Mercedes champ Lewis Hamilton wins British GP for record sixth time

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton waves the Union flag after winning the British Grand Prix at Silverstone yesterday. Pic /AFP

Silverstone (UK): Lewis Hamilton benefitted from a fortuitously-timed safety car to win his home British Grand Prix for a record sixth time, ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas who completed a one-two for Mercedes on an action-packed afternoon of racing.

Hamilton, 34, five-time world champion, who had started alongside pole-sitter Bottas on the front row and had run second to him after a brief wheel-to-wheel battle in the early stages of the race, beat the Finn by 25 seconds.

Charles Leclerc, whose own battle with Red Bull's Max Verstappen provided the most thrilling moments of an entertaining race, was third.

Yesterday's win was the 80th of Hamilton's career and seventh from ten races this year.

The Briton, moving ahead of Jim Clark and Alain Prost to become the most successful driver on British soil, is now just 11 wins shy of Michael Schumacher's all-time record haul of 91. "What a day!" Hamilton, who also took the bonus point for fastest lap and now leads Bottas by 39 points in the overall standings, told his team over the radio on the slowing down lap. "To all the crowd, thank you so much for coming out! I couldn't have done it without these guys or without my team.

"There are nearly 2000 people in my team who make this possible and I'm just a link in that chain," the Briton, Union Jack draped across his shoulders, added later before jumping into the throng of fans packing the main straight for some 'crowd surfing'.

Hamilton had gone into the race as favourite to win despite being beaten to pole at the Silverstone circuit for the first time in five years. He harried Bottas in the early laps but the Finn defended impeccably, rebuffing every attempt. The Briton got past briefly at one stage and appeared to have seized the lead only for Bottas to snatch it back at the very next corner.

Although Hamilton was never far behind, the Finn appeared to have the race under control. He pitted first and although Hamilton inherited the lead by staying out, he didn't have enough of a gap to Bottas to keep the lead.

Seven
No. of wins Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has registered in 10 races this season

80
No. of career Grand Prix wins Hamilton has registered

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates