Friday, November 22, 2024

British GP: Lewis Hamilton holds off Max Verstappen to claim record ninth victory at Silverstone

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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.

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Lando Norris takes full advantage of some slippery conditions at Silverstone, as he overtakes both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton for the race lead.

Hamilton becomes the first Formula 1 driver to win the same race nine times, extending a record he had previously shared with Michael Schumacher, while he also extended a record run for podiums at the same race to 12.

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.

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George Russell comes into the pits and retires from the British Grand Prix with a suspected water issue with the Mercedes.

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.

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Max Verstappen overtakes Lando Norris for second as he looks to chase down Lewis Hamilton for the race win at Silverstone!

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.

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Lewis Hamilton and his engineer Peter Bonnington celebrate on the podium together following his emotional British GP victory!

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 Jack out of his cockpit after taking the chequered flag, before being greeted by his mother and father immediately after exiting the car.

More to follow…

British GP Result

Driver Team Time
1) Lewis Hamilon Mercedes 1:22:27.059s
2) Max Verstappen Red Bull +1.465
3) Lando Norris McLaren +7.547
4) Oscar Piastri McLaren +12.439
5) Carlos Sainz Ferrari +47.318
6) Nico Hulkenberg Haas +55.722
7) Lance Stroll Aston Martin +56.569
8) Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +63.577
9) Alex Albon Williams +68.387
10) Yuki Tsunoda RB +79.303
11) Logan Sargeant Williams +88.960
12) Kevin Magnussen Haas +90.153
13) Daniel Ricciardo RB +1 lap
14) Charles Leclerc Ferrari +1 lap
15) Valtteri Bottas Sauber +1 lap
16) Esteban Ocon Alpine +2 laps
17) Sergio Perez Red Bull +2 laps
18) Zhou Guanyu Sauber +2 laps
George Russell Mercedes DNF
Pierre Gasly Alpine DNF

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

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