Lewis Hamilton WINS the Silverstone GP! A Historic Record in F1: 9 Wins at a Single Circuit!
History was made at Silverstone: Lewis Hamilton, after two and a half years without a win, claims victory at home and becomes the first driver in history to win 9 times at a single circuit! The atmosphere is electric, the stands erupt with joy, and 945 days later, Hamilton is once again a Formula 1 winner!
Behind Him on the Podium: Max Verstappen, who had a splendid race, and Lando Norris, the home driver who led a significant part of the GP. Completing the top 10 were Piastri, Sainz, Hulkenberg, Stroll, Alonso, Albon, and Tsunoda.
A Flop for Charles Leclerc: The Monegasque driver finished 15th due to a wrong strategy of fitting intermediate tires when the track was not wet enough.
The Silverstone GP Recap
THE START: Pierre Gasly retired during the reconnaissance lap, a disaster for Alpine, which had been enjoying a good spell. At the lights, both Mercedes had a strong start, maintaining 1-2, while Norris was once again overtaken by Verstappen, who took third place on the outside. Charles Leclerc also had a great start, moving from 11th to 8th place.
Sergio Perez, starting from the pit lane, was trying to make a comeback and was currently in 16th place, being the only one on the hard tire. Leclerc made a great pass on Stroll at Chapel, with the two Ferraris now in sixth and seventh, five seconds behind the top 5. The Verstappen-Norris duel reemerged, but Verstappen didn’t defend, allowing Norris to take third place.
Piastri also passed Verstappen, as rain began to fall on Silverstone. It was at this moment that Lewis Hamilton overtook Russell, taking the lead, only to be passed by Norris and then Piastri, making it a McLaren 1-2. Leclerc, meanwhile, pitted to gamble on intermediates, but the track was too dry, dropping him to 16th place.
Lap 28: Everyone pitted, with McLaren sacrificing Piastri to avoid a double pit stop, dropping him to sixth place. Verstappen’s early stop paid off, placing him third, with Norris leading, followed by Hamilton.
The rain stopped, causing the intermediates to degrade on the alternating dry and wet track, creating chaos.
Lap 34: Pole-sitter George Russell was forced to retire due to a problem with his W15.
Lap 39: Hamilton, Verstappen, and Piastri pitted again, fitting soft, hard, and medium tires respectively. Leclerc also pitted, switching to softs and falling to 15th. Norris pitted a lap later, making Hamilton the leader again, followed by Norris and Verstappen.
Norris struggled, Verstappen overtook him, but couldn’t catch Hamilton, who soared to his 104th career victory!
Photo: Formula 1, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team