SILVERSTONE.- Lewis Hamilton held off Max Verstappen in his final attempt at victory in a thrilling British Grand Prix on Sunday to claim his first win since the penultimate race of 2021.
Hamilton became the first driver of the Formula 1 who has won at this track nine times and extended his record of victories to 104. He last won at the Saudi Arabian GP in December 2021 – the year he lost the world title in the final race to Red Bull’s Verstappen.
The seven-time F1 champion finished 1.5 seconds ahead of Verstappen, with McLaren’s Lando Norris finishing third.
“I love you guys,” a visibly emotional Hamilton said on team radio.
Hopes were high for a win at his home track of Silverstone after Mercedes team-mate George Russell took pole ahead of Hamilton and Norris. Verstappen started fourth.
Unfortunate outcome:
But Russell’s chance of winning his second consecutive F1 race ended on lap 34 of 52 with what is suspected to have been a problem with the car’s water system. A few laps later McLaren botched a tyre change for Norris.
Verstappen overtook Norris with four laps remaining but was unable to catch Hamilton, who delighted the 164,000 fans in attendance.
Hamilton is in the middle of his final season with McLaren, having already made it official a few months ago that he will join Ferrari next season. The Englishman is recognised as one of the best drivers of all time and there are great expectations about what he can do with the Italian team from 2025 onwards, which will mark a new attempt by the team to return to its golden days.