Hamilton won again more than two and a half years later in a thrilling race at Silverstone

He was sunk in the last races. And with the resurgence of Mercedes, which already has a winning car at the level of McLaren and Red Bull, he received a major blow on Saturday when he saw his team-mate George Russell beat him for the 10th time in 12 classifications and stole the pole from his group. . Another setback, but the sun will shine again this Sunday for the man from Stevenage, who wants to try again. And in a completely unpredictable race, where up to 5 cars had a real chance to win due to rain twice, All the planets aligned for the Englishman with a strategically perfect race to win again against Verstappen, Norris (3rd), Piastri (4th) and Sainz (5th), with Alonso again in the points in eighth place.

No one has given a damn for him this season. He was far from his usual level, constantly surpassed by George Russell andHe has not won since the penultimate race of 2021, that year’s Arabian GP, ​​on December 5, 2021. exactly, 945 days have passed since that victory. 2 years, 7 months and 2 days Later, Hamilton won again over Max Verstappen who was laps away from a head-to-head battle with Lewis for the victory.

The Dutchman, with the better tire at the end, overtook Norris and flying down the runway to go hamilton. But in the end he was 1″4 away from a front that would have been reminiscent of old times. The last time they met in Silverstonethe matter ended in an accident, in 2021. This time, Verstappen It never came and Hamilton was able to celebrate a more than unexpected victory.

Tense calm before the rain

After an uneventful exit, where Russell did well to hold on to pole position against Hamilton and Verstappen stole Norris’ wallet in the first meters to grab third place, everyone was stuck waiting for the rain, which could have turned the race into absolute madness. Lando returned the overtake to Max on lap 15, threw it all away at Stowe a few days after his accident with Verstappen in Austria. This time, the Dutchman did not move under braking and Lando gained the position. And this time, the current champion is suffering even more. It seemed to sink as the first drops of water began to wet the pilots’ visors.

From there, The race turned out to be a real roller coaster, an event of pure endurance due to the arrival of rain on up to two occasions. First time, Starting on lap 16, it will be a short time and the key is to fight the track losing as little time as possible on dry tires, sliding down the legendary English track. And the second time, the water has to hit a little more force and it may be time to put the intermediate wheels.

First rain: double attack by Hamilton and McLaren

As it started to rain for the first time, with the first drops, Oscar Piastri started to give hints about how well the McLaren was doing in the rain, catching a helpless Max Verstappen, who dropped to 5th place .

And on lap 18, with more rain, the real battle began, on up to two unexpected rhythm changes. The first of Hamilton, with water on the track felt better than ever, like in the past, and made the difference in his hands, passing his teammate Russell and taking the lead. Silverstone came crashing down as it saw the three Britons at the top, with their great idol, Hamilton, once again leading a race.

But the matter did not end there. Hamilton’s joy was short-lived, as one lap later, on lap 19, he left the track with Russell as they were both surprised by the wetness of the asphalt.. They took advantage of it the two McLarens, with devilish speed in the wet. Norris passed Russell and Hamilton in two laps and took the lead on lap 20. And Piastri did the same shortly after, moving into second after overtaking Hamilton. McLarens feel like fish out of water.

And after a short break, the heavy rain poured down again.

Stopped for intermediates and two removed

On the wettest track, Piastri seems to have more pace than Norris. The Australian didn’t miss a beat, staying on the Briton’s heels in the fight to take the lead. But it’s time to switch to intermediate tires. Making a decision at the right time can be crucial and the career can completely change again.

The first to attack the pits was Verstappen, along with Carlos Sainzwhich at the time was 6th, close to Max. They were the first to put an intermission next to the Stroll and they did it just in time. Norris, Piastri and the Mercedes all had to turn, with Piastri very close to Lando, fighting for his lead. And certainly, being 2nd and being so close is very bad for the Australian because if McLaren stops them both, Oscar will lose a lot of time. Lando stopped but Piastri didn’t. They also fitted Hamilton and Russell intermediate wheels. Piastri’s career was falling apart. He had to turn again on a wet track, stopping a lap later than Norris. Before he had finished turning, Lando was behind him and had stopped. And when Oscar started the intermediates, he was back on track losing 18 seconds.

The eliminations have begun. Piastri is almost out of the match unless there is another twist in the script. And on lap 33, another big abandonment, that of polesitter and first race leader, George Russell, due to a reliability problem (water cooling system) in his Mercedes. The pitcher of cold water for the local public, who after the pit stop saw how Lando Norris He maintained his lead ahead of Hamilton, who was just 2 seconds away. while, Verstappenafter seemingly sinking, is back in podium position (3rd, 7″ behind Hamilton), with Sainz in 4th place, 2 seconds behind. Max.

There is more fabric to cut. Knowing what happens when the rain stops. On lap 37, the sun came out at Silverstone with the drivers on intermediate rubber. When stopping in the pits to put on dry tires can decide the victory. Anyone who gets the timing right can take home the loot.

Norris leads Hamilton’s push, already at 1.8. And Max, 6″, with Sainz 12 behind Verstappen. Who will risk it? It seems clear that if Hamilton wants to win, he should try to do the opposite of Lando Norris or take a little risk by stopping early to put dry tires. And he did.

He went all out, stopped on lap 38 and put on the soft gear with the track still a bit wet. And so is Verstappen. A lap later (39) Norris stopped and the result looked perfect for Lewis: Hamilton became the new race leader after the stop before Norris (2nd), Verstappen (3rd) and Piastri moved up to fourth place for stopping one turn ahead of Carlos. Hamilton and Norris rode on soft tires and Verstappen and Sainz on hard, while Piastri took the medium. Different tires for the last 12 laps. It will be decided in a final battle of rhythms. And there, Max is like an airplane. Verstappen’s final attack started from third place.

Hamilton is Norris at 2’6 and Verstappen at 5’9, but on the hard tires the Dutchman flies. With 5 laps to go, Max is now within DRS distance of Norris. He had to pass him quickly without losing valuable time if he wanted to follow Hamilton. 3 years later, Max met his great nemesis Lewis again on the track where the Briton threw him at high speed at Copse. With 4 laps to go, Verstappen passed Norris on the outside, without shaking his wrist and not giving any DRS options. He was 3.3 behind Hamilton. Can I go to Hamilton? Ultimately, that answer is negative. He was left with honey on his lips, 1.465 behind Lewis, with Norris in third position again winning.

Sainz, 5th, Alonso, 8th

Carlos Sainz held the pace of the leaders very well at the start and stayed on the track, although he had no chance of winning with the worse car on this track. The Madrid native salvaged an excellent fifth place on a difficult track for Ferrari due to his complications in a fast corner. The Spaniard from Madrid hurt his battle with Piastri by stopping a turn later to put dry tires in the final pit stop. On the other hand, Ferrari hit the nail on the head with the first stop to put in the intermissions, just in time. Sainz finished 5th, the best result he could have wished for. The cross for Ferrari was Leclerc, 14th and doubled. Pérez had the worst race, starting in the pit lane and never recovering: he was 17th and was lapped twice.

For his part, Fernando Alonso, who started 10th, gained positions in the first rain drops to finish 8th. He passed Stroll on the track, but stopped later than Lance to place in the intermediates and lost that position. Aston Martin left Silverstone with a good haul, 7th for Stroll and 8th for Alonso, achieving its goal of putting both its cars in the points after two very complicated races away from the goal that.