Sometimes, it seems destined in the stars for certain individuals to rise above all else and achieve remarkable feats. At the 2024 British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton exemplified this, clinching a victory amidst a race filled with numerous plot twits reminiscent of a classic Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western. Mercedes secured the front row in qualifying, with George Russell ahead of his teammate, both cars demonstrating newfound speed. Lando Norris, third, was seen by many as a defacto race winner for McLaren.
The first lap was uneventful, though Lando Norris lost his third position to Max Verstappen after a brief scuffle. Verstappen was expected to capitalize on Red Bull’s superiority to challenge and overtake Mercedes. However, the days of Red Bull’s ultra-dominance are gone. Both Mercedes cars quickly established a comfortable lead as the race settled.
By lap 15, Lando Norris regathered himself and began unlocking the McLaren’s pace, swiftly passing Verstappen to reclaim third. Meanwhile, George Russell, who had built a slight lead over Hamilton, started losing ground as light rain began to fall.
With slightly adjusted downforce settings providing better grip and traction, Hamilton closed the gap and took the lead from Russell on lap 18. As the rain intensified, both Hamilton and Russell had a minor off-track moment, allowing Norris to surge into second.
Another twist occurred as Norris capitalized on the damp track conditions to take the lead on lap 20. Hamilton was now struggling for grip, allowing Oscar Piastri and Russell to close in. The varying conditions clearly favoured McLaren, and Piastri swiftly manoeuvred past both Russell and Hamilton to secure second place.
Initially seeming to dominate, McLaren’s prospects changed yet again when all runners switched to intermediate tyres to cope with the varibale weather conditions.
Russell retired on lap 34, and by lap 39, the rain had ceased, sunlight peeked through, and the track began drying. This phase marked the final pitstops, where Hamilton and Norris opted for soft tyres, while Verstappen put on a set of unfavourable hard compound tyres. Though Verstappen was out of contention for the win, the battle seemingly narrowed down between Hamilton and Norris.
But another twist awaited.
Hamilton managed his soft tyres effectively, extending a lead of over three seconds from Norris. As Norris’s pace dwindled, Verstappen closed the gap and needed no asking to snatch second place. He then set his sights on Hamilton, closing to within 1.5 seconds as the chequered flag waved on lap 52, with Hamilton clinching victory despite his fading tyres
On the cooldown lap, Hamilton, typically composed, was emotional, shedding tears in what will be remembered as an epic conclusion to an extraordinary race and marking his record-breaking 9th British Grand Prix victory. As the dust settled, a new chapter unfolded in the battle for the 2024 Constructors’ Championship: the resurgence of Mercedes-Benz.
2024 British Grand Prix: Race Results
1 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes 1:22:27.059 52 laps
2 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing +1.465
3 Lando NORRIS McLaren +7.547
4 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren +12.429
5 Carlos SAINZ Ferrari +47.318
6 Nico HULKENBERG Haas F1 Team +55.722
7 Lance STROLL Aston Martin +56.569
8 Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin +63.577
9 Alexander ALBON Williams +68.387
10 Yuki TSUNODA RB +79.303
11 Logan SARGEANT Williams +88.960
12 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas F1 Team +90.153
13 Daniel RICCIARDO RB +1 lap
14 Charles LECLERC Ferrari +1 lap
15 Valtteri BOTTAS Kick Sauber +1 lap
16 Esteban OCON Alpine +2 laps
17 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing +2 laps
18 Guanyu ZHOU Kick Sauber +2 laps
DNF George RUSSELL Mercedes
DNF Pierre GASLY Alpine