Dominant Lewis Hamilton stuns F1 by staving off Max Verstappen on three wheels

Six years ago today, on 2 August 2020, Lewis Hamilton delivered one of the most extraordinary finishes in Formula 1 history, limping his wounded Mercedes across the line at Silverstone to win the British Grand Prix on what was effectively three functioning tyres.

Hamilton had dominated proceedings from pole position, controlling the race with the kind of authority that defined his peak years.

A Safety Car period on lap 13, triggered by Daniil Kvyat's crash, prompted Mercedes to switch both their drivers to hard tyres for a long run to the flag. It was a strategy that would prove perilous.

The trouble began with three laps remaining. Valtteri Bottas, running a comfortable second, suffered a front-left tyre failure that dropped him from the podium places to a pointless P11.

Carlos Sainz, then at McLaren, met the same fate on the final lap, tumbling from the top five to P13.

Mercedes warned Hamilton to back off, but it was too late. On the last lap, his front-left tyre gave way, the carcass shredding and leaving the car grinding along on a bare rim, sparks showering the Silverstone tarmac.

"Up until that last lap everything was relatively smooth sailing… then just down the straight it just deflated… and that was definitely a heart-in-the-mouth kind of feeling," Hamilton said afterwards.

A lead dissolving in seconds

Red Bull had pitted Verstappen as a precaution after Bottas's failure, handing Hamilton a cushion of over 30 seconds. It evaporated at an alarming rate as the now-seven-time F1 drivers' champion nursed his stricken car through the final corners.

"I could hear him catching me… 30 seconds, 20 seconds… and I remember thinking 'Jesus, this is one of the most horrible feelings' to hear someone catch you on that lap," Hamilton recalled.

Verstappen, on fresh rubber, closed the gap to just 5.856 seconds by the chequered flag, claiming fastest lap in the process, but ran out of road. Charles Leclerc completed the podium for Ferrari, 18 seconds behind the winner.

The victory was Hamilton's 87th in Formula 1, his seventh at his home circuit, and his third in succession that season.

It was the first of two consecutive weekends at Silverstone, with the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix to follow seven days later, a race Verstappen would go on to win.

"I nearly didn't get it around the last two corners, but I did," Hamilton reflected. Few victories in the championship's history have been so hard won.