Lewis Hamilton has won the British Grand Prix for a record ninth time at Silverstone on Sunday.
The Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver did enough to hold off the reigning world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing and McLaren’s Lando Norris to take the checkered flag in front of a home crowd.
Starting from second on the in grid behind fellow Brit and teammate George Russell, Mr. Hamilton steered through rainy conditions and a solid final stint from Mr. Verstappen to win his first race in over two years.
Mr. Hamilton revealed post-race interview on Sky Sports that he had been counting the days since his last win, and said there have been so many moments where he had thought “it would never happen again.”
“That’s the longest stint without a win, 945 days. This could be one of the most special for me, if not the most special,” Mr. Hamilton said.
The seven-time world champion’s last victory came 56 races prior at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in December 2021.
Sunday’s victory marked a record ninth at Silverstone for the Briton, setting a new individual record for the number of races won at a single track, extending his total career wins in F1 to 104.
After crossing the finish line, an emotional Mr. Hamilton spoke to his team on the radio, “Thank you so much guys, it means a lot, it means a lot to this one. Big thankyou to all the fans here—love you guys.”
The win comes after Mr. Hamilton activated a release option in his contract with Mercedes in February, signing a new deal with Scuderia Ferrari to commence in 2025.
Reacting to the record-breaking win, Mercedes-AMG Petronas team principal, Toto Wolff, said in a post by Formula One on social media platform X, “To make him win again, at the British Grand Prix, in his last race for Mercedes here, it’s almost like a little fairytale.”
In a post-race interview on Sunday, Lewis Hamilton told Sky Sports, “it was the most emotional end to a win that I have ever experienced.”
“I never cry … it hit me hard,” he said.
Following his controversial finish to the 2021 Formula One Championship in Abu Dhabi, where Red Bull snatched victory during the last lap to deprive Mr. Hamilton of his potential all-time championship record, both the German car maker and Mr. Hamilton have seen a slump in form and performance.
Mr. Hamilton, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, expressed his gratitude for his fans and the people around him, who supported him during hard times.
“It’s so tough, I think for anyone, but the important thing is just how you continue to get up and you’ve got to continue to dig deep even when you feel like you’re at the bottom of the barrel,” he said.
“There have definitely been days between 2021 and here where I didn’t feel like I was good enough or I was going to get back to where I am today.
“But the important thing is I had great people around me, continuing to support me. My team, every time I turned up and saw them putting in the effort, that really encouraged me to do the same thing.
“Otherwise, my fans, when I see them around the world, they have been so supportive. A big, big thank you to everybody.”
“Never give up,” added Mr. Hamilton. “It’s so important. It’s the easiest thing to do but you should never do it.”
At the halfway point of the season, Mr. Hamilton sits eighth in the drivers’ standings with 110 points, sitting just one point behind his teammate Mr. Russell.
Red Bull Racing leads both the 2024 driver’s standing (Max Verstappen—256 points) and constructor’s standings (373 points).
