Karun Chandhok ‘annoyed’ by one thing in the TV coverage of Lewis Hamilton’s Silverstone win

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Lewis Hamilton claimed a tearful victory at the British Grand Prix last weekend. Hamilton, the most successful driver in F1 history, hadn’t won a race since the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP.

That was a drought spanning 954 days and 56 races, by far the longest of his career. Indeed, Hamilton had won at least one race in every single season between 2007 and 2021.

At the start of this barren spell, he’d been denied a record-breaking eighth world championship in bitterly controversial circumstances. Max Verstappen snatched the title from his grasp on the final lap of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP after an error from race director Michael Masi.

The regulations would change for the following season, and Mercedes fell back. They only won once in the first two seasons of the ground effect era, with George Russell beating Hamilton at the 2022 Brazilian GP.

There were multiple near-misses for the 39-year-old in that time, but when Mercedes made a long-awaited breakthrough last month, it was his teammate who struck first. Russell inherited victory in Austria after Verstappen and Lando Norris collided.

Only a week later, though, Hamilton prevailed in changeable conditions to bag an unprecedented ninth win at a single circuit. He also became the first driver to triumph after making his 300th Grand Prix start.

Karun Chandhok says Lewis Hamilton deserved ‘privacy’ with his father

Hamilton was audibly emotional over the team radio after crossing the line as he interacted with his engineer Peter Bonnington. And this continued when he pulled into parc ferme.

He shared a long embrace with his father Anthony, but Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok was unhappy that a microphone was positioned nearby. He felt that Hamilton should have been given privacy.

Writing on his X account, Chandhok said: “Annoys me that a microphone is right there next to Anthony’s head…. Sometimes families should be left to have a moment in private without the world listening in.”

Hamilton has often reflected on his father’s importance in his karting career as a child. His mother Carmen Lockhart was also in attendance.

Damon Hill tells one Hamilton critic to ‘shut up’

Hamilton may have won 104 Grands Prix, 13 more than any other driver in F1 history, but there seemed to be recognition of the challenges he’d faced in recent years. It was an incredibly popular victory within the paddock.

Russell commended his teammate on a ‘deserved’ win even after the disappointment of retiring with a water system issue. Norris also congratulated him as he rued the errors that cost him a home victory of his own.

Damon Hill felt the victory cemented Hamilton’s status as the ‘GOAT’. It was a uniquely challenging race as the drivers faced a gradual transition to intermediate conditions before a return to slicks.

One fan argued that Hamilton couldn’t be seen as the greatest because of his qualifying deficit to Russell. He trails the 26-year-old 10-2 in that department this season.

In reply, Hill simply said ‘oh shut up’. The next time Hamilton arrives at Silverstone, he’ll be donning the red of Ferrari after agreeing to join the Scuderia for 2025.