F1 | Hamilton strikes again now that Mercedes is here

The King is back. After nine hundred and forty-five days Lewis Hamilton climbed to the top step of the podium and he did it his way. The setting he has always loved the most, the Silverstone circuit, and one of the most beautiful races in recent years. For a Formula 1 driver, two and a half years without a win is a long time, especially if he had previously had 103 wins. In this period of time, much has been said and written about Hamilton, some legitimate criticisms and others unfounded as hard for Sir Lewis to deny, due to a Mercedes crippled by the new technical regulation that came into force in 2022.

Since Hamilton’s last victory (Jeddah 2021), Mercedes had won two races, both with George Russell: Brazil 2022 (also thanks to Red Bull’s technical harakiri) and last weekend in Spielberg after the Verstappen-Norris contact. Beautiful Sundays, but until today without continuity. Only in the last month has Mercedes given important signs of recovery, but not even the most optimistic of the engineers from Brackley had predicted seeing the Russell-Norris tandem on the front row of the starting grid.

Another exploit? Perhaps, a theory cleverly fomented by Toto Wolff to not raise expectations too much. The race said a lot and when it became very insidious Hamilton took the stage.

In the first sixteen laps Russell led the race with Lewis always two seconds behind, then from the seventeenth lap the rain started to fall especially in the third sector. Hamilton in two laps passed Russell, taking the lead, then the progressive increase in rain favored the two McLarens, thanks to a greater aerodynamic load.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Hamilton joined the ‘papaya’ tandem, then the McLaren garage made a huge mistake by leaving Piastri on the track one lap too many, and at that point the challenge became a two-way battle: Lewis against Lando. The final undercut, the one that gave Hamilton the lead that he maintained until the checkered flag, came on lap 38, when Lewis and Verstappen went back on slicks while Norris waited a crucial extra lap. Challenge over? No, because Hamilton had to manage the set of softs used for the remaining fourteen laps.

It was not a given that he would make it, as Norris’s drop in performance later confirmed, as he returned to the track with the same compound. At this stage, the Hamilton-‘Bono’ duo, Peter Bonnington, Lewis’ historic track engineer, returned to the scene, trying in every way possible to help his driver in the final rush, first against Norris and then against Verstappen.

Hamilton had to shave off tenths (especially in the second sector) and caress the tires, a long and exhausting countdown to the checkered flag. Only two laps from the end did the Mercedes box have confirmation that it was done, but the liberating cry arrived at the finish line.

Peter Bonnington, Lewis’s race engineer, celebrates Hamilton’s victory at Silverstone.

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

The emotional impact of Hamilton’s 104th victory was incredible. Lewis’ tears, as he struggled to speak on the radio, those of ‘Bono’, the endless hug with his father Anthony, the run towards his mother Carmen and then onto the lawn in front of the large grandstand in front of the podium. We are not talking about a driver who won his first victory in Formula 1, nor a day in which a first world title was celebrated.

The subject is the most successful driver in the history of Formula 1, resurfaced after a long fast and strongly intent on contradicting those who saw him as on the twilight of his career. Lewis Hamilton is still in that helmet, the main missing person for two and a half years was Mercedes, and now that the Brackley team has returned to the forefront, it has immediately found the driver who has left his mark on its history. It is difficult to say today what the future holds for the seven-time world champion, whether he will return to regularly frequent the upper echelons or not, but from what we saw at Silverstone it does not depend on him.

In a difficult race that required driving sensitivity, reading the race and a strong mental strength, Hamilton returned to being what he has been for a long time. The incredible story of the most successful driver of all time has not yet reached the end credits.