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Lewis Hamilton Wins Silverstone Grand Prix, Fourth In A Row

By Kaushal Odedra
Published on: 05:30 PST, Jul 16, 2017

Lewis Hamilton has won the 2017 British Grand Prix in front of thousands of fans. The 51 lap race featured thrilling wheel to wheel action, crashes and late race drama. None this affected Hamilton out in front as he led every lap of the race, set the fastest race lap ever at Silverstone, and matched Alain Prost and Jim Clark for the most number of wins.

Lewis Hamilton started the race in pole position with a record breaking time of 1:26.600, half a second quicker than second place man Ferrari’s Kimi Raikonnen. Championship leader Sebastian Vettel started in third place alongside Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Off the grid, Hamilton used that extra pace and had a clean get away allowing him to create a significant gap ahead of the Ferrari’s into the first corner. Max Verstappen, after his five races without a finish, was keen on getting a great result and had a fantastic start getting ahead of Sebastian Vettel for third place. Behind him, Toro Rosso’s Daniil ‘Torpedo’ Kvyat smashed into his team mate Carlos Sainz, forcing Sainz to stop in the middle of the track as Kvyat continued. A safety car was called out after the incident, halting the race until lap four.

As the race restarted, Raikkonen was unable to keep up with Hamilton’s Mercedes, but Vettel was pressuring Verstappen. The two jockeyed for position which led to some great wheel to wheel racing by the two drivers. Max showed his talent as he kept Vettel behind him with some great defensive driving. This forced Ferrari to try to the undercut by pitting Vettel on lap 19, allowing him to rejoin the race in clear air just in front of the Force Indias. Verstappen pitted on lap 20 in an attempt to cover off the prancing Ferrari, but a slow pit stop allowed Vettel to get in front of the Red Bull.

Verstappen’s teammate Daniel Ricciardo started in 19th position after a turbo issue forced him out of qualifying. That didn’t stop the Australian however, as he quickly made up seven places at the start of the race. An error meant that he had to go off the track and rejoin back in 19th place, but Ricciardo had great pace and was soon able to make it into fifth position towards the end of the race. Through his racing skills and his impressive overtaking, Daniel Ricciardo was named the Formula One driver of the day.

Valtteri Bottas, who started ninth after a gearbox penalty caused him to drop five grid places, was slowly making his way up through the grid. After his pit stop on lap 32, Bottas came out behind both Ferrari’s, but his pace meant that he was able to overtake Vettel on lap 44. This wasn’t the last of Ferrari’s issues, however, as Raikkonen’s tyre split on lap 49. After some expletives being shouted at in the Ferrari team radio, Raikkonen can swap his tires and rejoin in fourth place behind teammate Vettel. A lap later, things were feeling a bit like dejà vù for Ferrari, as championship leader and Hamilton rival Vettel had the same puncture as Raikkonen, dropping him down to seventh place after struggling into the pits.

Vettel driving the Ferrari pulls into the pit lane with a damaged front left tyre. [Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images]

The news was welcomed by Hamilton as he made his way round the final straight on the last lap, joined by his team mate Bottas. Mercedes had secured a one two, with Raikkonen finishing in 3rd and Vettel. Just one point separates Vettel and Hamilton. Hamilton was clearly pleased with winning the race and spent time crowdsurfing with the incredible fans that turned out in full force at Silverstone.

Race winner Lewis Hamilton celebrates with the fans by crowd surfing in style. [Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images]

Something tells me that Valtteri and Kimi might be waiting a while.

[Featured Image by Mark Thompson/Getty Images]

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