New Formula 1 record

Who will win the Grand Prix at Silverstone?

Lewis Hamilton wins at Silverstone.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Lewis Hamilton has ended his winless streak in Formula 1! After 945 days, the Briton was once again able to celebrate success in motorsport's premier class at Silverstone on Sunday. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Lando Norris (McLaren) completed the podium behind the Mercedes driver.

It is Hamilton's ninth victory at Silverstone - a new record! No other Formula 1 driver has ever been so successful at a race track. What's more, the 39-year-old is now the oldest Grand Prix winner in the 21st century.

Here is the final score:

Toto to Lewis: "We never give up"
"It means a lot to me to get this win," said Hamilton in a broken voice on the pit radio. "We will prevail, we never give up," added Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff with satisfaction.

Hamilton thus extended his record with his 104th GP victory, the first time the 39-year-old Briton has been on the top step of the podium since Saudi Arabia in December 2021 or 57 races.

Russell has to park his car
Meanwhile, Spielberg winner and pole-setter George Russell had to park his Silver Arrow in the pits just after the halfway point of the race in fourth place due to a possible problem in the cooling circuit.

George Russell

(Bild: AP/Luca Bruno)

"This is incredible, there is no better feeling"
For Mercedes it was their second win of the season in a row, for Hamilton his 15th podium in his home country. With a British flag in his right hand, Hamilton rolled back into the pit lane and hugged his dad Anthony. "This is my last race here for this team. I'm so happy to have won it for them. I will be forever grateful for everyone at Mercedes. This is incredible, there is no better feeling," said Hamilton, who will switch to Ferrari in 2025, in the winner's interview.

Verstappen extends his lead
Verstappen, who extended his lead in the championship standings over Norris to 84 points, was satisfied with second place. "We didn't have the speed to win here. But we made the right strategic decisions. That helped me," said the triple world champion, who crossed the finish line 1.465 seconds behind Norris. "It is difficult. It was great fun battling with the guys. At the end of the day, we weren't good enough," said an annoyed Norris, who had led for a long time.

Verstappen overtakes Norris at the start
For the first time since 1968, three Brits - Russell, Hamilton and Norris - started from the front. In front of several TV personalities such as Rowan Atkinson, Jeremy Clarkson and Michael Douglas, who were also able to marvel at the first trailer for the film "F1" with Brad Pitt, which will be released in summer 2025, the real-life F1 drivers started the race on dry tires with a high probability of rain. The first of 52 laps was completed without any accidents, with the Mercedes duo defending their lead and Verstappen passing Norris.

(Bild: Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Rain showers 
Verstappen was unable to put the two "Silver Arrows" under pressure, with only dark rain clouds on the horizon to provide excitement. On lap 15, Russell reported isolated rain showers on the 5.891-kilometre high-speed circuit, and shortly afterwards Norris and Piastri passed the initially stumbling Verstappen. Three laps later, Hamilton took the lead from Russell. It became slippery, Norris coped much better with the dry tires and flew past the two Mercedes drivers, as did Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth.

Lando Norris

(Bild: AP/Luca Bruno)

Halfway through the race, Sergio Perez (17th) and Ferrari driver Leclerc (14th) were lapped due to an early change to intermediate tires. Verstappen was the first top driver to opt for a pit stop, overtaking Russell in third place. Piastri had to complete an extra lap in the rain due to the narrow gap to Norris and found himself in sixth place. Verstappen, meanwhile, struggled with rapidly degrading tires and was unable to keep up with Norris and Hamilton.

Did McLaren give away the win?
On lap 39, Hamilton and Verstappen decided to switch to dry tires, while Norris completed another lead lap - which cost him his second Grand Prix victory. As a result, the record-breaking world champion led his home race again to the cheers of his own fans. While Hamilton and Norris chose the softest tire compound, Verstappen benefited from the hardest set of tires, which degraded more slowly. Four laps before the end, the championship leader passed Norris and set off in pursuit of Hamilton. But the Englishman saved his lead to the finish.