Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton claimed an emotional and long-awaited record 104th career victory on Sunday when he resisted Max Verstappen to triumph in vintage fashion at the British Grand Prix for a record ninth time.
The greats always excel in the wet, and Hamilton is statistically the greatest of them all. Piloting a Mercedes that looks more comfortable at the front than it has in years, he masterfully picked his way through mixed conditions to emerge victorious.
He’s broken the all-time record for time between his first and last career victories, with the weekend’s race coming 17 years and 27 days after his maiden win in Canada in his rookie 2007 season. But it wasn’t until Sunday in Silverstone that we appreciated truly how heavily that controversial campaign has weighed on him and how closely he holds that defeat to his core.“My heart’s racing,” Hamilton told Sky Sports. “I’ve had so many amazing times here in the past, but when I came across that line, something released in me that I guess I’ve been holding onto for a long time.
“There were just so many thoughts, so many doubts in my mind along the way to the point of at times wanting to not continue. Perhaps without the move to Maranello he wouldn’t have been in the motivated position to perform this year. But on Sunday afternoon in Silverstone it was difficult to imagine Formula 1’s most successful driver racing in any other colours.Hamilton and Mercedes won the race through perfect execution, perfectly reading the conditions and nailing the timing of their pit stops.
First he waited too late to make the change, with Verstappen and Hamilton having pitted a lap earlier. “I think the lap too late is completely on me,” a very downcast Norris told Sky Sports. “That’s just driver feel and driver knowledge of when to box. Lewis did a better job than me on that side.“I expected to come out ahead of the Mercedes. I didn’t. Even if I’d come out ahead, we should’ve have won the race, because we were too slow .”
It was exactly a year ago, at the 2023 British Grand Prix, that the size and effectiveness of the team’s massive upgrade became clear, setting it on its race-winning trajectory. “I think we need to review what we could’ve done better there, because clearly it wasn’t the right call in the end,” he told Sky Sports. “I think our pace was phenomenal.
McLaren boss Andrea Stella admitted that the team had dropped the ball but said the race would be treated as a learning experience on the team’s continued upward trajectory. McLaren is still on course to overtake Red Bull Racing in the constructors standings, but missed chance like these put that at risk.The Monaco Grand Prix was a long time ago. The team has had one podium since Monte Carlo but four non-scoring finishes between both drivers.
Delicate Compound Michael Schumacher England Title Challenger Borough Of Stevenage Driver Knowledge North America Title Defeat Wet-Weather Tyres Austria Engine Problem Final Chapter VICTORY CHANCES Sanity Check British Summer Day Stop Time Vintage British Summer Pit Box Constructors Standings Maiden Win Safety Car Lando Norris Northern Europe Grand Prix Europe Pit Stops Fernando Alonso Massive Team Strategy Podium Contention Grand Prix Winner Western Europe Closest Title Challenger Points Contention Control Costing Qualifying Session Canada Inner Peace Northern America Regular Victory Contention Blow Outsupercars Southern Europe Home Race Pressure Release Win Drought Mark Thompson Sky Sports Record-Breaking Win Grands Prix Team Call Blows Win Rule Changes Lewis Hamilton Mid-Season Struggles Andrea Stella America Mistakes Switching France Italian Team Presumptive Title Challenger Getty Images Inc. Charles Leclerc Carlos Sainz Victory Tallies Home Victory United Kingdom Parc Ferme Spain Learning Experience Will Brown Pit Wall Race Winner Final Stint British Grand
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