Did Hamilton confirm his legendary status at Silverstone?

The sun came out again at Silverstone: Hamilton won a memorable race from start to finish marked by intermittent rain, the relentless battle between the British (and teammates), and the fury of the seven-time champion when the clouds were beating harder. It could have been Russell’s day, poleman, but everyone passed him again when the asphalt got complicated, and then he abandoned. It could have been Norris’s day, but the last third of Sir Lewis’s career dashed the hopes of the McLaren wunderkind. It could have been Piastri Day, which would have spoiled the national holiday, but the stopping turns turned out to be crucial as the track got wet or dry. So, before 160,000 motorsport purists, Hamilton first crossed the checkered flag in the garden of his house to hear ‘God save the king’ in his honor. He is the king. Verstappen, always at an excellent level, stole second position from Norris. Sainz signed a great fifth.

How did the race develop?

From the beginning. At the start, Russell quickly defended the interior and maintained the lead over his teammate. Norris (4th) lost a place with Verstappen (3rd) for following the first hard braking on the wrong path. There were no big fusses. All eyes then went to the sky: a light rain was expected for ten minutes and another more pronounced one towards the middle of the race. It was fulfilled. Hamilton began chasing Russell and passed him without significant difficulties in that parenthesis, with the asphalt wet but insufficient to change to intermediate tires. Norris and Piastri would later arrive, airplanes in mixed conditions. Verstappen and a fierce Carlos approached from behind (he managed to shave six seconds in just a few laps).

With the road already very complicated, the two McLarens ate the Mercedes. So much so that they opened a gap with Lando in front of Oscar. The Australian was starting to push... just when it was time to install an intermediate tire. Norris, Hamilton, and Russell stopped, and Piastri stayed one more lap. Bad decision: The track became complicated so quickly that he lost all his chances of winning and getting a podium. Mercedes nailed a worthy double ‘pit-stop.’ The race was alive.

But the overtaking would not come on the track. After ten laps, the sky cleared, and the track dried at full speed. The pressure from Hamilton to Norris began to be constant. In each lap, he cut crucial tenths off. On lap 38 (of 52), Lewis stopped. Norris did it in 39. Too late, he lost the position by just over a second. Although he had more pace, he would no longer get close to the Mercedes, and not only that, Verstappen’s pressure with a hard tire (for Lando’s soft one) earned the champion second place. Although the story this time was written by another driver who was ahead: Hamilton won again more than two years after Saudi Arabia 2021. The long-awaited 103rd has arrived, the last? At Mercedes before going to Ferrari. He cried on the lap of honor in front of a dedicated fan. He jumped onto the green with the flag in hand to finish off a historic Sunday at home. And, by the way, he remembered why legends are made of other stuff while other talented guys still have to eat at the children’s table.

Sainz's fifth and Alonso's eighth

Sainz achieved a great fifth place with the fastest lap point at the end despite making one stop too many. Carlos performed well in mixed conditions, but the Ferrari lacked performance in pure dry and pure wet conditions compared to its direct rivals. Leclerc finished 14th after they placed intermediates on him too early, further away from a possible fight.

Alonso was eighth and made progress as the asphalt repelled cars, but he stopped a lap later than Stroll (7th) and gave away too much time that would be very difficult to recover. The result is good for Aston Martin; only a huge Hulkenberg (6th) slipped between the greats and the British green icon.

Although the icon, the hero, the mass idol, was hugging his parents, crying like the child who one day dreamed of winning at Silverstone and then achieved it nine times.