Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HAMILTON’S A SILVERSTONE SIXY BEAST
Hamilton roars to a Silverstone win thats makes him the most succesful racer in British Grand Prix history
IF THERE were any doubts over Lewis Hamilton’s standing as one of the all-time greats, he put those to bed with a remarkable performance on home soil.
The British superstar may have lucked-in after a safety car came at the perfect time, but he demonstrated the composed head that has helped him become a fivetime world champion.
And in securing an unprecedented sixth British Grand Prix triumph, he surpassed two icons of Formula One in Britain’s two-time world champion Jim Clark and Frenchman Alain Prost. Hamilton displayed his many talents en route to winning this thrilling encounter and kept out of trouble while his rivals wiped each other out.
In the early stages, the Brit was involved in an enthralling cat-andmouse tussle with Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, who had started the race on pole.
On lap four, the pair went wheel-to-wheel through Brooklands, Luffield and then Copse with Hamilton taking the lead only for Bottas to regain the place.
The Finn held on until the race-defining incident on lap 21 when the safety car was deployed after Antonio Giovinazzi’s Alfo Romeo got beached in the gravel.
Bottas had made his pit stop but Hamilton had yet to make his – and he pounced on the opportunity to do so as the field trundled round behind the safety car. Hamilton returned ahead of his Silver
Arrows partner and from that moment on he cruised to a victory that secured him yet more history. Bottas had to settle for second to seal a seventh Mercedes one-two of the season as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the podium.
The win, Hamilton’s seventh in 10 races, takes him closer to a sixth world title. He is 39 points clear of Bottas in the championship.
“It definitely hasn’t sunk in,” said Hamilton. “I still remember my first win here, my first pole.
“Every year it’s such a challenge. Just to be amongst the greats that have shone on this circuit and here in the UK, I’m so incredibly proud to be a part of it.”
While Hamilton takes the plaudits, there was plenty of action behind him as Leclerc finished third after Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel crashed into the back of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (below).
Leclerc was arguably the other star of the show after a sensational wheel-to-wheel battle with his fellow rising star Verstappen.
After their controversial incident in Austria, which saw Verstappen claim victory after a debatable laterace manoeuvre on Leclerc, they gave fans another thrilling display of close quarters racing.
But Leclerc lost out following the safety car when Ferrari bizarrely opted to pit him for a second time and he
dropped down to sixth. However the young Monegasque managed to take the final podium spot after Vettel hit Verstappen with 15 laps to go.
The Red Bull driver passed round the outside of the Ferrari at Stowe but slammed on the brakes as he approached the following corner and Vettel rear-ended the Dutchman’s Red Bull.
Verstappen rejoined the track in fifth and as a red-faced Vettel was forced to pit for repairs, Verstappen yelled: “What the f***? What was he doing?” Vettel’s misery was compounded as he was hit with a 10-second penalty for causing the collision and finished in 16th position.
“It was my mistake,” said Vettel, while Verstappen added: “We spoke to each other and he apologised.”
Despite all that Hamilton stole the limelight – he is one of the true greats of modern-era sport.