At the mid 2010s
hit their stride it was impossible to fathom that Lewis Hamilton would ever
stop winning. But he did. And it would take him two-and-a-half years to get
back to the top step of the podium in Formula 1. Not since the 2021 Saudi
Arabian grand prix has Hamilton seen the chequered flag first. But what a way
to return to the glory of P1.
Saturday
belonged to Mercedes too but it was George Russell who took pole in front of
ecstatic crowd. In fact, three British drivers took the first three slots on
the grid. Russell, Lewis Hamilton, and Lando Norris all positioned themselves
perfectly for a famous win. The trio led relatively cleanly away from the start
though Norris did drop behind Verstappen in the opening gambit. The weather
though would be the greatest test of not only driver ability but also the
respective teams’ ability to make the right calls at the crucial times.
While Russell
led with Hamilton in close attendance the rain came down just enough to make
the track treacherous but not enough for intermediate tyres to be fitted. At
least that’s what everyone thought. Ferrari though had other ideas and put
Charles Leclerc on the inter tyre while the rest stuck it out on slicks. This
needless call completely destroyed any chance of a decent haul of points for
Leclerc and reaffirmed that Ferrari hadn’t forgotten how to make daft strategy
calls. But some blame belongs to Leclerc too who should’ve, like Hamilton,
turned down the team’s call to fit the inter tyre. At the front the McLaren’s
of Norris and Oscar Piastri came alive and quickly surged past Verstappen and
both Mercs to run one-two. The McLaren pair were easily quick enough to control
proceedings and ran untroubled in the lead of the race. The race seemed to
settle for a while before another band of rain, this one heavier than before,
meant another round of decisions had to be made.
And here is
where the first of McLaren’s errors began to unravel. Instead of stacking their
two drivers in the pitlane the McLaren pitwall decided to leave Piastri out for
one more lap. As it were, Piastri went from leading the race to sixth as a
result. Still, they had Norris in the lead by roughly three seconds. But as the
track continued to dry so Hamilton was able to close the gap to Norris.
Russell, meanwhile, was forced to retire with a water pressure problem.
By lap 37 it was
dry enough for slick tyres and Norris was asked to choose between covering
Hamilton who had stopped and fitted soft tyres and Verstappen who had opted for
hard tyres. Despite have a brand-new set of medium tyres Norris opted for a
used set of softs. McLaren’s first mistake though was to leave Norris out one
lap later than Hamilton. But, let’s give them some leeway on this decision.
Hamilton is the second car on the road and Norris doesn’t have the ability to
respond to what he does. Still, the choice to go for used tyres over a new set
was a fatal error. Not only did Norris emerge behind Hamilton, in P2, but his
soft tyres were not up to the task at hand. So much so that Verstappen, with
the hard compound, was able to catch and overtake the McLaren fairly easily. A
Verstappen who didn’t have any pace, at any point in the race.
McLaren are
slowly sliding into a worrisome pattern. Decision-making, whether it be from
the team or the drivers, are costing them certain wins. In Austria Norris’s
impatience cost him a certain win and at Silverstone fuddled decision-making
under pressure cost them another. If McLaren have genuine designs on the
constructor’s championship, for which they likely do have a quick enough car,
they must iron out the mistakes and seize every opportunity. Verstappen and Red
Bull executed this perfectly. Despite not having even the second quickest car
on the day the strategy calls were on point and Verstappen kept in touch long
enough to give himself a chance at the end. As it stands, despite not looking
in great shape, the Dutchman has still extended his championship lead over
Norris.
Outside of the
top three of Hamilton, Verstappen, and Norris the other McLaren of Piastri was
fourth. Carlos Sainz saved Ferrari’s blushes with fifth while Nico Hulkenberg
followed up his good form from Austria with another sixth place finish. Lance
Stroll, in seventh, led home Aston Martin teammate Fernando Alonso in eighth.
Williams driver Alex Albon was ninth with Yuki Tsunoda in tenth.
Fans on social
media voted Hamilton driver of the day and rightly so. He kept it pointing in
the right direction in extremely difficult conditions, made the right decisions
at critical moments in the race, and drove, genuinely, a near perfect race. And
when a driver does that they deserve all the plaudits.
It may have been
his 104th win but the post-race team radio revealed an incredibly
emotional Lewis Hamilton. It was glimpse behind the façade of Hamilton and it
revealed just how much not winning has gnawed at him over the last
two-and-a-half years. As it would anyone. This win for Hamilton wasn’t only
well earned it was deserved.
