Lewis Hamilton wins dramatic British Grand Prix to end three-year wait after George Russell retirement
Lewis Hamilton has won the British Grand Prix nine times
REUTERS
Lewis Hamilton was back on the top step of an F1 podium for the first time since 2021 after winning a dramatic British Grand Prix ahead of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
Hamilton has had to wait several years to be able to fight at the front of the grid once again with Mercedes falling behind their rivals.
Since then, he's had to make do with 16 podium finishes with a handful of close finishes.
But Mercedes have turned a corner in recent months with Russell winning their first race of the season last week in Austria.
Lewis Hamilton has won the British Grand Prix nine times
REUTERS
They took that momentum into Silverstone this week with both drivers stealing the show in qualifying as Russell pipped Hamilton to pole.
Sunday's race was always going to be eventful with both Norris and Verstappen behind them on the second row.
Weather was also going to have a part to play with rain predicted in the middle of the race.
It was a clean getaway from the frontrunners at the start of the race as Russell held off Hamilton, but the 39-year-old took the lead of the race as soon as the rain came.
That lead only lasted a couple of laps as Norris ended up getting past both Mercedes cars with the McLaren coping better with the tricky conditions.
But not much separated the top six drivers with the conditions continuing to play a part.
The first set of pit stops proved crucial and Russell paid the price as he dropped down behind Verstappen.
The 26-year-old was then forced to retire his car with a suspected water issue on his car.
Lewis Hamilton was emotional on the podium
REUTERS
Norris held the advantage as the race leader heading into the penultimate stages, but things changed once more when the track began to dry out.
Verstappen was the first to take a chance by pitting for the hard compound with Hamilton quickly stopping for softs.
Norris came in a lap later, but the damage had already been done as Hamilton regained the lead while the McLaren driver was still coming out of the pits.
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Lewis Hamilton held the Union Jack flag aloft after his win
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Verstappen was very much the main danger man from that point as Norris struggled to close in on Hamilton.
The Red Bull driver managed to get past Norris with five laps remaining, but he didn't have enough left to get past Hamilton in what resulted in an emotional victory for the seven-time world champion.
Hamilton was tearful on team radio and there was a touching moment afterwards when he shared a warm embrace with his father Anthony.
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