Motor racing-Hamilton hoping to end his podium drought at Silverstone
SILVERSTONE, England (Reuters) -Lewis Hamilton has won a record nine times at Silverstone but arrives this year on a 13-race run without a podium, equalling the longest drought of the seven-times world champion's Formula One career.
The Briton would dearly love to win again this weekend and end the unhappy sequence in his first race in Britain as a Ferrari driver.
"It would be a great place to be able to change that, so that's what we are working towards," the 40-year-old told reporters on Thursday.
Hamilton's British Grand Prix record is simply phenomenal: on pole seven times, on the podium 14 times -- the most by anyone ever at a home race.
Of all his 105 career wins, last year's with Mercedes at Silverstone was one of the most emotional -- closing a 56-race gap between wins and a wait of 945 days.
Until now Hamilton has always raced here with British teams, first McLaren and then Mercedes.
"I don't really know what to expect this weekend," he said. "At the moment Thursday is the same as always, it's the least enjoyable day of the week and this always is the case. You just want to be in the car. I can't wait for Friday to come.
"I'm sure driving on track for the first time in a red car in Silverstone is going to be unique and special in its own way.
"We have the best fans here at the British Grand Prix and for a British driver they really, really do make a difference. I think I've shown that to you time and time again. I hope this weekend they can really make a difference for us as well."
James Vowles, the Williams team boss who previously worked with Hamilton at Mercedes, had no doubt that the Briton could win on Sunday.
"He's very special at Silverstone, he reacts really well to local crowds and how the atmosphere is around him. Short answer, yes," he told Reuters.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Clare Fallon)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
44 minutes ago
- The Star
Motor racing-Hulkenberg rids himself of unwanted record at the 239th attempt
Formula One F1 - British Grand Prix - Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Britain - July 6, 2025 Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg celebrates with a trophy on the podium after finishing third place in the British Grand Prix REUTERS/Andrew Boyers SILVERSTONE, England (Reuters) -Nico Hulkenberg provided Formula One's feel-good story of the day, and possibly the season, at the British Grand Prix and nobody was more surprised and delighted than the 37-year-old German. After 15 years, and at the 239th attempt, the Sauber driver finally shrugged off the unwanted record of the most race starts without ever standing on the podium -- and replaced it with the most starts until a first podium. "I don't think I can comprehend what we've just done," he said over the team radio after taking third place. Hulkenberg did it in fairytale fashion, following a script that even the producers of the recently-released Brad Pitt blockbuster F1 movie would probably have rejected as too implausible. He started last on the grid, in 19th place with Alpine's Franco Colapinto lining up in the pitlane, for Swiss-based Sauber. Thanks to clever strategy and pitting at absolutely the right time, Hulkenberg took Sauber to their first podium in 13 years and also became the team's all-time lowest-starting top-three finisher. "It feels good. It's been a long time coming, hasn't it?," said Hulkenberg, rather stating the obvious, after tumultuous pitlane celebrations. "I always knew we have it in us, I had it in me somewhere... it's pretty surreal, to be honest. Not sure how it all happened, but obviously crazy conditions, mixed conditions. It was a survival fight for a lot of the race. "I think we just were really on it. The right calls, the right tyres, at the right moment. Made no mistakes and, yeah, quite incredible." With nine-times British GP winner Lewis Hamilton in fourth place for Ferrari, it had seemed inevitable that Hulkenberg would be reeled in and his day would end yet again as a story of what might have been. Instead it became a tale of triumph against the odds for a future works Audi team on the up and now riding high in sixth place overall. "I think I was in denial until probably the last pit stop, you know, and then when I heard we gapped Lewis quite a bit with the one extra lap, I was like, 'Okay, this is good, this is some breathing space'," said Hulkenberg. "It was an intense race but like I said, we didn't crack. No mistakes. And obviously really, really happy with that." Team boss Jonathan Wheatley, an F1 veteran who joined from Red Bull this season, piled on the superlatives. "I think he was almost in a state of shock when I saw him under the podium," he said. "Nico drove an outstanding race today. One of the best I've seen at Silverstone and one of the best I've seen of any driver ever. "I've considered him to be an extraordinary talent for a very long time... I think he showed today what he's capable of. The monkey's off his back." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin; editing by Clare Fallon)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Tennis-Alcaraz resists red-hot Rublev to reach Wimbledon quarter-finals
