Lewis Hamilton ends drought with win at British Grand Prix
Oct 20, 2018; Austin, TX, USA; Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain (right) is interviewed after Hamilton takes the pole position during qualifying for the Unites States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Lewis Hamilton on Sunday secured a first-place podium at his home race the British Grand Prix to end a lengthy winning drought. Prior to Sunday, Hamilton’s last win came 945 days ago at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in December of 2021. With his 9th win at Silverstone, Hamilton has become the leader in wins at the British Grand Prix.
Despite Hamilton’s victory, things were not as fortunate for his teammate, George Russell. After securing pole position on Saturday and being in contention for the victory, Russell was forced to retire on lap 33 due to mechanical issues with his water cooling system.
Finishing behind Hamilton was Max Verstappen, who used a superior tire strategy once the wet weather subsided to finish ahead of Lando Norris who was third.
Contrary to his teammate Oscar Piastri, who pitted for a fresh set of medium tires and finished 4th, Norris pitted for soft tires, which ultimately led to Verstappen chasing him down and passing him on hard compound tires.
Although Verstappen still has a comfortable lead in the driver’s championship, the constructor’s championship now seems to be wide open with Sergio Perez continuing to struggle, and with Mercedes and McLaren continuing to secure podium finishes.
