and centre.

Alonso fell to fifth in the last lap before rising to third as Ortola mustered a way through at Copse, with Veijer who had his moment in the sun fell from first to third at Maggots and Becketts.

The last lap battle wasn’t finished there as down the Hangar straight, the trio made small contact and fought hard to claim the top spot.

All riders came away unharmed but with all three riding to the bike’s absolute limit the winner was unpredictable.

Ortola ran wide in the the final few corners, but was able to position his bike well into the final corner to take the win.

Ortola’s win reduces the championship deficit by five points, with Veijer rounding off the podium spots.

Holgado, LevelUp’s Nepa, Ryusei Yamanaka and Kelso all finished within 0.250s of each other to occupy fourth to seventh spots.

Adrian Fernandez led the following group to take seventh for Leopard Racing, with Jose Antonio Rueda, Tatsuki Suzuki and Matteo Bertelle following suit in a photo style finish.

A whole 11 seconds adrift of the leading 11 riders saw Muñoz recover from his early race mistake to take 12th, with Esteban and Riccardo Rossi separated by only 0.2s in the end.

Nicola Carraro sealed the final point spot with 15th, narrowly edging out Fillippo Farioli of making it back-to-back point scoring positions.

Roulstone finished a distant ten seconds behind, with rookie David Almansa only managing to finish in 18th.

Thai rider Tatchakorn Buasri still is yet to find his first points in Moto3, finishing in 19th.

Swiss rider Noah Dettwiler and Danial Shahril occupied the final two spots in the final classification.

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Enea Bastianini produced an impressive performance to take his first MotoGP Sprint race win of the season at Silverstone, while factory Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia’s race ended in the gravel trap.

Bagnaia made a deep lunge on the pole-sitting Aprilia of Aleix Espargaro into Turn 1, but Pramac’s Jorge Martin was able to make the most of the exit to take the lead into the sweeping Turn 2.

Bagnaia and his factory Ducati dropped down to fourth as Bastianini elevated himself up to second, with Espargaro sandwiched in between.

VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi and Martin’s Pramac team-mate Franco Morbidelli crashed out in the fast Turn 1 on the opening lap, putting both riders out of the running just as the race got started. Morbidelli made contact with Bezzecchi to put both out but the collision was ruled as a racing incident.

Future 2025 factory KTM team-mates Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder tussled for sixth position on Lap 2 in the first sector, with the pair making contact and allowing Gresini’s Marc Marquez to squeeze through in Turn 4.

Acosta flung his GasGas bike up on Marquez’s inside before the Gresini bike re-passed his younger Spanish counterpart, with Binder following suit later in the lap.

Bagnaia received a track limits warning on Lap 3 in his bid to re-overtake Espargaro, with the Italian trying to seize the perfect opportunity to get past.

But the Italian pushed too hard on the brakes on Lap 4 at Turn 4, losing control of his Ducati and tumbling out of the race.

The front three of Martin, Bastianini and Espargaro formulated a 2.5s second gap over the GP23 Ducati rider Marquez, with the lead ever increasing as the 10-lap Sprint went on.

Bastianini made a diving lunge on Martin at Copse corner on Lap 5 but went in too hot, relinquishing his brief lead to the championship contender.

However, down the Hangar straight Bastianini was able to make the move stick to take the lead properly.

The Italian’s rapid pace was evident as he established an advantage over Martin, gaining half a second in only two laps following his overtaking manoeuvre.

Marquez had been enduring a quiet race aboard his Gresini Ducati and ran as high as fourth before a crash at Turn 16 ended his late podium charge abruptly, with the eight-time champion retiring with three laps to go.

This relaxed any scarps of pressure upon the top three, who finished in a calm procession, led by Bastianini, taking his first victory of the campaign and bettering Martin by a second.

Espargaro brought home the final podium place from pole, unable to keep up with the straight-line speed advantage exhibited by the Ducatis, with KTM’s Binder and GasGas’ Acosta occupying fourth and fifth spot.

Gresini’s Alex Marquez avoided danger from his rivals around him to bring home points for the team in sixth, with Jack Miller pipping Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales on the line to take seventh.

Di Giannantonio earned the final point-scoring position in ninth spot, recovering from a long-lap penalty punishment due to track limits violations.

Trackhouse rider Miguel Oliveira cruised to 10th spot, with Fabio Quartararo pushing his Yamaha to take 11th.

Oliveira’s Trackhouse team-mate Raul Fernandez displayed rapid pace to finish 12th amid being caught up in the Lap 1 collision between Bezzecchi and Morbidelli, with Augusto Fernandez finishing only a tenth behind on the second Tech3 GasGas machine.

LCR Honda rider Johann Zarco was one lap too late in his bid to claim 12th but mustered a respectable 14th following a strong qualification.

Repsol Honda duo Luca Marini and Joan Mir followed within close proximity, whereas LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami finished ten seconds adrift.

Yamaha wildcard rider Remy Gardner finished his race last but was only two seconds adrift of full-time rider Nakagami to round off classification.

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