“We will win one more race with him this year,” predicted Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. There are still 13 attempts this year before Hamilton moves to Ferrari in 2025. The best opportunity to end Hamilton’s longest losing streak in his impressive career full of records comes on Sunday.
It is less than 80 kilometers by car from Stevenage, where Hamilton was born and grew up, to the Silverstone race track. “Whenever I watched the British Grand Prix on TV or looked at old videos, I saw the winner with this fabulous golden winner’s trophy,” the Briton once said.
Remembering the first Silverstone victory
Hamilton has won eight times in the Home of British Motor Racing, the first time in 2008. “This will probably always be the most special victory,” he said before attempting to win the race on the Silverstone Circuit for the ninth time. It had been raining that time. He had the spectators cheering with a great maneuver at the start, and when he crossed the finish line he raised both fists from the cockpit.
Reuters/Eddie Keogh Lewis Hamilton followed the premiere with another seven Silverstone victories
“I would say that my journey with the fans started here,” said Hamilton 16 years after his first home victory. He won with a lead of 68 seconds in his McLaren ahead of German Nick Heidfeld in his Sauber BMW. Of the 20 drivers in that race, Hamilton is the only other driver still taking part today, namely 42-year-old Spaniard Fernando Alonso.
Turbulent year 2021
Hamilton’s last Silverstone victory to date came in 2021. It was the high point of the World Championship duel with Max Verstappen. Shortly after the start, the Dutchman’s Red Bull, not yet a world champion at the time, and the Briton’s Mercedes touched. Verstappen then crashed into the track barrier with great force and even had to be checked out in hospital; Hamilton drove to victory despite the time penalty.
ORF timetable
Freitag:
13:20: First training
Saturday:
12.20 p.m.: Third training
3.40 p.m.: F1 news
15.55 Uhr: Qualifying
Sunday:
2.40 p.m.: F1 news
15:25: GP in Silverstone
5.50 p.m.: “F1 Motorhome”
Times: Start of transmission
The incidents caused lasting damage to the already strained relationship between the two rivals. At the end of the season, Verstappen snatched the race victory and the world championship title from Hamilton in the dramatic finale in Abu Dhabi on the last lap. It was the first of now 56 races in a row in which Hamilton was unable to win.
“It was a long time”
His last victory so far was in December 2021 in Saudi Arabia. In 2022 and 2023, the Mercedes did not work as hoped, this year the Silver Arrows are steadily working their way forward, last Sunday George Russell took advantage of the crash between Verstappen and McLaren driver Lando Norris and won in Spielberg.
“It’s been a long time,” admitted Hamilton, looking back on the many difficult months at Mercedes. “We’ve had George’s victory, and I hope there will be a few more this year.” Preferably at the home race in Silverstone, 945 days after Hamilton’s last Grand Prix triumph.
