George Russell and Lando Norris send messages to Lewis Hamilton after winning the British GP

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Lewis Hamilton finally ended a nearly 1000-day wait to earn his 104^th Grand Prix victory at Silverstone on Sunday, extracting the maximum he could from his Mercedes throughout the race weekend.

George Russell pipped Lewis Hamilton to pole position on Saturday, but Mercedes probably didn’t expect to nail a front-row lockout especially given the pace shown by McLaren.

They benefitted from Max Verstappen damaging his car earlier in the session, but when it came to the race, the Dutchman was never in contention until the final few laps.

McLaren threw away the opportunity to win the race with poor strategy calls impacting Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

And despite running third during the rainy spell in the middle of the Grand Prix, Hamilton eventually returned to the front of the race and took the chequered flag.

The 39-year-old was very emotional and posted on Instagram after the race to celebrate this victory.

Russell would have been frustrated by a technical fault that forced him to retire, while Norris was incredibly frustrated that two calls made by himself and the team ended his chances of earning a second win this season.

However, they were both quick to congratulate Hamilton for ending his winning drought at his home race.

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George Russell and Lando Norris send messages to Lewis Hamilton after British Grand Prix win

Posting on social media after the race, Hamilton said: “YES! 945 days since the last win and it’s finally come home.

“SILVERSTONE I LOVE YOU. There’s no crowd that deserves this more. This is love, this is family. Thank you all for the love and support.

“Massive shout to the team as well. Everyone in the garage and back at the factory have given long hard hours for this result.

“It’s not been easy but it’s brought us back to back wins for the team. Most importantly we didn’t lose hope. We didn’t give up. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU KEEP GOING. STILL WE RISE.”

Lando Norris simply replied: “Congrats mate,” while his teammate Russell added: “You deserve it, mate.”

Some of his fellow F1 drivers also replied, with former Mercedes test driver Esteban Ocon saying: “Congrats mate, mega race.”

His old teammate Valtteri Bottas commented: “Well done champ!”

Former F1 world champion Damon Hill was delighted with the result and added: “Not bad for an old man! Still GOAT it!”

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Lewis Hamilton explains the ‘perfect’ moment he knew he would win the British Grand Prix

If any other driver had gone as long as Hamilton without winning a Grand Prix, you would expect to see some nerves in his driving style towards the end of the race.

He would have known Verstappen was the man chasing him down in the final few laps on better tyres and the Dutchman has proved over recent years that he’s relentless in these situations.

However, Hamilton explained after the race the ‘perfect’ moment he knew he would win the British Grand Prix.

If Hamilton had to choose one race to win before he headed to Ferrari, it would have been in front of his home fans at Silverstone.

He’s now broken the record for the most victories by one driver at a single track and that will make his victory even sweeter.