LEWIS GOES SIX MAD!
Proud Hamilton lifted high after smashing British GP win record
LEWIS HamIlton, the Union Jack fluttering from his gloved hand, now heads the roll call of legends who have won the British Grand Prix.
His six victories cast Jim Clark and alain Prost, two fellow immortals, in his long shadow.
and on every blade of grass and every inch of asphalt at Silverstone, the record number of supporters saluted the record-breaker. on their shoulders, they lifted him high. But what really carried Hamilton through the weekend was the impulse that always has and always will inspire him while he races for a living.
It is the need to prove to himself that he is a winner on the track, time and time and time again.
It is the only metric he has ever cared for.
after seizing victory by 25 seconds over Valtteri Bottas in the other mercedes, Hamilton returned to the theme of the fightyour-corner gumption that transported him, armed by hard work and unstinting ambition, from his one-bedroom-house boyhood to his 80th career F1 victory.
Even as he underlined his status as one of the finest sportsmen this country has produced, a serial champion, he thought back to John Henry newman School in Stevenage and said: ‘I know that my teachers will be watching and, as long as I live, I want to prove them wrong, and answer all the negative things people have said.
‘When I was eight, I really didn’t know what it was like to have money and fame, and I just want to keep going and inspiring people now.’
this was not a victory in the manner of his greatest at Silverstone — that happened 11 years ago when the old airfield was drenched — and it had an element of luck to it as a safety car made the decisive intervention when even Hamilton’s supreme talent seemed unable to earn him the win.
Fate’s hand came in the 18th lap, as antonio Giovinazzi beached his alfa at Brooklands. Hamilton whizzed straight into the pits for his one and only stop, emerging ahead of the rest, whose speed was confined by the suspension in racing. From there, he blitzed away. a fastest lap — in the 52nd and final circuit — gave him a 39-point lead over Bottas in the world championship standings.
ten races gone this year, and Hamilton has won seven. He has never started a season so well. the rest will surely be history, again.
But for all the glory of the weekend — and some very fine wheelto-wheel action through the field — Hamilton was dragged into talk of his Britishness, prompted by a
Guardian journalist who claimed he was criticised for his lack of it, apparently. Perhaps, again, Hamilton used the ‘criticism’ as ammunition for his own purpose.
‘today was one of the best days I can remember,’ Hamitlon said. ‘I was just thinking about my first win in 2008 here and the feeling I had then. I have done so many races and you would think you would get used to it but this felt just as amazing as the first win I ever had here.
‘I am not one to look at statistics. I take it one race at a time and I like that approach. But I remember growing up watching this sport, seeing a lot of the greats, meeting a lot of the greats, even working with one of the greats,’ he said, referring to niki lauda, ‘to now to be up there with them is one of the coolest things. one day, I will have a picture of me in the car with that flag. I will always smile until my dying day.’
after all the sport’s self-flagellation of recent weeks over the boringness of races, yesterday was a fine advert.
Bottas and Hamilton vied for the early lead, trading places, but the Finn, who started a place ahead on pole, held his nerve and his place. He drove well, cleanly and bravely, but could only curse the safety car’s wrecking of his dreams. Bottas was followed home by Ferrari’s Charles leclerc in third.
leclerc was superb, possibly the driver of the day, as he repelled Red Bull’s max Verstappen. these two cub lions diced so skilfully they belied their years. they are both 21.
the only really red face belonged to Sebastian Vettel (right). He was passed by Verstappen and then drove straight into the back of him. It earned him a 10-second penalty that condemned him to 15th and raised more questions about his suitability as Ferrari’s no1. Vettel’s finest contribution of the weekend was a word-perfect tribute, delivered here on thursday night, on behalf of his fellow racers to the memory of race director Charlie Whiting, who died in march aged 66. In another nice touch, Charlie’s 12-year- old son Justin pressed the race start button. Speaking of father- son relationships, Hamilton shook the hand of his old man, anthony, when it was over and the celebrations started in front of a record crowd of 141,000. Silverstone, newly secure on the calendar until 2024, is a great old track that showcased all that is best in F1. and nothing is better than Hamilton, the champion with weapons-grade intensity.