Big Lewis Hamilton prediction made after historic British Grand Prix victory

Off the back of his historic ninth British Grand Prix victory, Lewis Hamilton has been tipped to be a “major threat” in the victory battle again at the Hungarian Grand Prix by Jolyon Palmer.

Hamilton delivered a fresh masterclass in the changeable Silverstone conditions to win the 2024 British Grand Prix, his first victory since the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP and ninth at Silverstone, setting a new Formula 1 record for most victories at a single circuit.

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And next up, Hamilton has a chance to match his own record at the Hungaroring, with Hamilton also sat on eight victories at this venue.

With that in mind, former Renault driver Palmer has tipped Hamilton to be a “major threat” for the Hungarian GP win.

In a piece for the Formula 1 website, Palmer wrote: “It might have been nearly 1,000 days since Lewis Hamilton’s last win, but when you’ve won over 100 Grands Prix you don’t forget how to bring the car home.

“He kept enough pace and tyre life in hand to withstand Max’s late charge and finally got that emotional victory.

“Amazingly we’ve now had six winners from 12 races, showing how competitive this season has become. Hamilton has always thrived at Silverstone, but he’s always been brilliant in Budapest as well – where he took his last pole position in Formula 1 – so I’d expect him and Mercedes to be a major threat again next time out.”

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Hamilton took the lead from Mercedes team-mate Russell on Lap 18 of the British GP as the track grew damper, Palmer seeing that overtake as “critical” to Hamilton’s win, as he then got the optimal strategy as drivers dived in for the wet tyres.

With the track later drying, Hamilton and McLaren’s Lando Norris went for soft tyres, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen went with hards and thrived, setting up a thrilling three-way battle for the win.

Verstappen caught and passed Norris, but Hamilton remained out of reach, racing on to that historic victory.

And Palmer would credit the partnership of Hamilton and his long-serving race engineer Peter Bonnington for excelling while Norris and McLaren faltered.

“Lewis and Bono have formed quite the relationship over the past decade and that communication flow was at its best in a difficult situation, with a race win on the line at Silverstone,” Palmer stated.

“Whilst the McLaren pit wall were flapping, unsure when to pit or what tyre to be on, the communication between Hamilton and the team was concise, to the point and spot on.

“In these situations it’s so tough for a driver to be calling all the shots. They are a key cog in determining when to pit, because they are out there feeling the grip underneath them and so they can know when to put slicks on, but it’s so difficult for them to read the rest of the race around them as well.

“McLaren leant too much on Norris to determine what tyre to move onto and not enough focus on when to pit, compared to Mercedes who knew they’d move to a soft and it was just a case of when to do it.

“As Hamilton suggested it should be slicks, Bono was unwavering and called his man in for the race-winning move. In fact it was Hamilton’s decision to pit that also gave Verstappen and [Oscar] Piastri the confidence to box as well from behind.

“Typically you’d let a slower driver do the guinea pig work and wait to get confirmation on whether slicks are the right way to go, but Hamilton and Mercedes went brave and it paid off.

“The final part for Hamilton was in keeping his soft tyres alive, which he did comfortably, unlike Norris who was desperate to make up for his and McLaren’s strategic errors and destroyed his softs quickly by hammering them in dirty air.”

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