Hamilton limps over finish line on three wheels – but it can’t hide his dominance

IF you ever needed final proof of Lewis Hamilton’s greatness, here it was.

He can win a Grand Prix on three wheels. Maybe Hamilton should be made to start next Sunday’s race a tyre shy. Or in a Reliant Robin.

A race that was little more than a forgettable procession for so long, quite literally exploded into unforgettable drama a couple of laps from the chequered flag.

First, Valtteri Bottas, running second, suffered a puncture and, on his final circuit, Hamilton’s left front shredded itself.

Somehow, with over half a 3.66-mile lap to go, the world champion got his car home ahead of Max Verstappen and his full set of inflated boots.

Mind you, the inquiries at Red Bull started moments after Hamilton had limped gloriously across the line.

Verstappen had been brought in to the pits ahead of the penultimate lap for his own tyre change. The idea was to have a crack at the fastest lap and the bonus point. That particular plan worked but had the Dutchman stayed on track, he would have won.

But it would have been the luckiest of victories because before it ended in a blaze of rubber and sparks – a deflation also robbed McLaren’s Carlos Sainz of fourth place – this race was all about Hamilton’s supremacy.

Assuming the puncture plague was a one-off, this truncated season, four races in, is already becoming solely about the world champion and the record books. Will he draw level with Michael Schumacher and claim his seventh championship? You simply cannot bet against it.

Will he equal or pass Schumacher’s tally of 91 Grand Prix victories? He is now on 87 so there is every chance.

Quite frankly, Mercedes’ dominance is turning Formula One into a formality.

One of their cars has led for every single lap of all four 2020 races bar one.

Let’s face it, if it was not for the blow-outs, the 2020 British Grand Prix would, in terms of excitement, have complete wash-out.

Hamilton claimed Bottas had been putting him under some pressure but he was being typically polite.

No Formula One driver has won his home race as often as the seven times Hamilton has been a now won his and you got the feeling he was simply toying with Bottas.

There was always more in the tank, if not in the tyres.

Barring accidents or injury, it is already becoming unthinkable that Hamilton will not retain his title.

To listen to Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (top, on the podium with Hamilton), who finished a fortunate third here, confirm they have no meaningful hope of competing with Hamilton must have been disheartening for Formula One executives, even though they have known the mundane reality for some time.

When Hamilton then spoke about actually wanting the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull to give him some sort of race, then you know there is a lack of real competition at the very front of the grid.

It is not Hamilton’s fault, of course, and should not detract from the majesty of a wonderful driver in his pomp. At least there remains interest in his pursuit of new marks that will record his greatness.

In the meantime, as long as everyone emerges unscathed, more unscheduled drama would be welcome.

It was suggested that Daniil Kvyat’s crash (inset) was down to tyre trouble, and although the tyre manufacturers were under scrutiny after the race, they should have been getting a pat on the back from viewers.

And while Hamilton could probably run you through all 86 of his previous Grand Prix wins, surely none will be as memorable as his 87th.