Lewis Hamilton and Silverstone go hand in hand in F1 folklore. The seven-time World Champion has more wins at the British Grand Prix venue than any other and the passion of his home crowd sets the event apart. Whilst success this weekend looks unlikely, nothing can dampen the history Hamilton enjoys at the circuit. Here, RacingNews365 takes a look back at his career at Silverstone to date.
The wet weather mastercalss
Pole position at Silverstone in his rookie season sent fans into raptures, only for a pit stop issue during the race demoting the then-McLaren driver to third, behind teammate Fernando Alonso and race winner Kimi Raikkonen. Justice was served a year later in treacherous conditions, with Hamilton scything past Raikkonen, Mark Webber and teammate Heikki Kovalainen in the opening stages from fourth on the grid. He never looked back as he secured victory by over a minute to Nick Heidfeld, whilst the field was lapped up to third position. Mixed results came in the years that followed: 16th was all Hamilton could manage in 2009, whilst he was unable to overcome Webber a year later. In his final two British GPs with McLaren, Hamilton could not finish on the top spot. A move to Mercedes saw Hamilton take pole in 2013, but a dramatic tyre failure down the Wellington Straight took his chance of victory away - the Briton eventually finishing fourth.
The glory years
It took Hamilton six years to collect his second victory on home soil, and how sweet it was for the British crowd. Championship rival and teammate Nico Rosberg suffered a mechanical issue which saw him relinquish the lead to Hamilton, who made no mistakes on his way to the win. Pole position translated into a third victory a year later, with a repeat result in 2016. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel put up a fight against Mercedes in 2017, though nothing could stop another success that season. Vettel did, however, gain the upper hand in 2018, though Hamilton was hampered by damage after contact with the second Ferrari of Raikkonen, which dropped him to the back of the field. A thrilling comeback did see the Briton clinch second by the end of the race. A stunning battle with teammate Valtteri Bottas provided the backdrop to Hamilton's sixth British GP success, securing the record for most wins at the event - one ahead of Jim Clark and Alain Prost.
Tyre drama
No fans were present in 2020 as the Covid pandemic took hold of the world, but there was no shortage of drama. A spate of tyre failures at the end of the race included Bottas, who was overtaken by Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver looked on course for second behind Hamilton, before the leader's tyre also failed. This led to a thrilling chase as the Mercedes driver limped home on three tyres whilst Verstappen pushed to make up the advantage. But Hamilton just held on for victory in one of the most memorable Silverstone events in F1 history. A second race followed a week later to help fill the calendar, with the 70th Anniversary GP providing a chance for another Silverstone win. Tyre wear issues took Hamilton and Bottas out of contention, however, with Verstappen finishing 11 seconds ahead of the Silver Arrows.
Rivals clash
There was fiery tension in the midst of the Hamilton-Verstappen title rivalry in 2021, with the matter not helped by a near miss on the opening lap of F1's inaugural Sprint event on the Saturday. On lap one of the Grand Prix, Hamilton moved to the inside at Copse and was squeezed by Verstappen, who returned to the normal racing line ahead of the corner. The duo collided, pinging Verstappen into the barriers at high speed and earning Hamilton a time penalty. The Briton overcame the setback to chase down Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in the closing stages to secure the win, one which caused controversy. Whilst there was no success last year, Hamilton did at least finish on the podium, helped largely by an overtake completed with an iconic commentary line from Sky Sports ' David Croft. With Sergio Perez battling Leclerc through Stowe and into Vale, both drivers ran wide and allowed Hamilton to slip up the inside. "Through goes Hamilton" evokes those memories, although Perez was able to retake second into Village on the following lap. A ninth win seems unlikely this weekend, but F1 has thrown up weirder surprises.
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