British GP: Hamilton victorious in thrilling rain-hit race

Lewis Hamilton claimed an emotional home win in the British Grand Prix, his first victory since the penultimate race of 2021, ending the longest spell without a win in the seven-time world champion's illustrious career. The Mercedes driver jumped ahead of Lando Norris during the final round of pit stops in a rain-hit race. The McLaren was subsequently unable to fend off Max Verstappen, and yielded P2 to the Red Bull with four laps to go. Pole sitter George Russell led the initial part of the race but fall back when the rain arrived, and was then forced to retire with a water system issue. Alpine's Pierre Gasly retired before the start with a gearbox issue. 2024 British Grand Prix - Race results For the first time at Silverstone, three British drivers led the field to the grid for the start of the British Grand Prix - George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Lando followed by Max Verstappen, the Red Bull driver keen to spoil the party that the home fans in the grandstand were keen to started. There had been rain in the last hour but as the lights went out to get the race underway, it was cloudy but dry. Everyone was on new mediums with the exception of Zhou Guanyu and Esteban Ocon on softs, and Sergio Perez - starting from pit lane after a disastrous qualifying and overnight engine changes - alone on hard tyres on pit lane. Russell got a flying start, while his Mercedes team mate Hamilton swept across the front of the field to discourage anyone attacking them. That seemed to thwart Norris, allowing Verstappen to pass the McLaren for third. Further back Nico Hulkenberg had run wide in the first corner, dropping him from sixth to ninth. It caught out Alex Albon who made contact with Fernando Alonso, sending a large chunk of bodywork flying off the Williams as he fell out of the top ten. The two Mercedes cars looked assured at the front while Norris initially stayed within DRS range of Verstappen. He was followed by his team mate Oscar Piastri and then by Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari, whose team mate Charles Leclerc had been one of those to jump up to P8 at the start behind Aston Martin's Lance Stroll. Leclerc waited until lap 13 before making easy work of darting past Stroll at Stowe. Two laps later and Norris had a chance to do the same thing to Verstappen -= and pulled it off with aplomb to wild acclaim from the crown. Verstappen had been complaining about his tyres, and sure enough it wasn't long before Piastri followed his team mate past the Red Bull. Seconds later the crowd was on its feet again as Hamilton swept past Russell for the lead. The crowd stayed standing as fans groped for ponchos and umbrellas as the rain that had been visibly galloping toward the circuit finally arrived making conditions treacherous. Old hand Hamilton was making the best of it, while Norris took advantage of a brief wayward moment for Russell going off at turn 1 to pass the Mercedes for second. The track was getting wetter and DRS was disabled. It was even too much for Hamilton, who couldn't stop Norris snatching the lead from him on lap 19. The MCL38 was clearly loving the mixed conditions and Piastri also blasted past first Russell and then Hamilton to make it a McLaren 1-2. With the exception of Leclerc, none of the the leaders had pitted for wet tyres, the radar suggesting this would be a brief shower albeit with more prolonged rain to follow. With little to lose, Perez switched to intermediates as a test for Verstappen, but he soon reported the track was largely too dry. Leclerc fared no better and went off. Race control had re-enabled DRS on lap 24, but minutes later the rain pulsed again - and heavier this time, prompting Verstappen and Sainz to pit for inters on lap 26. Norris was in next time, with Hamilton and Russell double-stacking in the Mercedes pit at the same time. However Piastri was sent round for another lap before his service and it cost him time and position. As the order reset, Norris was back in the lead from Hamilton but Verstappen's quick stop had raised the Red Bull into third ahead of Russell and Sainz with Piastri now P6 and 18s behind the leader. Verstappen was still not looking comfortable with his tyres degrading quickly, allowing Russell to close the gap and turn up the pressure. Norris was lookling equally comfortable in the rain and when it stopped, while Hamilton - like Verstappen - was worried about his inters burning up at a prodigious rate. Russell received the call no driver ever wants to hear, instructed by the Mercedes pit wall to retire the car with a water system issue. It was his first retirement of the season, ending hopes of an all-British podium. There had already been one retirement, Pierre Gasly having headed down pit lane at the end of the formation lap with a gearbox problem on the Alpine. The rain had stopped again, the sun was breaking through and the track was drying rapidly. Time for slicks: Hamilton reacted immediately and pitted on lap 38 for softs; Verstappen also came in but opted for the hard compound while Piastri chose the medium. Norris was in on the next lap but the delay and overrunning his pit box cost him dear and he emerged on softs in second place behind new leader Hamilton. Verstappen's choice of hard tyres was proving the right one as he cut into the gap to the two Brits in the lead. Verstappen cruised past Norris at Stowe - an inversion of their earlier encounter - with four laps remaining to chase and pass Hamilton. The Mercedes had enough in reserve to take care of business to cross the line in first, the first driver in F1 to win the same event nine times, with Verstappen and Norris joining him on the podium. Piastri had set multiple fastest laps on his way to fourth ahead of Sainz with Hulkenberg recovering to sixth ahead of Aston pair Stroll and Alonso. Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda picked up the final points for Williams and RB respectively, with Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen just missing out. Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter The post British GP: Hamilton victorious in thrilling rain-hit race appeared first on F1i.com.