Lewis shows his mettle in Silverstone masterclass
Lewis Hamilton had 90,000 race fans singing in the rain at Silverstone after cruising to a faultless British Grand Prix victory.
The McLaren driver mastered the slippery conditions to cross the line over a minute ahead of his nearest rival and become the first Brit to win a home grand prix since David Coulthard eight years ago.
The win took Hamilton back level on points at the top of the drivers championship along with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen who finished fourth, and Felipe Massa, who spun no fewer than five times on his way to 13th.
Hamilton had failed to score a single point in his last two races and desperately needed a morale-boost at Silverstone to silence some critics, who began to question whether the 22-year-old was buckling under the pressure of a title challenge.
But his performance at Silverstone yesterday buried any such theory and proved the perfect fillip for the Stevenage-born starlet.
“It is definitely by far the best victory I’ve ever had,” a relieved Hamilton said afterwards. “It was one of the toughest races I’ve ever had. This would definitely go down as the best race I’ve ever won, not only because it was history and it was home ground, but because I drove one my best races ever.
“I want to dedicate this one to my family because as you can see I’ve had some troubles over the last couple of weeks and it’s been really tough. But as always your family are there when you need them.”
Hamilton’s determination to reignite his title dream was epitomised by a roaring start which saw him pass both Raikkonen and Mark Webber to the first corner, falling just short of taking the lead from McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.
But he didn’t have to wait long for his chance, however, eventually getting past the Finn on lap five. Raikkonen followed him by passing his fellow countryman until a rain shower caused his Ferrari to lose grip and Kovalainen capitalised on an error to reclaim second spot.
Hamilton, by now, had opened up a substantial lead, but it was all about using the correct tyre strategy with the intermittent rain causing havoc with the team’s race plans.
With most teams struggling in the wet conditions, the BMW of Nick Hiedfeld and the fast approaching Rubens Barrichello were enjoying suitable strategies and led the charge of the marauding Hamilton.
But there was no stopping the Brit, who stayed out of trouble and drove the perfect race to take the chequered flag amid the roar of the Silverstone crowd.
“The most draining thing was not wanting to let down the fans,” Hamilton added. “You try to contain it, but there is so much excitement.”
