As Lewis Hamilton crossed the chequered flag at the 2024 British Grand Prix, the #44 driver broke a two-and-a-half year-long winless streak dating all the way back to the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP. Speaking to the media after the race, the seven-time world champion had admitted that self-doubt had started creeping into him.
The Mercedes driver spoke about the days after his loss at the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP until his latest victory at Silverstone. Many times in between he had started to question himself and his abilities.
“There were so many moments [where I] didn’t think it would happen again,” said Hamilton to Jenson Button during the post-race interview. His father, Anthony Hamilton, also shed some light on the trials and tribulations his son had to endure mentally to end up finally winning a Grand Prix again.
“He’s done that on his own, you know. He questions himself like we all do. You question yourself if you’re good enough, young enough, strong enough. As far as I am concerned he has everything he needs to be on the top,” explained Anthony Hamilton.
take a moment to listen to mr. anthony hamilton. this is beautiful. pic.twitter.com/CNyZFXqwMw
— sim (@sim3744) July 7, 2024
The emotions were apparent on the faces of everybody at Mercedes as this was Lewis Hamilton’s last outing at Silverstone with the Silver Arrows.
Lewis Hamilton fend off Max Verstappen to win the 2024 British GP
After the race, Hamilton himself admitted that he was in utter disbelief that he had actually won. He explained that it had been so long since his last triumph that he was not sure if another victory was ever over the horizon for him.
Hamilton’s win at Silverstone didn’t come easy either. With twelve laps to go, the Briton was on the red-walled soft tires, while Verstappen was chasing him down with a durable set of hard compound tires.
Sir Lewis Hamilton pic.twitter.com/jfVPABqRtO
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 7, 2024
As the laps completed increased, Verstappen continued to reduce Hamilton’s lead. But Hamilton harnessed his 17 years of experience to masterfully massage his tires. In the end, Hamilton was able to keep enough life in his tires to just edge the three-time world champion out to win a race after 945 days.