Why Lewis Hamilton could make history at British Grand Prix

History beckons for Lewis Hamilton at the British Grand Prix and Sky F1 pundit Jenson Button firmly believes that after his breakthrough win in Barcelona, a 10th Silverstone victory is a very real prospect for the Ferrari driver.

No driver in the sport’s history has ever won the same race ten times, never mind at the same circuit. However, this weekend Hamilton could again write his name in F1’s annals.

Lewis Hamilton could set new F1 record at British Grand Prix

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The Ferrari driver won his first British Grand Prix as a McLaren driver in 2008, before adding eight more with Mercedes.

His victory in 2021 was his most controversial as he collided with his title rival Max Verstappen at the high-speed Copse corner. The impact sent Verstappen flying through the gravel and into the barrier with a 51G sideways impact.

Verstappen was taken to the medical centre before being flown to the hospital for precautionary checks. Although Hamilton was given a 10-second penalty for causing a collision, he won the race by 3.8s ahead of Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton’s last victory on home soil came in 2024, which was his final season as a Mercedes driver. Having not won a race since 2021 when he lost the world title to Verstappen, he held off a late-race charge from the Red Bull driver to win by 1.4s.

That Sunday, Hamilton not only ended a wait of almost 1,000 days for a race win but set a new record for the most victories at one F1 track.

Michael Schumacher won eight times at the Hungaroring and at Magny-Cours, while Hamilton’s win in 2024 moved him onto nine wins at the Northamptonshire circuit.

This season, Hamilton could extend that record to 10.

Although he has won just one grand prix since joining Ferrari last season, Hamilton’s former teammate Button is well aware of how Silverstone seems to bring out the best in Hamilton.

Even when the car is not 100 per cent for Hamilton, he finds a way at Silverstone.

“Lewis is definitely arriving with confidence,” 2009 world champion Button told Sky Sports News. “It didn’t go his way in the last race, but it wasn’t down to him. The package just wasn’t there.

“Compare him to his teammate Charles Leclerc, who’s very well regarded, and Lewis came out on top again. He could make those tyres last a lot better at the start of the race, had the pace when his teammate didn’t.

“He won’t be happy with the result, but he’ll know he got the maximum out of it. And it’s the old Lewis that we used to know, he’s maximising everything, and it’s really good to see.

“He’ll be confident coming home to slightly lower temperatures. The Ferrari is pretty good aero-wise. Silverstone is primarily a power circuit, but you still got to carry the speed through the corners down the straight.

“I think I’ll be confident coming in that he’s got a chance for the victory.

“He’s very good at driving a car that the set-up is on the nose. You need that around Silverstone.

“You need to be able to carry the speed through high-speed parts of the track, but also to be able to handle changes of direction. That’s a big part of it.

“I think that’s where his strength is. The comparison I had with him was he could drive a car that was on the nose, which is the quickest car around there.”

Hamilton dropped to third in the standings after his compatriot George Russell’s Austrian GP win, and trails championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 46 points after eight race weekends.

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