YouTube stars arrested at British GP after damaging F1 car

YouTuber Morgan Burtwistle, known on the platform as AngryGinge, was arrested on suspicion of causing damage to a Formula 1 car at Silverstone during the British Grand Prix weekend. 

Burtwistle was arrested along with other YouTubers Charlie Clark, known as Chazza, and Samuel Imie, SamHam, on Friday after thousands of pounds’ worth of damage was done to a classic BWT Racing Point F1 car at the event. All three deny the allegations.

“On Friday, July 4, Northamptonshire Police received a report that a classic Formula 1 car on display at Silverstone Circuit during the British Grand Prix event had sustained several thousands of pounds’ worth of damage, which was alleged to have been caused by someone accessing the display stand and climbing into the vehicle,” a spokesperson for Northamptonshire Police explained.

“Officers carried out initial inquiries, and suspects were identified. Three men, aged 23, 25 and 27, were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a vehicle and taken into police custody.

“Following a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the incident, all three men were released with no further action.”

The 23-year-old Twitch streamer shared a vlog of his weekend on YouTube, in which he gave his side of the story to his followers, claiming that they had been held in a cell for 15 hours.

“For sitting in a car, they got us, you don’t do that at F1,” he said in the video. “They locked us up for watching somebody else sitting in a car – they locked SamHam up for watching somebody else sit in a car.

The Wing

Photo by: Erik Junius

“They locked Chazza up for sitting in a car, criminal damage, they tried to say. 30 grand, they tried to say…”

Aside from the off-track drama, the British Grand Prix also brought plenty of on-track action. The rain-soaked circuit eventually saw McLaren’s Lando Norris take his first home race victory, and Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg celebrated his first F1 podium with a third-place finish. A disgruntled Oscar Piastri crossed the line in second after receiving a 10-second penalty for braking erratically behind the safety car.