The “classic British summer” jibes aside, the British Grand Prix weekend faced an atypical barrage of cold and inclement weather – it felt more like a February’s half-hearted release of the winter’s last remnants, rather than a sun-baked July. Although unwelcome for the fans who had failed to pack a coat, the inconsistent lashings of rain throughout the weekend at least soaked the Silverstone round in drama.
A chance of victory changed hands multiple times throughout the 52-lap run-time, as all three Brits on the grid held the lead through different phases of the race. In his final British Grand Prix for Mercedes, it was perhaps fitting that Lewis Hamilton – a prior winner of eight grands prix at Silverstone – secured his ninth to envelop his team in an emotional downpour.
There was lots to enjoy about this year’s visit to Northamptonshire and plenty to get stuck into beyond the thrilling spectacle as the driver market creaked wide open once again. The rumour mill continued to turn, perhaps aiming to match the upcoming F1 film for dramatic licence. Without further ado, here’s what we learned from this year’s British Grand Prix weekend.
1. Hamilton feared he’d never win in F1 again, but his 945-day lean streak is over
Hamilton had endured the longest drought of his racing career before triumphing on Sunday
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
After his victory in Jeddah in 2021, Hamilton likely did not expect that it would take over two-and-a-half years to stand on the top step again. Indeed, had the infamous Abu Dhabi finale gone slightly differently, he’d have sewn up his 104th grand prix victory a lot sooner – instead, it set off an unwanted dry spell that coincided with Mercedes’ alarming drop in competitiveness.
When Mercedes rocked up into 2024 with a clean-sheet W15, the early signs were slightly more encouraging. The problem was that, during the Silver Arrows’ decline with the reintroduction of ground-effect aerodynamics, it had been caught by Ferrari and McLaren as F1’s former powerhouse teams had moved up the pecking order.
Mercedes started the year with the fourth-best car and it needed time to suss out its new direction. North Star allegories notwithstanding, it seemed that the team again had taken the wrong direction.
The fightback is now on. Improvements to the car have imbued it with much greater balance through a range of corners, and the mid-corner instability appears to be getting…
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