Lewis Hamilton is widely regarded to be a magician around the British track. He has won the Grand Prix nine times, and since 2014 has not finished outside of the top three. The question on everyone’s mind is: will he be able to add another podium to his impressive collection, despite Ferrari’s recent struggles?
It would be easy to say that Hamilton’s wins and podiums come mostly from him having a very dominant car for the bigger part of his career, but that wouldn’t be fair to the driver. In 2024, he raced in a Mercedes that was good enough to win a few races, but far from a championship level. Still, the Brit managed to put his best foot forward in Silverstone.
Hamilton didn’t qualify on pole, that honor went to his teammate George Russell, but he did begin the race from the front row. He attacked Russell as soon as the lights went out, but couldn’t find a way to the lead of the race in the first few laps. The two Mercedes gave the lead of the race to Lando Norris as they both decided to change their tires.
Having left the pits, it was Hamilton who came out in front of his teammate. Russell was eager to regain the position he had lost. Some wheel-to-wheel racing between teammates led to them going off track, giving Oscar Piastri a chance to move past both and make it a temporary McLaren 1-2.
After a quick shower of rain, Russell was forced to retire due to an issue with his water system, leaving Hamilton as the only Mercedes in the race. There was one more pit stop in the cards for the top drivers. Thanks to Mercedes’ good strategy and McLaren’s less-than-perfect change of tires, Norris came out of the pits behind the seven-time World Champion. Hamilton held the lead to the very end, crossing the finish line first for the 104th time in his career.
Last year’s victory was unexpected, but not unbelievable. Mercedes was on the rise and had already proven that their cars were usually quite competitive in the colder weather. This year, however, the situation is different.
Hamilton, in his new red Ferrari, has not managed to score a Grand Prix podium since the start of the season. He has been fourth and did win a sprint race, but his general performance is not good enough to ensure a competitive Silverstone weekend.
Ferrari, however, has been on the rise in recent weeks. They began the season far from the front of the field, but managed to pull themselves closer to the fight as the Grand Prix passed. The SF-24 may not be reliable enough for a race win, but it could get Hamilton the coveted podium.
So far, on most of the circuits, it’s been his young teammate, Charles Leclerc, who came out on top during race weekends. Silverstone might be a different story. It’s one of the Brits’ best tracks, and he has been known to perform small miracles through its corners. If he can keep his head in the game and put his all into the weekend, he might just keep his podium streak alive.
There isn’t much time left before the British Grand Prix begins, and the fans will get the answers they’ve been looking for. It appears the situation isn’t hopeless. The weekend might be great for Hamilton, given that he puts his all on track, and that his car doesn’t fail him in the worst possible moment.
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