British Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton leads from start to finish to take the chequered flag at wet and wild Silverstone
Brit delight as home hero beats struggling Nico Rosberg in chaotic race to cut gap at top of drivers' standings
LEWIS HAMILTON became Britain’s best Formula One driver — and celebrated like a rock star.
The three-time world champ dived into the Silverstone crowd who had cheered his every lap.
It was Hamilton’s 47th GP win and about as routine as they come.
A single wobble at Abbey on lap 28 was the only blemish to his impressive weekend.
He topped first, second and third practice, took pole position and could even afford to turn his car down as he cruised to the race win.
The only thing missing from a full house was the fastest lap, which was claimed by his fellow Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg.
No wonder then that Hamilton has been voted as Britain’s best on a BBC online poll, romping to glory with 53 per cent with Jim Clark trailing in second on 19.
The 31-year-old has now won four times at Silverstone, equalling the great Nigel Mansell’s tally, who welcomed him to the exclusive club.
Hamilton said: “I’m just going to have to sit on it and try to let it sink in because it’s just so strange.
“It’s very, very surreal. I just saw Nigel in the corridor there and he said: ‘Welcome to the club’.
“It’s just crazy to think that I’m up there with them.”
Hamilton admits he is not one for records, yet in yesterday’s rain-hit race he continued to rewrite the history books.
He is the only Brit to win THREE British GPs on the spin here at Silverstone.
And he is now just four victories away from equalling French ace Alain Prost as the second most successful F1 driver of all time.
But the most significant record could be this: Every time Hamilton has won his home grand prix he has gone on to win the world championship. It has certainly been an astonishing turnaround in fortune for the Brit star, who is now just a POINT behind Rosberg in the standings.
In an exclusive interview with SunSport ahead of the big race, Hamilton described his start to the season as the worst of his career as he has battled against steward decisions, bad luck and reliability problems with his Mercedes.
But since he and Rosberg smashed into each other in Barcelona in May — when, incidentally, his rival was 43 points ahead in the championship — Hamilton has won four of the last five races.
Meanwhile, Rosberg’s own title challenge has imploded.
The German was punished for a desperate lunge on Hamilton in Austria eight days ago with a penalty — and fourth-place finish.
And he suffered more woe here when he received a ten-second penalty after Mercedes were found to have breached the strict radio ban for telling him about a gearbox problem.
Race officials had warned teams that the radio instructions to their drivers would not be tolerated — and they flexed their muscles almost four hours after the chequered flag with the news that Rosberg would be demoted to third behind Max Verstappen.
Mercedes have lodged notice of their intention to appeal, yet there was no escaping Rosberg’s misery. Having been given the silent treatment in an amusing yet awkward moment in the green room after the race, Hamilton’s rival was then booed on the podium.
And there, like in his race duel with Hamilton, he offered little defence for his performance as he again struggled in the wet.
Rosberg, 31, said: “Congrats to Lewis, he did a great job this weekend and I just couldn’t reach him, no way.
“So that’s it, second place, which I have to live with.”
And Rosberg’s hopes of a first world championship title may not be helped by the next race — Hungary in 13 days’ time.
Another win there would see Hamilton again rewrite the record books, passing Michael Schumacher on the Budapest honours’ board.