LONDON (Reuters) -Carlos Alcaraz came through a ferocious fourth-round firefight against Andrey Rublev to win 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4 6-4 on Centre Court and keep his bid for a third successive Wimbledon title on track on Sunday. The Spanish second seed stuttered in his opening three rounds but found his best form to eventually subdue an inspired Rublev who once again came up short against the very best. Rublev rocked Alcaraz to lead 4-1 in the opener only to be pegged back but the Russian produced some astonishing tennis to snatch the tiebreak and move ahead. Alcaraz knew he was in a scrap but never looked ruffled and levelled the match after Rublev double-faulted on a break point. Rublev continued to throw everything in his arsenal at the champion in the third set but paid for not taking some early break points as Alcaraz found another gear. Alcaraz looked impregnable in the fourth set and a single break of serve was enough to seal a 22nd successive match win and set up a last-eight clash with Britain's Cameron Norrie. (Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Clare Fallon)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Motor racing-Piastri feels the pain after British GP penalty
Formula One F1 - British Grand Prix - Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Britain - July 6, 2025 McLaren's Oscar Piastri in action during the race REUTERS/Andrew Boyers SILVERSTONE, England (Reuters) -Oscar Piastri was feeling the pain after a British Grand Prix penalty cost him a win and handed it instead to McLaren teammate and closest Formula One rival Lando Norris. Instead of forging further ahead in the championship, the Australian saw his lead slashed to eight points after 12 of 24 races. Piastri was leading and following the safety car when it signalled it was about to return to the pits on lap 21. The Australian then braked suddenly, before the restart, and caught out Red Bull's world champion Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver, close behind, went ahead of the McLaren to avoid making contact before resuming position and then spinning on the restart, dropping to 11th. Stewards took a dim view of the incident -- a harsh decision according to team boss Andrea Stella -- and handed Piastri a 10-second penalty that, when taken, left him second in a McLaren one-two. "I'm not going to say much. I'll get myself in trouble," were Piastri's first words to 2009 world champion Jenson Button in the post-race interviews. "Apparently you can't brake behind the safety car anymore. I mean, I did it for five laps before that ... but thanks to the crowd for a great event. Thanks for sticking through the weather. "I still like Silverstone even if I don't like it today." Asked again in a press conference how long it would take him to move on, Piastri -- so often unemotional -- released the pressure on his tongue a little bit. "I don't know," he replied. "It obviously hurts at the moment. It's a different hurt though because I know I deserved a lot more than what I got today. I felt like I drove a really strong race. "Ultimately, when you don't get the result you think you deserve, it hurts, especially when it's not in your control ... I feel like I did a good job today. So, it just makes it more painful when you don't win." Piastri served the penalty with nine laps to go and, with McLaren having suggested they might appeal the penalty, enquired over the radio whether he and Norris might switch positions. With Norris heading for a first home win in front of a Sunday crowd of 168,000, he knew the request was unlikely to be granted. "I thought I would ask the question. I knew what the answer was going to be before I asked. But I just wanted a small glimmer of hope that maybe I could get it back. But no, I knew it wasn't going to happen," said Piastri. Stella said the driver was right to ask, however. "We always tell our drivers don't keep things in the back of your mind ... if you want to let us know what you are thinking, just say it," he told reporters. "What Oscar did is exactly what we incentivised our drivers to do. He communicated, he expressed his opinion, which we evaluated." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ken Ferris)
