The Mercedes driver enjoyed a return to form after a thrilling race at Silverstone with a record breaking win
Lewis Hamilton fought back tears after clinching the British Grand Prix – and revealed his motivation to end his three-year drought.
The Mercedes driver enjoyed a return to form after a thrilling race at Silverstone with a record breaking win that left him emotional – admitting he “can’t stop crying” while breaking down his triumph.
It is the first time in 945 days that Hamilton has topped the podium – at the 2021 Saudi Arabia GP – after years of domination by rival Max Verstappen and the Brit said he was determined to win his last ever British Grand Prix with Mercedes – ahead of his move to Ferrari next year.
“Since 2021, every day I’m getting up and fighting to train to put my mind to the task and work as hard as I can with this amazing team,” he told Sky Sports.
“This is my last race here at the British Grand Prix with this team. I wanted to win this so much for them because I love them and appreciate them so much.
“All the hard work they put in over these years. I’m forever grateful to everyone at Mercedes and all our partners. And to all our incredible fans. I could see you lap by lap. There’s no greater feeling to finish at the front here.”
He added: “It’s so tough, I think for anyone, but the important thing is just how you continue to get up and you’ve got to continue to dig deep even when you feel like you’re at the bottom of the barrel.
“There have definitely been days between 2021 and here where I didn’t feel like I was good enough or I was going to get back to where I am today. But the important thing is I had great people around me, continuing to support me. My team, every time I turned up and saw them putting in the effort that really encouraged me to do the same thing.
“Otherwise, my fans, when I see them around the world, they have been so supportive. So a big, big thank you to everybody.”
Hamilton saw off Verstappen, who finished second, just ahead of Lando Norris – despite the McLaren star chasing his fellow Brit during much of the race.
The emotional scenes started as Hamilton thanked his team over the radio, saying: “It means so much. Thanks to everyone.” His engineer Peter Bonnington replied: “This one means a lot to us all,” with Hamilton replying: “I love you Bono”.
Meanwhile, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff called the result “a fairytale”, adding that they wanted to say goodbye to Hamilton with a “big result”.
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