SILVERSTONE, U.K — Lewis Hamilton said his record sixth British Grand Prix victory will live long in the memory.
Hamilton continued his impressive run at the Silverstone circuit on Sunday after beating teammate Valtteri Bottas, in a drive helped by a fortunately timed Safety Car period. The Englishman said the frenzied home support made for a special experience.
« Today was one of the best days I can remember having, » Hamilton said. « I remember my first win here in 2008 and the feeling I had coming out of Brooklands and going down what was at the time the start/finish straight and seeing the crowd, it felt so reminiscent of that today, and just the excitement, happiness and joy I felt. It was exactly the same as then.
« You would think you would get used to it or the feeling would sink in but it felt just as amazing as the first win that I ever had. So really, really grateful to all the people that have helped me achieved this today. »
Early in the race, Hamilton went wheel-to-wheel with teammate Bottas. He had briefly got ahead at Luffield, only for the Finn to fight back on the old start-finish straight and reclaim the lead on the inside of Copse corner. Hamilton said he had been ready to play the waiting game after that.
« You never know if you will be able to deliver like we did today. Me and Valtteri had such a good fight, I got him at Turn 7 and then he was on the inside but when we pulled out of the corner I couldn’t really see where he was, he was in my blindspot.
« He wasn’t in my mirror and I couldn’t see him next to me either, so I couldn’t close the door just in case he happened to be there and he was there obviously and he drove sensationally well there. So I was like, OK I’m going to back off, wait until he stops and then get him after that, I was going to do a few more laps I think and then hopefully do an undercut catching up etc but the Safety Car came out and it was perfect timing for me. »
The victory — and the fact he claimed the point for fastest lap — strengthened Hamilton’s grip on the championship. He now leads Bottas by 36 points after 10 of 21 races.
http://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/27189266/one-best-days-my-life
