Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton holds off Max Verstappen to claim record ninth victory at British Grand Prix
Updated 07/07/2024 at 19:26 GMT
Lewis Hamilton held off a late charge from Red Bull's Max Verstappen to claim a historic victory at the British Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver ended a run of 56 races without a win and became the only man in Formula 1 history to win a single race nine times. "This means so much to me," an emotional Hamilton said after crossing the finish line at Silverstone.
Hamilton celebrates historic win at Silverstone
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is back in the winner’s circle for the first time since 2021 after claiming a record ninth victory at the British Grand Prix.
Hamilton held off a late charge from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to end a run of 56 races without a win, with his last victory coming at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
In doing so, Hamilton extended his record previously shared with Michael Schumacher for wins at a single race to nine, while also becoming the first driver to make the podium at the same race 12 times.
"This means so much to me. I love you guys," an emotional Hamilton said after crossing the finish line as his team congratulated him over the radio.
The seven-time world champion started the day behind his team-mate George Russell, with the Mercedes duo keeping their places for the early period of the race.
Hamilton then took the lead briefly on lap 18 as Russell – who was later forced to retire with a technical issue – began to struggle as rain started to fall at Silverstone, before Hamilton also found it difficult in wet conditions and fell behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
However, Mercedes’ tactics as the track started to dry paid off as Hamilton – who was brought in for a pit stop a lap before Norris – managed to reclaim the lead from the McLaren driver, with both on soft tyres.
Piastri, meanwhile, was let down by a late pit stop to fall out of contention.
Verstappen, who was on hard tyres, started to push hard in the final stages of the race, eventually passing Norris for second and began gaining on Hamilton.
But Hamilton showed the class that won him seven world titles and managed his tyres superbly to hold off Verstappen by 1.5 seconds to claim a historic victory at his home race.
Championship leader Verstappen had to settle for second, with Norris rounding out the podium.
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