Hamilton identifies British GP favourites with F1 record looming

Lewis Hamilton feels he will again have to wait one more year to land another F1 record after identifying the favourites for this weekend's British Grand Prix. 

Mercedes has improved the performance of its W15 over recent races, with George Russell taking pole position in Canada and the race win in Austria, with Hamilton banking a first podium of the year in Spain. 

The team, though, still feels it is a step behind McLaren, which has excelled on high-speed tracks in the past 12 months and, in the MCL38, has a machine regarded as the fastest car in the field. 

Hamilton is seeking a ninth British GP victory on his final Silverstone appearance for Mercedes - one that would break the record for most race wins at a single grand prix - but feels that might be a tall order given the performance of his rivals.

"[With] our pure performance, I don't think we are currently in the same place naturally, on these high-speed circuits, as particularly McLaren," he told media including RacingNews365.

"I think they probably might be the quickest, or at least Max [Verstappen], but we're not that far behind. 

"We've seen some huge strides forward - and it is great to see we are slowly getting closer to the front-runners."

Hamilton's 2008 win

Hamilton won the race in 2008, then from 2014-2017 and again from 2019-2021, with further podiums coming in '07, '10, '18, '22 and '23. He has the pit-straight named after him, but it is the maiden home win he regards as his greatest.

"I think 2008 will always probably be my most special grand prix win here, in the rain," he said. "It was my first real engagement on the journey with the fans. 

"I've been on such a long journey with the British fans, and we have the fans best here, but I think it was because it was a wet race, and the trickiest conditions a racing driver will experience.

"The level I was able to operate on that day, it was 68 seconds that I won by, and [the most] I think I've ever won by, especially in the rain."