Lewis Hamilton has shed pent-up tears of joy after ending a 945-day wait for a win with a record ninth British Grand Prix victory in front of his home fans at Silverstone. Mercedes’ seven-times Formula One world champion was overcome by the emotion as he took the chequered flag in triumph for the first time since Saudi Arabia on December 5, 2021 — 56 races ago. Red Bull’s triple world champion Max Verstappen finished 1.
“Thank you so much guys,” sobbed Hamilton in reply, his voice faltering as he choked back the flow of tears inside the helmet. “It means a lot. Big thank you to all the fans here.” Sunday was a record-extending 104th of Hamilton’s career and set a new string of records, not least the first F1 driver to win a race in 16 different seasons and first to win nine at the same circuit. He is also the first driver to win a race after reaching the rare milestone of 300 starts.