- Lewis Hamilton won the 2024 F1 British Grand Prix
- Dry conditions that turned wet then dry led to tire decisions that decided the race
- Verstappen found his pace late in the race to overtake Norris and take P2
Lewis Hamilton leveraged Mercedes-AMG’s tire decisions at the 2024 Formula 1 British Grand Prix to take the checkered flag. The P1 finish marked the ninth win at Silverstone for Hamilton, and his first win in over two years. It garnered the storied F1 champ the record for the most wins at a single circuit, as the 104th win of Hamilton’s career.
Hamilton’s return to the top spot on the podium didn’t come easy. A lot of decisions made by teams when it came to tires decided their fate. The race saw both dry and wet conditions with the racing line drying out again by laps in the upper 30s and lower 40s.
George Russell at the 2024 F1 British Grand Prix, photo via Mercedes-Benz AMG
Qualifying saw the Brits, including Mercedes-AMGs’s George Russell and Lewis Hamilton along with McLaren’s Lando Norris, lock out the front three grid spots. Russell started off strong, but had to end his race after just 33 laps due to a water system issue with his car. The racer noted he could see temperature alarms going off on his steering wheel about 10 laps before retirement.
Hamilton credits his win to making the right call to change back to slicks at the right time, which helped him take back the lead and take the win home. But the challenges arose by lap 42 as Verstappen, and others, eventually moved back to slicks.
Max Verstappen at the 2024 F1 British Grand Prix, photo via Getty Images
Verstappen, who started fourth on the grid, took until lap 43 and 44 to finally achieve “race pace,” but once he found the dry line on slicks he overtook Norris easily finishing second and only 1.465 seconds behind Hamilton.
Lando at the 2024 F1 British Grand Prix, photo via McLaren
Norris lost P3 immediately on lap 1 to Verstappen but quickly gained it back with teammate Piastri taking P2 for a bit. It was the decision to switch to soft tires when the rain stopped that sealed Norris’ fate. Verstappen switched to hard slicks when he swapped out his intermediates and that made all the difference.
For a minute there was a question whether Hamilton would be able keep his lead and fend off Verstappen, who had much newer tires with less wear, but the Brit kept his cool, and pace, to take the win.
Ferrari started with Carlos Sainz in seventh and Charles Leclerc in 11th on the grid, and neither had a great race. Sainz finished in fifth 47.318 seconds behind Hamilton while Leclerc took 14th, out of the points, and only completed 51 laps of the 52-lap race.
2024 Formula 1 British Grand Prix results
1) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG
2) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing +1.465 seconds
3) Lando Norris, McLaren +7.547 seconds
4) Oscar Piastri, McLaren +12.429 seconds
5) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari +47.318 seconds
6) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas +55.722 seconds
7) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +56.569 seconds
8) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +63.577 seconds
9) Alexander Albon, Williams +68.387 seconds
10) Yuki Tsunoda, RB +79.303 seconds
11) Logan Sargeant, Williams +88.960 seconds
12) Kevin Magnussen, Haas +90.153 seconds
13) Daniel Ricciardo, RB +1 lap
14) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +1 lap
15) Valtteri Bottas, Sauber +1 lap
16) Esteban Ocon, Alpine +2 laps
17) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing +2 laps
18) Zhou Guanyu, Sauber +2 laps
