Lewis Hamilton is the king of Silverstone once again. The most successful driver in history claimed his first win in 945 days in front of a jubilant crowd at the British Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver, who claimed his ninth win at his home race, told the team: “Leave it to me, mate.” That was just after he had taken the lead with 12 laps to go. There was a huge cheer. He has been a favourite here for two decades and 163,000 souls welcomed him home.
“Thank you, guys,” Hamilton shouted excitedly, his voice cracking. “This means a lot to me. I love you guys.”
His last win was in December 2021 in Saudi Arabia, the race before his life turned upside down in Abu Dhabi, where he lost so controversially to Max Verstappen, a day that will live long in the memory. And now this. A redemptive consolation in the stage where he has dominated like no other.
She hugged her father, Anthony, for 20 seconds. Tears flowed. Then a long hug with her mother, Carmen.
Lewis Hamilton pictured holding the Union Jack aloft after winning Sunday’s British Grand Prix
Hamilton crossed the finish line 1.465 seconds ahead of his closest competitor, Max Verstappen
Echoes of the past were still there. It was here 16 years ago that Hamilton drove one of the greatest races ever seen, in 2008, in wet conditions. This time, the rain came and went, adding a delicious danger to the equation, as it had done in qualifying, when George Russell took pole 24 hours earlier. On his warm-up lap, he was presented with a Union flag, held aloft in his fluorescent yellow right glove.
This could actually have been Lando Norris’s win, but he stayed out a lap too long on intermediate tyres and then his stop was painfully slow, 4.5 seconds. In those two mistakes by his McLaren team (too rusty to be agile in the fight for the front, it seems) went the victory. He could have won the last four races and he hasn’t won any of them.
While McLaren is doing its analysis, Hamilton can only celebrate. On lap 39, when the track was drying, he was called in and, in the intermediate sector, he was 1.2 seconds faster than Norris on his outdated intermediate tyres. Then Norris stopped. And that was it: Hamilton was off on track to a long-awaited victory.
How sweet for him, just when he was in danger of looking like an uncle to a new generation of stars. His father, Anthony, watched and was with him in 2008 when he lit up the world.
Norris finished third, overtaken by Verstappen around the outside of Stowe. Russell retired with an alleged water system failure. It was a big blow for him. He turned on the radio.
And everything was going well for Russell until it started to rain. He had got off to a clean start from the start, with Hamilton covering Norris’s attempt to fight back from third on the grid. Nothing much happened until lap 18, when the rain forecast came true. At first, there were only a few points.
Hamilton’s record-extending victory was hugely popular with the home crowd at Silverstone.
It was 39-year-old Hamilton’s ninth British Grand Prix win but his first since 2021.
Hamilton, who was in second place, found his feet in the difficult conditions and regained his former glory. Russell wasn’t exactly Bamby on the ice, but it was clear that his teammate was more confident. Hamilton moved into the lead at Stowe.
The two Mercedes went off at the start of the next lap, allowing Norris to close the gap. He was now clearly the stronger driver in increasingly worsening conditions. On Lap 20, the most exciting and bumpy of the afternoon, Norris passed Russell at Copse. Then, after a good exit from the final corner of the lap, he launched himself well onto the Hamilton Straight, to pass the eponymous hero at the first corner, Abbey.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri also overtook the two Mercedes and took the lead. But the Australian was later hampered by a late stop (a McLaren curse). This gave Norris the lead. Until Hamilton, taking advantage of the events, came and saw and conquered.
“I love you, Bono,” Hamilton told his race engineer, Peter Bonington. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before climbing out of the car. He stood over it and held the flag aloft.