07/07/2024
NEWS STORY
Lewis Hamilton claimed a stunning British Grand Prix victory on Sunday at Silverstone. George Russell unfortunately was forced to retire with a water system issue.
Starting from the front-row, George and Lewis led the way in the opening laps. However, a rain shower one third of the way through the Grand Prix cycled the McLarens through to the lead. That initial rain came and went before a further downpour necessitated a switch to the Intermediate tyres. With the team double-stacking, Lewis emerged in P2 with George P4. Rising Power Unit temperatures due to a water system issue forced George to retire from the Grand Prix shortly after.
With Lewis the team's sole remaining car, the team judged the switch back to dry tyres well and pitted him a lap earlier than the race-leading McLaren of Lando Norris. Switching to the Soft compound, he emerged in the lead and managed the final stint well to take a record-breaking ninth British Grand Prix win.
Lewis becomes the first driver to win a Grand Prix in 16 different season and the first driver to win a Grand Prix after making 300 starts. It is also Lewis's 12th consecutive British Grand Prix podium and his 150th podium with Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team.
Lewis Hamilton: Today means so much. It is the most incredible honour to be standing on the top step of the podium here at Silverstone. I think my heart is still racing! We've had so many amazing times here and today was the most emotional end to a win I've ever had. It has been a really challenging few years for everyone in the team. Knowing how hard everyone has worked to fight back, I think it was a real release of emotion. I am forever grateful to everyone in this team, to Mercedes, and to all our partners. To finally succeed is the greatest feeling I remember having.
It was a tricky race out there. The changeable conditions made it a real challenge. We kept our cool though and made the right call at the right time to switch back to slicks. That helped us take back the lead and from there, we were able to bring it home.
George Russell: I'm absolutely gutted. About 10 laps before I had to retire, I could see temperature alarms on my steering wheel. We had a water system issue we were battling and unfortunately, it won out. Congratulations to Lewis and the team though. He drove a great race and it's a fully deserved victory. We've both been pushing so hard to help the team develop the car and it's great to see that paying off.
The car felt so good today. We knew it was going to be a long race with the weather conditions. When the rain first came down, we struggled a little. We were able to find our pace again though and it would have been an interesting battle to the end. Nevertheless, it's been an amazing weekend for us as a team. We can be proud of what we've achieved and look forward to the final two races before the summer break with excitement.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO: Today's win is like a fairytale. It is our last British Grand Prix together with Lewis and what a way to sign off. It is such a great feeling to be able to achieve victory in front of the British crowds with the most iconic, and most successful British driver in a Mercedes.
Last week's win was fortuitous. Today, we were quick in almost all conditions. We were running first and second for a long time and, although the McLarens were quick when the rain fell, we were able to get back ahead of them. It is a win on merit, and it shows the grit of this team. We never stopped believing, we never stopped working, and we have been able to unlock the potential in the car. We are now on a roll.
George was unfortunate today. He has been so strong recently and took a fantastic pole position yesterday. Sadly, we had to retire his car with a water system issue. He would have likely been in position to fight for the win were it not for that.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director: It was absolutely fantastic to see Lewis win today. The crowd here make it extra special, and it was an amazing drive. It's barely believable that it's been so long since we last won a race with Lewis and now, we've just won two weekends in a row as a team.
It was a difficult race for George. We were monitoring a cooling system on his car from the early laps and unfortunately that got to a stage where we had to retire the car. He can hold his head up high though. He put together a fantastic lap to take pole position and showed that he had the pace to control the race in stint one.
The last few months have seen the whole team working flat out to improve the car. What we have achieved in a short space of time is incredible. We'll enjoy this moment as it's very special but with two races to go before the summer break, we'll keep pushing to bring performance as we continue to get our championship back on track.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Silverstone here.