Hamilton takes controversial eighth home British GP win
SILVERSTONE: Lewis Hamilton won his home British Grand Prix for a record-extending eighth time on Sunday despite a 10-second penalty for a controversial first lap collision that sent Red Bull rival Max Verstappen crashing out of the race.
The Mercedes driver, now only eight points behind Verstappen after 10 races, passed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for the lead with two laps to go as a capacity 140,000 crowd rose to cheer him. Hamilton’s team mate Valtteri Bottas was third after obeying team orders to let Hamilton through and chase Leclerc in a race halted after Verstappen’s crash and then re-started. The win was the 99th of seven-time world champion Hamilton’s F1 career and fourth of the current campaign.
It was also the worst possible result for Verstappen, who had started on pole with a 33 point lead and seeking a fourth win in a row but who ended up emptyhanded and in hospital for checks. “This is a dream for me today, to do it in front of you all,” Hamilton told the biggest crowd to attend a sporting event in Britain since the start of the pandemic. Last year’s race was held without spectators.
Soon after Verstappen’s Red Bull careened off the track and into the barriers to be knocked out of the race, his Red Bull team tweeted that he has been taken to hospital for further precautionary tests.
“Thank god he’s walked away unscathed,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told the race director. “Full blame lays on Hamilton who should never have been in that position.”
“That was a really nasty accident. It’s like a professional foul,” Horner later told British TV.