11/07/2024
NEWS STORY
945 days after his last win, Silverstone victor Lewis Hamilton gives a rare glimpse into his human side.
Speaking to former teammate Jenson Button in the post-race interview, the seven-time world champion was very much the corporate man we have grown used to, politely thanking his team, the fans, his dogs and just about everyone else for a remarkable win.
However, his emotional radio call to his team in the moments after crossing the line, the long hug with his father, his red eyes and admission of self-doubt gave us a rare glimpse of the real Lewis Hamilton.
"I can't stop crying," he admitted to Button. "I think, you know, since 2021, I'm just 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, 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 the years. I'm forever grateful to everyone in this team, everyone at Mercedes, and all of our partners.
"And I just want to say thank you to all of you for being here with us today," he added, addressing the crowd. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I could see you lap by lap as I was coming around, and there's just no greater feeling as to finish at the front here."
With the team and fans thanked, Hamilton was asked if there had been doubts over the last couple of seasons - his last win being Jeddah in 2021 - whether there were times he feared whether he would ever stand atop the podium again.
"Absolutely," he admitted. "It feels different to previous races and particularly races where you're having race after race after race or seasons where you're having multiple wins.
"I think with the kind of the adversity I would say that we've gone through as a team and that I personally felt, that I've experienced, those challenges, the constant challenge like we all have to get out of bed every day and give it our best shot. And, you know, there's so many times where you feel like your best shot is just not good enough.
"And the disappointment sometimes that you can feel, you know, and we live in a time where mental health is such a serious issue. And I'm not going to lie, that I have experienced that. There's definitely been moments where you know, the thought that this was it, that that was never going to happen again. So to have this feeling come across the line, I think, honestly, I've never cried coming from a win. It just came out of me. And it's a really, really great feeling. I'm very, very grateful for it."
Of course, that Jeddah win was followed by the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, in the aftermath of which Hamilton almost walked away from the sport. Asked if the Silverstone win in some was helped the healing process, he replied: "Only time will tell. What I can say is that I'm not giving up. I feel like I'm making the right decisions with my life, with how I prepare and how I manage my time, the decision I've taken, for example, for next year, the commitment I still have to this team and the love that I still have for this team and the love that I still have for my job. I really, really love this job. And there's never going to be anything that comes close to it. And it's something I'm incredibly grateful for, to be in amongst these 20 drivers within this great sport that's having such a momentous time.
"We just had the launch of the trailer of the movie today," he added. "Honestly, when I came back in 2022, I thought that I was over it. And I know I wasn't and it's taken a long time for sure to heal that kind of feeling. And that's only natural for anyone that has that experience. And I've just been continuing to try and work on myself and find that inner peace day by day."
Reflecting on a thrilling race which had fans on the edge of their seats until the chequered flag, Hamilton admits that the undercut on Lando Norris was vital.
"It was really tricky conditions because it was wet from Turn 14 to 15 but then dry in places, Turn 9 was dry. So the tyres, the whole left side was graining for both of us, I'm pretty sure for Lando as well.
"At the beginning it was really difficult to close that gap. And then obviously I started closing that gap to him. But I think on those tyres, it was literally... It was starting to dry up and it was about just trying to get the right timing. And I think if Lando had stopped before us, it would have been very, very, very difficult to have got by.
"I think the moment in which I came out of Turn 15 and I came in and he stayed out, I knew that this was the moment that I was going to have the chance to undercut him. And then after that, I think, I was able to just keep him... I could see him in my mirrors coming through a particular corner and I could just see him right there.
"Every now and then he put in a really quick lap and I couldn't match their pace when they did do that lap, when they did a low, I don't know what it was, a 20, I can't remember what number the lap was, it was 0.3 something. And then at the end, obviously, when Max started to close in, again just trying to give it absolutely everything right on the edge, full attack to try and keep the gap at three seconds, whatever it was. And the tyres started to just drop off a little bit towards the end.
"So I think it was the perfect distance of a stint. If we had another five laps I don't know if we would have held on to it but I'm grateful that we were able to."
With his impending move to Ferrari, Hamilton was asked if this moment, winning the British Grand Prix for the last time with Mercedes, was bittersweet.
"When we started the season and we had a car where we weren't going anywhere near Red Bull, for example, anywhere near looking like we would ever get a win through the year," he replied, "that for me felt like it would be kind of bittersweet at the end of the season, where you've not had something like today.
"And the fact that we've really all come together, everyone's done such a great job to get the car into a place where we're feeling much more comfortable and really changes from the foundation from last year.
"So I'm not leaving on a low, but leaving on a high, which has been our goal. There's still a long, long way to go, but the car, by no means, is the car the quickest car on the grid right now. I think we are super close, and I think hopefully with a couple of, with the next upgrade perhaps, we will be in an even stronger position to really, really be fighting at the front row more consistently."
Asked where this victory stood, compared to the previous 103, he said: "I'm really very much about living in the present, and this does feel... I don't feel like I'm able to compare this one to any other. I had so many great moments and moments where I didn't think that I was going to be able to win, like the first Grand Prix win here in 2008. You know, I qualified terribly, well P4, but it felt like I wasn't in with a shot of winning a Grand Prix, and then it rained, and obviously I had that great feeling.
"So many moments through. I think being at your home Grand Prix, That's the longest stint that I've not had a win, 945 days. And the emotion that's accumulated over that time. So this one feels, could be one of the most special ones for me, I think, if not the most special one."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Silverstone here.