Rain chaos washes Hamilton to first win in 945 days
The English rain causes numerous pit stops, overtaking maneuvers, and leadership changes during the Formula 1 race at Silverstone. Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton takes advantage of this: The Mercedes star wins for the first time in over two and a half years a Grand Prix.
Hamilton triumphs in the tire change game: Formula 1 Record World Champion Sir Lewis Hamilton ends his drought after 945 days and climbs the top step of the podium at his home race. Hamilton won the rain-affected British Grand Prix ahead of World Champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull/Netherlands) and his compatriot Lando Norris in the McLaren.
While Hamilton triumphed for the 104th time in Formula 1 and set a glimmer of hope in his frustrating last season for Mercedes, Verstappen extended his lead in the championship on Norris to 83 points. Nico Hülkenberg finished a strong sixth place for Haas, repeating his result from the previous week in Austria.
"Max has a good chance, he's prepared for the conditions and in a strong position," said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner just before the start on Sky. Verstappen had severely damaged his underbody during a crash in qualifying on Saturday but still managed to secure a starting position of fourth. After a few laps in the race, Verstappen was already third, taking advantage of a small mistake from Norris.
Wild duels between Mercedes and McLaren
The gaze of the racing strategists went almost as often towards the sky as the track in the early stages of the race. Everyone was clear: If the rain comes, the race will be decided.
By a quarter of the Grand Prix, Verstappen experienced problems with his tires. Norris, with whom he had quickly made up after their collision in Spielberg a week ago, was unable to keep up with him. Norris' McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri was also no match for Verstappen. At the front, Hamilton overtook his teammate George Russell in lap 18 with loud cheers from the first row of English fans, who covered themselves with their raincoats.
Parts of the track were now wet, and McLaren and Mercedes engaged in wild duels. In the 20th round, Norris and Oscar Piastri were suddenly ahead of Hamilton and Russell. Who had changed to intermediates earlier, like Verstappen's unfortunate teammate Sergio Perez, had made a mistake, and the traditional British circuit was once again dry.
Schumacher's record from Magny-Cours is history
Only towards the middle of the race did a somewhat stronger rain set in, and Verstappen was the first of the top five to switch to intermediates and was once again in the fight for the win. Russell had to retire his Mercedes due to a problem with the cooling system in the 34th of 56 laps and withdrew from the fight for the win. Hamilton and Verstappen sought the decision: With the track drying out, they switched back to slicks earlier than the leading Norris.
Hamilton returned to the track as the leader and defended the top position. He won his home race for the ninth time. No other driver in Formula 1 history has won on a race track as many times, until now Hamilton shared this record with Michael Schumacher, who won the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours eight times.
- Nico Hülkenberg's strong performance in Silverstone earned him a sixth place finish, repeating his result from the previous week's race with Haas F1 Team.
- Despite Max Verstappen's fourth place start after damaging his Red Bull Racing car in qualifying, he quickly moved up to third position during the race, challenging the leaders.
- Ferrari (Formula 1) fans were disappointed as their favorite team didn't make a significant impact in the rain-affected British Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc finishing in 11th position.
- Lewis Hamilton's historic victory at Silverstone meant he surpassed Michael Schumacher's record of winning a race at a single track eight times, a record Schumacher held with his victories at Magny-Cours.
- Lando Norris, driving for McLaren, led the race for a significant portion but faded towards the end, eventually finishing second behind Lewis Hamilton, giving Mercedes AMG a 1-2 finish in the British Grand Prix.
