2024 F1 Round 12, British GP: Hamilton wins a wet-dry thriller for his first victory since Saudi Arabia 2021, career win 104 and ninth at Silverstone

The 2024 British Grand Prix, Round 12 of the Formula 1 season, concluded at Silverstone on the evening of 7 July China time (UTC+8). In a 52-lap race that switched between dry and wet conditions, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took the chequered flag first for his first Grand Prix win since Saudi Arabia in 2021. It was the 104th victory of his career and his ninth at Silverstone. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished second, 1.465s behind, with McLaren’s Lando Norris third at his home race. Yuki Tsunoda brought RB one point for 10th.

Roared on by the home crowd, the 39-year-old Briton fulfilled his wish in his final home race with Mercedes. As he crossed the line, race engineer Peter Bonnington shouted over the radio: “We did it, Lewis! You were brilliant, mate. We’ve waited so long for this moment.” A tearful Hamilton replied: “Thank you, everyone… thank you so much, and my heartfelt thanks to all the fans.” Afterwards, he admitted that he “couldn’t stop crying”, adding: “Every day since 2021, I’ve been training hard and giving everything with this amazing team. This is my last British Grand Prix alongside them, and because I love and appreciate them, I wanted to win for them even more.” Hamilton was due to leave Mercedes for Ferrari at the end of 2024.

Two pit-stop decisions shaped the race: when to switch from slicks to intermediates, and when to return to slicks. Polesitter Russell led initially but began to struggle after rain arrived on lap 15, and Hamilton passed him at Stowe on lap 18. The McLarens, running high-downforce setups, thrived in the wet. Norris and Piastri moved into a one-two on lap 20 as both Mercedes ran off the track. McLaren then made a strategic error. When the leaders switched to intermediates, the team chose not to pit both cars on the same lap. Piastri stayed out, dropped to sixth after his stop and fell out of victory contention. Meanwhile, concerned that abnormal water temperatures could damage the power unit, Mercedes called in fourth-placed Russell to retire, leaving Hamilton to fight Norris and Verstappen alone.

Ferrari’s Leclerc and Perez, who had started from the pit lane after taking a fifth internal combustion engine, switched to intermediates too early and struggled on the treaded tyres on a dry track. Both dropped to the back after another stop. At the end of lap 38, as the track dried, Hamilton fitted softs, Verstappen chose hards and Piastri followed them in for mediums. Norris stayed out a lap longer, and his choice of softs did not work. With his left-front tyre beginning to fade, Norris was passed by Verstappen using DRS around the outside at Stowe on lap 48. The reigning champion then set his sights on Hamilton, 3.3s ahead, but could not complete the chase. Piastri, on mediums, was almost a second per lap faster than Norris in the closing stages and finished fourth.

Tsunoda gained two positions on the opening lap to run 11th. He entered the points when Leclerc fell back, then rose to ninth after Russell retired. With seven laps remaining, Williams’ Albon passed him, leaving him 10th at the finish and bringing his first point in four races. Team-mate Ricciardo finished 13th.

Ferrari’s Sainz used the gap behind him to make a free stop for soft tyres before the final lap. He set the fastest lap of 1m28.293s to add a bonus point to his fifth-place finish. Hulkenberg, Stroll, Alonso and Albon filled sixth to ninth. Alpine’s Gasly had been due to start at the back after taking a fifth power unit, but a suspected gearbox problem on the formation lap ended his weekend before he could start. At the start, the air temperature was 16°C and the track temperature 33°C.