LEWIS HAMILTON’S nerves of steel earned a commanding victory over arch-rival Nico Rosberg at a rain-affected British Grand Prix which cut the German’s lead in the championship to just one point.
The world champion delivered a fearless display of front-running to register his third successive Silverstone victory ahead of Rosberg, whose bad day got worse with a 10-second post-race penalty which dropped him to third behind Max Verstappen.
Rosberg, booed as he emerged on the podium for the presentation ceremony, was relegated four hours after the finish by stewards for improper use of the car radio when he developed a gearbox problem five laps from the end.
Rosberg still holds the lead in the championship but the momentum is all with Hamilton, who has cut the German’s lead from 43 points earlier in the season as it approaches the halfway stage.
“I’m catching him so let’s keep going,” said a jubilant Hamilton. “I’ve won four of the last five and I plan to continue.
“I was never under threat from either of the guys behind me. If I had ever needed to turn it up there was more to turn up.
“This is the best weekend of the year, no doubt. In the conditions I just felt under control. No problem. It was awesome. I was firing on all cylinders.”
Hamilton dived into his jubilant fans for some impromptu crowd surfing after going level with Nigel Mansell on four British Grand Prix wins in an emotional victory.
“I’ve just seen Nigel and he said, ‘Welcome to the club’. It’s just crazy to think that I’m up there with him,” said Hamilton.
“The crowd surfing wasn’t planned. I could see the crowd there and I just wanted to connect with them. They are the best fans in the world. I was hoping I’d surf further in but they pushed me back.
“When it was wet and I made it through certain corners I could see the fans in the corner of my eye right there with me. On the last few laps I could see them shouting and it just spurred me on all the way.
“There are people out there – poor, wealthy – going through difficult times and on this day we all came together and that’s a beautiful thing.”
Rosberg, booed as he emerged on the podium for the presentation ceremony, was relegated four hours after the finish by stewards for improper use of the car radio when he developed a gearbox problem five laps from the end.
Rosberg still holds the lead in the championship but the momentum is all with Hamilton, who has cut the German’s lead from 43 points earlier in the season as it approaches the halfway stage.
“I’m catching him so let’s keep going,” said a jubilant Hamilton. “I’ve won four of the last five and I plan to continue.
“I was never under threat from either of the guys behind me. If I had ever needed to turn it up there was more to turn up.
“This is the best weekend of the year, no doubt. In the conditions I just felt under control. No problem. It was awesome. I was firing on all cylinders.”
Hamilton dived into his jubilant fans for some impromptu crowd surfing after going level with Nigel Mansell on four British Grand Prix wins in an emotional victory.
“I’ve just seen Nigel and he said, ‘Welcome to the club’. It’s just crazy to think that I’m up there with him,” said Hamilton.
“The crowd surfing wasn’t planned. I could see the crowd there and I just wanted to connect with them. They are the best fans in the world. I was hoping I’d surf further in but they pushed me back.
“When it was wet and I made it through certain corners I could see the fans in the corner of my eye right there with me. On the last few laps I could see them shouting and it just spurred me on all the way.
“There are people out there – poor, wealthy – going through difficult times and on this day we all came together and that’s a beautiful thing.”
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