Hamilton's fastest lap at Silverstone leaves Mercedes without explanation

Returned to the lead of the British Grand Prix thanks to the entry into action of the safety car and a passage through the pits to gain the advantage over Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton had then been against the advice of Mercedes at the end of the race to observe a “free” stop and put on soft tires to aim for the best lap in the race.

Well taken from the reigning world champion, author on his set of worn hard tires (32 laps) of the reference time of the event, thus winning the linked bonus point. A performance that always leaves Mercedes without explanation.

"We have no idea, admits James Vowles, head of Mercedes strategy, in the usual post-race debriefing. They were the hardest tires available, but he still put in a fantastic lap.

Bravo to him. As we didn't expect him to set this fastest lap on this set of tires, we planned to stop him before the end, since it was a "free" pit stop, as Valtteri was going to stop in any case. But Lewis was confident about the behavior of his tires. »

“It was like the qualifying round I should have done on Saturday, admitted Hamilton, quoted by Sky Sports F1. It was great. There's no better way to end a race, with the car moving and it was definitely the best last lap I've ever had. »

Before that, the two Mercedes drivers had offered a first duel for the control of the race in the first laps, Bottas resisting Hamilton well. But it was the Briton who knew how to take advantage of the racing circumstances to win a sixth time in front of his home crowd.

Discover the full report and analysis of the British Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents at Silverstone, in AUTO issue 2225hebdo, available in digital version and on newsstands.