Hamilton wins on three wheels
SILVERSTONE, England: Lewis Hamilton limped to a record seventh British Grand Prix victory with his heart in mouth and a prayer on his lips after a dramatic lastlap puncture turned his Mercedes into a threewheeler yesterday.
In an astonishing end to a race he had dominated from pole position, the sixtime world champion nursed his stricken Mercedes across the line to stretch his Formula One world championship lead to 30 points.
‘‘I have definitely never experienced anything like that on the last lap,’’ Hamilton said after inspecting his barelyattached front left tyre.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished second, but could have won had he not pitted for fresh tyres in a successful late bid to score an extra point for the fastest lap, assuming victory was out of reach.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was third, another surprise for a team struggling for performance.
Hamilton’s teammate and closest rival, Valtteri Bottas, failed to score after also suffering a late puncture and finishing 11th, despite a onetwo finish for the pair having looked a certainty until late in the race.
The victory was the 87th of Hamilton’s F1 career — leaving him four short of Ferrari great Michael Schumacher’s alltime record of 91 — and his third in a row. It was also probably his greatest escape.
Verstappen’s race engineer summed it up over the team radio: ‘‘He’s a lucky boy.’’.
The Dutch driver said he was happy with second place and brushed aside talk of a missed win in a race with two safety car periods.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo was fourth for Renault, ahead of future McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
The next round, the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix to mark Silverstone’s hosting of the first world championship race in 1950, is at the same circuit this weekend. — Reuters