Lewis Hamilton triumphed in a thrilling British Grand Prix to claim a record ninth victory at Silverstone and end a run of 56 races without a win.
Hamilton held off a late charge from world championship leader Max Verstappen to hang on for victory at his home race after the Red Bull driver had overtaken McLaren’s Lando Norris in the closing stages after a chaotic rain-interrupted contest.
The seven-time world champion had not won a race since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and has now ensured his final season with Mercedes before joining Ferrari next year will be marked by a victory.
The record-extending 104th grand prix victory of Hamilton’s career saw him become the first Formula 1 driver to win the same race nine times, extending a record he had previously shared with Michael Schumacher. He also extended a record run for podiums at the same race to 12.
“Since 2021, every day I’m getting up and fighting to train to put my mind to the task and work as hard as I can with this amazing team,” Hamilton said.
“This is my last race here at the British Grand Prix with this team. I wanted to win this so much for them because I love them and appreciate them so much.
“All the hard work they put in over these years. I’m forever grateful to everyone at Mercedes and all our partners. And to all our incredible fans. I could see you lap by lap. There’s no greater feeling to finish at the front here.”
How Hamilton claimed record win
Having started from second behind George Russell, Hamilton took the lead on lap 18 as his Mercedes team-mate struggled as rain began to fall.
However, Hamilton too found the conditions difficult and only held the lead briefly before Norris and his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri came through to occupy the top two places.
Hamilton regained second when the intensifying rain forced the field to switch from slick tyres to intermediates around the midway point, as McLaren cost Piastri time by not joining Mercedes in double-stacking their cars in the pits.
Verstappen, who had struggled on the opening stint as he dropped back to fifth, was brought back into play by a smartly timed Red Bull pit stop as he climbed to third, with Russell suddenly retiring from fourth because of a technical issue.
The rain then eased to leave a final key pit stop for the leaders to switch back to slick tyres, which saw Hamilton undercut Norris for the lead as Mercedes brought him in a lap earlier than the McLaren.
Both went for soft tyres, while the looming Verstappen was on a hard tyre which would give him greater freedom to push in the final stages.
Verstappen passed Norris with four full circuits of the 52-lap race remaining, but Hamilton expertly managed his tyres to maintain a relatively comfortable 1.5s margin at the chequered flag.
The victory resulted in triumphant celebrations from the British fans at Silverstone, while a tearful Hamilton exchanged emotional messages over team radio with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and his long-time race engineer Peter Bonnington.
The 39-year-old waved a Union Flag out of his cockpit after taking the chequered flag, before being greeted by his mother and father immediately after exiting the car.
Hamilton’s celebrations – in pictures
Verstappen extends championship lead amid Hamilton glory
While he was unable to deny Hamilton on this occasion, Verstappen’s late surge and pass on Norris ensured that he further extended his world championship lead over the Brit.
A dominant start to the season that saw Verstappen win four of the first five races is now a distant memory, with the Dutchman having had to settle for just three victories across the next seven grands prix.
His 84-point lead over Norris at the halfway stage of the 24-race season puts him in an extremely strong position to claim a fourth successive drivers’ title.
As was the case when he claimed hard-fought victories in Canada and Spain in June, Verstappen needed all of his – and Red Bull’s – excellence to ensure Norris didn’t make ground.
Despite having brought upgrades to Silverstone, the RB20 couldn’t match the pace of either Mercedes or McLaren for much of the race, and it was only when Verstappen had the hard tyre on the final stint that he was finally able to pressure his rivals.
That wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for the timing of his switch to intermediate tyres and then Red Bull’s decision to give him hard tyres for the final stint.
In contrast, a distraught Norris felt that his and McLaren’s strategic calls had cost him a first home victory.
Allowing Hamilton to pit earlier at the end gave him the opportunity to undercut, but perhaps more importantly, McLaren gave Norris the same soft tyre as the Mercedes, when the new medium they had available was shown to be much faster by Piastri, who used it for his final stint.
Since claiming his maiden F1 victory in Miami in May, Norris has had a very strong chance of winning five of the six races that have followed, but a failure to take advantage of what has often been the fastest car on the track has left the 24-year-old hugely frustrated.
“I know [it’s a podium at the British GP] but I’m fed up of just saying I should have done better and I should have done this and could have done that, or whatever,” Norris told Sky Sports F1.
“I don’t care if it takes time, I don’t want it to take time. I should be doing it now, we should be winning now. I should be making better decisions than what I’m making.
“I’m just disappointed, it’s a win. It’s a win in Formula 1 and I’m not going to settle for something less when we should have achieved it.”
Piastri claimed fourth to secure another strong haul of points for McLaren, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz fifth and claiming an extra point for setting the fastest lap of the race.
Nico Hulkenberg was sixth for a second successive race as Haas claimed another superb result, with the German finish ahead of Aston Martin duo Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso. Williams’ Alex Albon and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the points.
Red Bull are 71 points clear of Ferrari at the top of the constructors’ standings, with both teams only getting points from one driver as Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez finished outside the points after switching to intermediate tyres too early when the rain arrived.
Third-placed McLaren closed their deficit to Red Bull to 78 points, while Mercedes are now 152 points off the leaders.
Next up for F1 is the Hungarian Grand Prix from Budapest on July 19-21. You can watch every session live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime
