Hamilton finally stops counting the days since his last F1 win after his brilliant British GP victory

“It’s the longest stretch without a win, 945 days. It might be one of the most special for me, if not the most special,” Hamilton said. “There were times when I really thought it would never happen again.”

There have been so many wins to celebrate since his first in Canada in 2007, but this was his first since the penultimate race of the 2021 season in Saudi Arabia. That’s more than 50 races.

That year he lost his F1 crown to Max Verstappen, who will be hard to stop from securing a fourth consecutive F1 title.

But Sunday belonged to Hamilton, 39, for his final British GP with Mercedes, before joining Ferrari next year.

“I’m going out on a high note,” Hamilton said. “This is my last race here with this team, so I wanted to win for them so badly because I love them and appreciate them so much.”

As much as the fans appreciate it.

“My fans around the world were very supportive,” Hamilton said. “I was coming back to myself and there was nothing better than finishing up front here.”

Silverstone held its breath in the closing laps as Hamilton held off Verstappen’s late charge and became the first F1 driver to win nine times at any track.

“For me, personally, it’s the best circuit in the world,” said Hamilton, who added a new F1 record to his 104 wins and 104 pole positions. He also holds a record seven F1 titles with Michael Schumacher.

So how did he plan to celebrate?

“With a curry,” he said. “I love Indian food.”

The close finish saw him edge Verstappen by 1.5 seconds, with Lando Norris finishing third for McLaren ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri.

Hamilton, in tears, thanked his team over the radio and was still emotional several minutes later as he struggled to compose himself.

“I’m still crying,” Hamilton said, addressing the crowd.

Hopes of a home win were high at Silverstone, with Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell on pole ahead of Hamilton and with Norris moving up from third and Verstappen from fourth.

Russell’s hopes of a second consecutive F1 victory were ended on lap 34 of 52 due to a water system problem on his car.

Verstappen passed Norris with four laps to go but was unable to catch Hamilton, much to the delight of most of the 164,000 fans.

Moments after crossing the finish line, Hamilton jumped into the arms of the mechanics and then shared a long hug with his father, Anthony Hamilton. It was then time to absorb the applause of the home fans. Carrying a British flag, he jumped over a safety barrier and then waved it.

“I can see you round after round, there’s just no feeling stronger,” he told the cheering crowd.

At the start, Russell and Hamilton got away cleanly while Verstappen overtook Norris.

Rain began to fall about 25 minutes into the race, making the 5.9-kilometer (3.7-mile) track slicker.

After Hamilton took the lead from Russell on the wet track, Norris took advantage of Russell’s mistake to move into second.

Verstappen, Norris and both Mercedes pitted for tyres shortly after the halfway point. But McLaren kept Piastri out for a bit longer, costing him a chance of victory.

After the tyre change, Norris had a lead of just over three seconds over Hamilton as Verstappen closed in.

The next tyre changes, with just over 10 laps to go, proved crucial.

Verstappen, Hamilton and Norris made quick changes, but McLaren took too much time off Norris’ rear – 4.5 seconds – and he emerged 2.4 seconds behind race leader Hamilton, with Verstappen quickly catching up.

“I’m pretty disappointed,” Norris said. “It’s frustrating a few times this season when we’ve let something go that should have been ours.”

But Verstappen could not get close enough and Hamilton’s victory takes the number of different winners so far this season to six, compared with just three in 22 races last year.

“There are a lot of us fighting,” Norris said. “I expect some great battles.”

But even if Verstappen doesn’t win as much anymore, he still widens the gap because Norris finishes behind him.

He is 84 points ahead of Norris in the standings, 255-171, with Charles Leclerc in third place on 150. Despite collecting 25 points for his victory, Hamilton is eighth on 110.

Carlos Sainz Jr. finished Sunday’s race in fifth for Ferrari ahead of Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg, with Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Alex Albon (Williams) and Yuki Tsunoda (RB) completing the top 10.

Sergio Perez apologised to Red Bull after qualifying 19th and starting from the pit lane as his team made several part changes. He finished 17th, while Leclerc started 11th and finished 14th.

AP Auto Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing