F1 British GP live updates: Lewis Hamilton wins amazing race at Silverstone
A first for Lewis Hamilton: Tears after a win
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Across 103 grand prix victories and seven world championships in close to 20 years on the Formula One grid, never had he felt the staggering rush of emotion that came at Silverstone upon crossing the line.
Hamilton had not won since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in December 2021. A 945-day drought, at long last, is over. Two-and-a-half years filled with hard lessons, big life choices, and (remarkably for the most successful driver in F1 history) some serious self-doubt.
It flooded out of him all at once.
“I can’t stop crying,” Hamilton said with a chuckle, sniffing to compose himself for the post-race interview as he stood draped in a British flag collected from a marshal on the cool-down lap. The crowd cheered his name.
The release of emotion meant so much to Hamilton. Nearing the twilight of his F1 career and into his final season with Mercedes ahead of his switch to Ferrari next year, he inevitably wondered if he’d scored his last race win. If he’d forever be stuck on 103 and seven world titles.
“There’s definitely been days between 2021 and here where I didn’t feel like I was good enough or whether I was going to get back to where I am today,” Hamilton admitted.
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Lewis Hamilton’s joyful tears, F1 British GP win put two doubt-filled years to rest
McLaren rues another missed opportunity
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Disappointment and frustration were evident on Norris’ face from the moment he took off his helmet. He rested his hands on the platform that held his bright helmet behind the P3 marker in parc ferme, staring at the ground. He would flash a smile every so often, like when he hugged Lewis Hamilton after the seven-time world champion won his first Formula One race in 945 days. But it wasn’t a clear-cut Mercedes runaway victory. Either McLaren driver nearly had it.
At one point, McLaren held the first two spots of the race, but losing the lead came down to how it handled pit stops from both the team and driver’s sides. Because the British Grand Prix is the latest race McLaren should’ve won.
“I’m fed up of saying, ‘I should have done better’ and, ‘Could’ve done this, that,’” Norris told Sky Sports. “I don’t want it to take time – we should be winning now, I should be making better decisions than the ones I’m making. I’m disappointed. It’s a win in Formula One, and I’m not going to settle for something less when we should’ve achieved it.”
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How McLaren threw away its shot at winning F1’s British GP: ‘We got it wrong’
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This is already Haas's best season since 2018
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Nico Hülkenberg finished right where he qualified in P6 today, capping a terrific wire-to-wire weekend at Silverstone. It's the first time he's finished in the top six in back-to-back races since 2018 – and the first such result for Haas since 2018, too.
Haas is now up to 27 points this season as we hit the midway point on the calendar. The team only had 12 all last season. The American team is on pace for 54 points this season, which would be their best result since finishing 5th with 93 points in 2018.
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Hamilton: Win means more coming this year
This was Hamilton's last British GP with Mercedes, as he leaves for Ferrari at the end of the season.
"So I wanted to win this so much for them because I love them, I appreciate them so much, all the hard work they've been putting in all over these years," Hamilton said. "I’m forever grateful to everyone in this team, everyone at Mercedes, and all of our partners.
"And otherwise, to all our incredible fans, I could see you lap by lap as I was coming around. There's just no greater feeling as to finish at the front here."
Verstappen is all smiles
And why wouldn't he be? It's remarkable that he made it into Q3 yesterday after he tore up his floor in the gravel, and it's remarkable that he ended up in P2 today, considering how slow he was at certain points. Hamilton won, but Verstappen still found a way today to demonstrate again why he's the top driver in the sport.
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