Hamilton Wins Dramatic 2024 British GP

(Image credit: @F1)

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won a dramatic 2024 British Grand Prix to clinch a record ninth F1 win at a single circuit.

George Russell led from pole position until rain hit and he conceded the lead to Hamilton on Lap 18, but the pair were passed by Norris who proceeded to dominate the mid-race phase amidst a switch to intermediate tyres.

Hamilton however undercut Norris on the switch to soft tyres with a pit stop on Lap 39 for his ninth British GP win and 104th victory in F1, whilst Max Verstappen cleared Norris for second on Lap 48 into Stowe on the hard tyres.

Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top ten.

In the drivers’ standings, Verstappen extended his title lead over Norris to 84 points.

(Image credit: @F1)

At lights out, Russell got a clean start to lead Hamilton who squeezed Norris at Village which allowed Verstappen to sweep round the outside of the Loop to take third.

Further back, Hulkenberg ran wide at Village which gifted Sainz and Stroll a position whilst Leclerc recovered three positions to eighth, ahead of the German who re-joined ninth.

Rain however was looming which forced everyone to quickly settle into a holding pattern to try and stretch their slick tyres until the pit window, in order to go straight to intermediate tyres if the rain shower was heavy enough.

Verstappen however couldn’t shake Norris who managed to retain his medium tyre life and maximised his advantage on Lap 15 on the inside of Stowe, with Piastri following through two laps later at the same corner.

Rain meanwhile began to fall on Lap 15 and grip conditions fell away from Russell by Lap 18 as he was caught and passed by Hamilton, with both drivers running wide at Abbey which allowed Norris through into second at the Loop.

Norris adapted brilliantly to the worsening conditions as he then cleared Hamilton on the inside of Abbey on Lap 20 for the lead, but Russell then Hamilton found themselves passed by Piastri late that lap for a McLaren one-two.

Leclerc, Sergio Perez, Esteban Ocon and Guanyu Zhou were the first drivers to pit for intermediates but the rain shower soon passed and the track dried up.

A bigger rain shower however hit the track on Lap 26 which forced Verstappen and Sainz to pit at the end of that lap, which paid off as Norris, Hamilton and Russell pitted a lap later with Verstappen undercutting Russell in the process for fourth.

Piastri stayed out in order to avoid double-stacking at McLaren and once he pitted on Lap 29, he re-joined in sixth, as Norris headed Hamilton and Russell.

The latest showers soon cleared by Lap 36 and the track rapidly dried which forced drivers to pit for slicks, with Hamilton amongst the first to pit on Lap 39 which proved enough to undercut Norris – who pitted a lap later – for the lead as both Brits opted for the soft tyres.

Verstappen however had gone for the hard tyres which allowed him to get within six seconds of the two Brits heading into the last ten laps.

Hamilton kept Norris at around two-and-a-half seconds which allowed Verstappen to reel the McLaren in and pass him for second into Stowe on Lap 48.

Verstappen valiantly pushed to reel Hamilton in but the seven-time champion held on to cling his first victory since the controversial 2021 Saudi Arabian GP.

His victory also meant that Hamilton became the first Brit to win his home race under the reign of King Charles III.

Norris settled for third ahead of Piastri, Sainz, Hulkenberg, Stroll, Alonso, Albon and Tsunoda.

F1 now takes a fortnight break before heading to Budapest, Hungry, on weekend of 19-21 July followed by Spa Francorchamps, Belgium, a week later ahead of the summer break.

Position Driver Team Laps Time
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 52 1h 22m 27.059
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 52 + 1.465
3 Lando Norris McLaren 52 + 7.547
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren 52 + 12.429
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 52 + 47.318
6 Nico Hulkenberg Haas 52 + 55.722
7 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 52 + 56.569
8 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 52 + 63.577
9 Alex Albon Williams 52 + 68.387
10 Yuki Tsunoda RB 52 + 79.303
11 Logan Sargeant Williams 52 + 88.960
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas 52 + 90.153
13 Daniel Ricciardo RB 51 + 1 Lap
14 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 51 + 1 Lap
15 Valtteri Bottas Sauber 51 + 1 Lap
16 Esteban Ocon Alpine 51 + 1 Lap
17 Sergio Perez Red Bull 51 + 1 Lap
18 Guanyu Zhou Sauber 51 + 1 Lap
RET George Russell Mercedes 33 Water
DNS Pierre Gasly Alpine 0 Gearbox

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