Superhero Hammy pulls off mission impossible
LEWIS HAMILTON enjoyed an afternoon straight out of a Hollywood film script as he left Silverstone in raptures.
With A-listers Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford stalking the pit lane, the reigning champion usurped them to take on the starring role on a day of the highest drama.
In short, the 36-year-old came into this as the plucky underdog and courted controversy on the first lap when his closest rival Max Verstappen span off the track, suffering a worrying smash which caused the race to be red flagged.
Hamilton was handed a 10-second penalty but he took that in his stride and, with time running out, the scene was set for him to fix race leader Charles Leclerc in his sights.
He made good a 13-second deficit, slashing tenths of seconds off the Ferrari driver’s lead lap-by-lap as the tension escalated in the packed stands.
Hamilton asked his team: “Can I catch him?” to ramp it up still further and he raised it again by saying: “He’s picking up the pace, man” as he slowly reeled in the Monaco man.
He was aided by team-mate Valtteri Bottas who was told ‘not to fight’ and moved aside to let him pass.
The only thing missing was a tubthumping musical score, and a victory that even Hamilton admitted would be a long shot was greeted by a sea of Union flags as 140,000 punters went wild with delight as he overtook with two laps to spare.
After jumping the safety barrier to salute the public, he collapsed into the arms of Cruise in the winning garage.
If the Mercedes driver was feeling hard done by at Verstappen’s run of form, good fortune shook him warmly by the hand on his favourite track and it was the turn of Red Bull to feel aggrieved as team principal Christian Horner nailed Hamilton after the race ended. The home favourite was accused of pretty much everything in the aftermath of the collision that saw Verstappen’s race ended at Copse Corner. Horner called it “a massive misjudgement” and accused Hamilton of acting amateurishly and endangering his main rival’s safety. Neither was prepared to give way and one came off decidedly worse. The Brit radioed his team and said: “It was my line, he turned into me… I gave the guy space,” before asking: “Is Max okay?”
This victory – his 99th – cut Verstappen’s lead to just eight points but once the adrenaline rush of the triumph had subsided, Hamilton gave a more considered view of the incident.
Asked about Horner’s comment that it was a “hollow victory”, he replied: “I don’t feel anything about it. Emotions are running high. I see it as a normal battle between myself and Max.
“Maybe as a younger driver I was a bit aggressive but I realised it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Most of the time this season I’ve conceded to him and I’ve lived to fight another day. But when there’s an opportunity comes to close the gap, then you have to take it.
“In general, this year has been an emotional roller coaster.
“I didn’t think we were going to be in this fight.
“I thought it would be a long slog but we’re in it now. The race is back on.”