Lewis Hamilton was left in tears after winning the British Grand Prix.
The Mercedes star delivered a stunning drive from second place on the grid to claim his ninth win at Silverstone. In a rain-impacted race, Hamilton played his strategy perfectly to beat Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
It was Hamilton's first win since the 2021 Saudi Grand Prix, after a difficult three seasons since he controversially lost the 2021 world championship to Verstappen. He had to hold off the Dutchman in the final three laps, as Verstappen charged past Norris to claim second place.
But hold on he did, to claim a record-breaking win. Hamilton was congratulated over team radio by boss Toto Wolff and race engineer Pete Bonnington. The British icon was clearly emotional as he struggled to get his words out. The Mercedes star said: “Thank you so much guys. It means a lot to get this one. Big thanks to all the fans here, I love you guys. I love you Bono.”
Hamilton also waved a Union Jack as he took his victory lap in front of the crowd, before climbing out of his car to hug dad Anthony. On his way to the podium he met up with Bonnington, who collected the constructors' trophy on behalf of Mercedes.
After hugging the engineer, they headed out to the podium arm in arm, with Hamilton drapping a Union Jack over his shoulders. Hamilton had gone 945 days without winning a race before ending his wait, and he later admitted he could not contain his emotions.
"I can't stop crying! Since 2021, every day getting up, trying to fight, to train, to put my mind to the task and work as hard as I can with this amazing team and this is my last race here at the British Grand Prix with this team. So I wanted to win this so much for them because I love them, I appreciate them so much - all the hard work they've been putting in over these years," he said.
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"I'm forever grateful to everyone in this team, everyone in Mercedes and all our partners. And to all our incredible fans - I can see you lap by lap as I was coming round. There's just no greater feeling as to finish at the front here."
Among the many records Hamilton broke with Sunday's win include the fact that he is the first-ever driver to win a Grand Prix in 16 different seasons and hat his nine victories at Silverstone makes him the most successful driver at one track.
This was also his final British Grand Prix with Mercedes, as he prepares to join Ferrari next season. Remarkably, Sunday's win was his 12 successive British Grand Prix podium and takes him to 15 in total, with rival Norris hailing his efforts.
"First of all, congrats to Lewis. That crucial decision at the end he just did a better job. Hats off to him and Mercedes so they deserve it. It was tough. It was enjoyable, it was fun battling these guys," Norris told F1 during his post-race interview.
"These tricky conditions are always on a knife edge and you're risking a lot. So many things good, but a few too many letdowns today and as a team I don't think we quite did the job we should have done, or good enough. But still lovely to be on the podium here at Silverstone."
