Lewis Hamilton pinpoints the ‘perfect’ moment he knew he could win the British Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton took a stunning victory at the British Grand Prix after a late tyre call enabled him to snatch the lead from Lando Norris.

Norris was leading the race after rain hit the track midway through, causing all the drivers to switch to the Intermediate tyre and then back to slicks.

Hamilton was behind and elected to pit a lap earlier than his compatriot, while Norris stayed out for an extra lap on his worn Intermediates that were lapping several seconds slower than when they were new.

Mercedes put Hamilton on a used set of soft tyres for the final laps, with McLaren following suit with Norris. But the extra lap spent on the intermediates cost him crucial time, along with going slightly longer in his pit box which caused his mechanics to readjust.

When Norris came back out of the pits, he was two seconds behind Hamilton and had effectively conceded the lead of the race.

Lewis Hamilton pinpoints the moment he won the British GP

Both Hamilton and Norris were left managing their front left tyres at the end on their used softs, largely due to the amount of extra downforce they were carrying in their wet setups.

Speaking in the drivers’ press conference after the race, Hamilton explained how he knew Norris staying out would be the key decision that could help him win the race.

“On those tyres, when it was starting to dry up, it was about just trying to get the right timing. If Lando had stopped before us, it would have been very, very difficult to go by,” said Hamilton.

“The moment when I came out of Turn 15, and I came in [to pit] and he [Norris] stayed out, I knew that this was the moment that I was going to have the chance to undercut him. After that, I think I was able to just keep him [behind].

“It was a perfect distance of a stint. If we had another five laps, I don’t know if we would have held on to it.”

Lewis Hamilton adds to F1 the history books

It should come as no surprise that the two most recent world champions got their tyre calls right and were first and second, but McLaren and Norris made a series of strategic errors that cost them victory.

It was a record-ninth win at Silverstone for Hamilton, the most of any British driver in the history of F1.

He also broke Michael Schumacher’s long-standing record of most wins at a single circuit, having equalled it with his victory at the 2021 race. Hamilton is also the first British driver to win a race in 16 different seasons and to win a race after starting over 300 Grands Prix.

Former championship rival Sebastian Vettel took to social media to congratulate him, while 1994 British GP winner Damon Hill also sent a message of support after his record win.