Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the first of the team’s two home races. After an eventful race over 60 laps (308.355 kms) in changeable weather conditions, he lapped all but two drivers and came home 68.5sec ahead of Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) in second place. Lewis’s team mate Heikki Kovalainen, who had started from his first ever Formula 1 pole position, ended up fifth. Both drivers were on two-stop strategies. Lewis came in on laps 21 (8.0sec) and 38 (7.3sec); Heikki pitted on laps 19 (7.9sec) and 34 (6.6sec). Halfway through the championship, after nine out of 18 Grands Prix, Lewis is back in the lead with 48 points; he is tied on points with Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen. Heikki is sixth overall with 24 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is third with 72 points; Ferrari leads with 96 points. It was Lewis’s third win of the season, the seventh in his 26 F1 races so far, the 55th of the McLaren Mercedes partnership and McLaren’s 159th grand prix victory.
LEWIS HAMILTON
"This was the toughest race, but also one of the best ones I have ever driven. It was so extreme and slippery out there, very similar to the Japanese Grand Prix in Fuji last year. I had troubles with my visor and tried to clean it a couple of times. I thank my team for a great job; they did fantastic work and we always made the right decisions with the tyres in the difficult conditions. When I came round the last time, I saw the crowd standing up and I prayed: ‘Just finish, just finish.’ It was a very emotional moment to win my home grand prix and I want to dedicate this victory to my family. As everybody knows I had some troubles over the past few weeks and they have been always there for me and supported me. To pull on another Vodafone McLaren Mercedes rocket red victory T-shirt feels awesome."
