© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
To win the British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton had to beat the dominant Red Bull and McLaren. The Briton explains how he was able to pull it off.
After two and a half years of struggles, Lewis Hamilton finally managed to win his first race since 2021, and to make it even better it was his home grand prix!
Afterwards he explained how he was able to beat the dominant Red Bull and McLaren.
“I think the first stint, I was a little bit under-winged at the front, so I was under-steering, I think,” the Briton said.
“But I was just managing, trying to make sure that, because you didn’t know how long he had to go. I was actually planning to go to a long way.
“I was supposed to go a lot longer than George. He had a really great pace, and he was trying, obviously, to break the tow, so I was trying to make sure that I stayed within 1.6 or two seconds.
“And then I knew that I could see the rain was coming. And when that rain came, I knew that that was the moment to pounce.
“And then we both went off and the McLarens came by. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t understand how they were able to generate so much heat still in their tyres or maybe it’s the aero or whatever.
If you like SilverArrows.Net, consider supporting us by buying us a coffee!
“But then just trying to hold on to them. And then obviously that last stint, I think we timed it perfect.
“Getting that undercut on Lando I think was really key and the team did such a great job with the pit stop as well.”
In the final stint, Mercedes decided to go for the undercut against McLaren’s Lando Norris, who was leading the race at the time.
Lewis came out ahead of his countryman, but he still had to hold off a charging Max Verstappen until the chequered flag.
“It was really tricky conditions because it was wet from Turn 14 to 15 but then dry in places, Turn 9 was dry,” he explained.
“So the tyres, the whole left side was graining for both of us, I’m pretty sure for Lando as well. And at the beginning it was really difficult to close that gap.
“And then obviously I started closing that gap to him. But I think on those tyres, it was literally… It was starting to dry up and it was about just trying to get the right timing.
“And I think if Lando had stopped before us, it would have been very, very, very difficult to have got by.
“And I think the moment in which I came out of Turn 15 and I came in and he stayed out, I knew that this was the moment that I was going to have the chance to undercut him.
“And then after that, I think, I was able to just keep him… I could see him in my mirrors coming through a particular corner and I could just see him right there.
“Every now and then he put in a really quick lap and I couldn’t match their pace when they did do that lap, when they did a low, I don’t know what it was, a 20, I can’t remember what number the lap was, it was 0.3 something.
“And then at the end, obviously, when Max started to close in, again just trying to give it absolutely everything right on the edge, full attack to try and keep the gap at three seconds, whatever it was.
“And the tyres started to just drop off a little bit towards the end. So I think it was the perfect distance of a stint.
“If we had another five laps I don’t know if we would have held on to it but I’m grateful that we were able to,” Hamilton concluded.
