He waited two years and seven months, but it was not a vain wait, because he achieved the most beautiful, historic victory: Lewis Hamilton won the British GP after a spectacular race that did justice to his great talent. The ovation from the record-breaking crowd at Silverstone rewarded the seven-time world champion who achieved the 104th victory in his career, but Lewis became the first driver to win his ninth on the British track.
Hamilton consolidated his success in the moments when the race was most difficult: on the threshold of forty years, Lewis was able to masterfully manage the continuous weather changes that alternated sun and rain. After the incredible success of George Russell in Austria, the result of the crash between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, here is a confirmation of Mercedes that repeats itself after having put two black-silver arrows in the front row.
Lewis responded with a historic feat to those (even at Mercedes) who had called him a loser: on lap 18 he pierced his teammate George Russell as soon as he saw him in difficulty while the rain was increasing. George then had to stop due to a cooling problem with the power unit. Hamilton crowns a dream: leaving the “Star” with another victory and then right at home.
Hamilton, in the last pit stop on lap 39, switched from the intermediate to the soft, following Lando Norris’ choice, while Max Verstappen, who had been struggling with the Red Bull until then, opted for the hard, knowing that he could push until the end, while those ahead of him could have seen a drop in performance on the red. Norris didn’t have the pace to keep up with the return of the three-time world champion, while the king of Silverstone was able to contain the Dutchman’s return, framing one of his most beautiful victories.
Verstappen takes home a second place that was perhaps unexpected, but the orange team has nevertheless increased its lead in the drivers’ championship, reaching 86 points. The big loser in the end is the most competitive car, namely the McLaren. Lando Norris pays for a management of the race that was not perfect: the team should have made a double pit stop on lap 27 that was not done and that put Oscar Piastri out of the game, who, instead, could have had his say.
But the biggest mistake was sending Norris back on track at the end of the race with the soft, while Lando would have had a set of mediums that then allowed Piastri to string together one fast lap after another that took him to fourth (the additional point was taken by Carlos Sainz only because the Ferrari driver mounted a set of reds for the last lap, arriving at 1’28″293)). In short, the papaya car could have aspired to a one-two and ended up in the role of third force that is not real.
Ferrari is fifth with Carlos Sainz: the Spaniard is 47 seconds behind Mercedes and that says it all. The W15 with a new front suspension has corrected the set-up problems, eliminating the “hopping” that had disheartened the Brackley team. The “Star” has risen again with Lewis, while Ferrari has entered a deeper crisis than what can be seen. Carlos managed to precede Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas, given that the VF-24 had mocked the red in qualifying. A small consolation, because the Scuderia leaves Great Britain with broken bones. The return to the aerodynamic package of Imola has not reduced the red’s problems.
Charles Leclerc, who started 11th, immediately ended up in the back of the pack due to an early pit stop (intermediates were put on before the rain started): a gamble that didn’t pay off, but seeing the Ferrari lapped really hurts.
Nico Hulkenberg’s sixth place brings Haas to within just four points of Racing Bulls in the Constructors’ Championship: the evolution of the VF-24 has worked very well from the start, and an unthinkable sixth place among the teams is also possible.
The German was ahead of the two Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, with the Canadian still ahead of the Spaniard. Yuki Tsunoda closed the points zone, taking the maximum result for the Faenza team.
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