Hamilton wins British GP for 1st victory since 2021
Lewis Hamilton won Sunday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone for his first Formula 1 victory since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Following the race, Hamilton was emotional about securing a victory in his final British Grand Prix with Mercedes.
"It's been since 2021, every day getting up, trying to fight, to train, to put my mind to the task and work as hard as I can with this amazing team," Hamilton said. "This is my last here, the British Grand Prix with this team, so I wanted to win this so much for them."
Hamilton overtook McLaren's Lando Norris after he made a slower-than-expected pitstop. The 39-year-old then held off a charge from Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who finished in second. Norris rounded out the podium in third place.
These two 😅 pic.twitter.com/1nH00lWfd3
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) July 7, 2024
"I think it's so tough for anyone," Hamilton said of his winless drought. "I think the important thing is just how you continue to get up and you've got to continue to dig deep even when you feel you're at the bottom of the barrel. There's definitely been days between 2021 and here where I didn't feel I was good enough or where I'd get back to where I am today."
Hamilton won for the ninth time at Silverstone, breaking the record for most wins at a single circuit in F1 history.
The seven-time world champion is the sixth different driver to win a race this season. Only five drivers accumulated victories during the 2022 and 2023 campaigns combined.
Mercedes' George Russell, who started the race on pole position, was forced to retire on lap 34 due to a water-system issue.
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