In 2018, David Croft called it redemption day for Daniel Ricciardo, but allow me to use the same phrase and call it a redemption day for Lewis Hamilton in 2024, on Silverstone’s asphalt; the circuit that saw the first Formula 1 Grand Prix in history.
Lewis Hamilton, who hadn’t won a single race since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2021, is back in the game after two years of drought, winning the British GP and bringing it home.
The seven-time world champion broke Michael Schumacher’s record for the most wins on one circuit after securing his ninth win at Silverstone. This also means he broke his own record for the most career wins, achieving his 104th victory.
The race started with the British trio: George Russell on pole, Lewis Hamilton in P2, and Lando Norris in P3. Max Verstappen, who was in P4, overtook Norris and moved up to P3.
On lap 16, Norris overtook Verstappen at the end of the Hangar straight. Then on lap 17, Piastri did the same, claiming P4.
One lap later, Russell was struggling due to the rain, allowing Hamilton to push and overtake him. However, his happiness wouldn’t last because young British driver, Lando Norris, seized P1 from him during lap 20, followed by his teammate Oscar Piastri, thus putting the papaya cars in P1 and P2.
It should have been a British podium that day, but tragedy hit George Russell when he was forced to retire from the race by lap 34 due to a water leak. The decision to retire was made to prevent any further damage to his car’s power unit.
One wrong call prevented Norris from securing his second win. Lewis Hamilton pitted on lap 38 for soft tyres while Norris pitted one lap later, giving Hamilton the opportunity to run past him at the pitlane exit and reclaim the lead with only 12 laps remaining. Norris’ agony continued as he was overtaken by Verstappen on lap 48, forcing him to settle for P3 after the chance of winning his home race slipped through his fingers.
However, Norris and Russell weren’t the only drivers who faced disasters during the British Grand Prix. At least they finished the race and within the points, unlike Pierre Gasly, who retired very early during the formation lap due to a gearbox malfunction.
Charles Leclerc’s torment hadn’t stopped since he won the Monaco Grand Prix. Leclerc started the race well, jumping from P11 to P8, then up to P7 after overtaking Stroll on lap 14. The Monegasque driver faced another failure, finishing the race outside the points again.
It was a pure strategy failure when he was called into the pitlane on lap 20 to change to intermediate tyres, only for the “real rain” to arrive 8 laps later. That wrong call caused him to exit in P15, slowed down by the intermediate tyres.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t perform well, wasting a lot of time and eventually finishing the race in P14.
The red cars started the season successfully with podiums and two wins for both drivers, but now they seem to be struggling, raising questions: What if the new updates were a curse on the ancient Italian team? And how long will it take to fix it?
Too many questions, and only Ferarri can provide answers, while we, on the other hand, must wait and watch.