London: Lewis Hamilton paid an emotional tribute to his home fans who electrified the British Grand Prix with a record ninth win at Silverstone for the Mercedes driver on Sunday.
The seven-times Formula One world champion welled up with tears as he took the chequered flag to win for the first time since Saudi Arabia on Dec. 5, 2021 — a gap of 56 races.
Red Bull’s triple world champion Max Verstappen was 1.465 seconds off the pace in second, with McLaren’s Lando Norris third after being passed four laps from the end as engine supplier Mercedes celebrated their seventh win of an increasingly difficult campaign.
Mercedes had pole-sitter George Russell retire on the final lap 33 with what is believed to be a water system problem after winning last time in Austria.
Come on in Lewis, you are the man. You are the man. On the team radio, Hamilton’s race engineer Peter Bonnington greeted him on the podium: “Mate I have waited so long you know.”
“Thank you so much guys,” wept Hamilton in the calm after he, like Max Verstappen for third placed Toro Rosso had initially been heard to wonder aloud about safety grounds on starting the race at all when rain also began later pounding the circuit again — his voice breaking as he fought a rising tide of emotions inside that helmet while grandstands — and 164,000 cried with him on a cold afternoon punctuated by showers.
“It means a lot. Thank you all the fans out here sooooo focked!
Among the milestones delivered by a record-extending 104th win of Hamilton’s career – most recently, he became F1 history laureate to have won in every season and into double figures for nine wins at one venue (Suzuka)
The second was a share of that record with Ferrari great Michael Schumacher by titleholder Hamilton.
He’s also the first driver to score a race win after making his 300th start, ever. The race marked Hamilton’s 344th of his F1 career, which began with McLaren in 2007.
With the flag over his shoulders at least 40 minutes after stepping out of the car and hugging father, he told Britain’s 2009 champion Jenson Button in pre-podium interviews that: “I’m still crying.”
