4 years ago – Lewis Hamilton wins on three wheels!

It was on the 12th lap out of 52 that the face of the British Grand Prix changed, but we had to wait until the very end of the race to realize it. Daniil Kvyat lost control of his Alpha Tauri (on a puncture we learned later) in the very fast left of Maggots. There car of the Russian driver ended his race in the safety rails, forcing the intervention of the safety car. The drivers then all decide to put on hard tires, in order to join the race without having to go through the pit box a second time.

This therefore meant almost 40 laps to cover once the safety car entered the pitlane, on an extremely fast track, which therefore inflicts certain punishment on the tires. And indeed, three laps from the finish, while the Mercedes were heading towards an uncontested double, Valtteri Bottas suffers a puncture on the left front! The Finn can bring his car back to the pits, but he will ultimately finish 11th in the Grand Prix. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), who was third behind the Silver Arrows, decided to imitate Bottas by putting on soft tires, as a precaution, so as not to lose a second place which was available to him.

In the next round, it's Carlos Sainz (McLaren) who also suffered a puncture. Tension therefore reigned on the pit walls, would there be other victims? Yes, and not the least... In the middle of the last lap, while he is in the straight leading towards Copse, where the finish line was located until 2010, Lewis Hamilton also suffered a puncture of his front left tire! The Briton, who is around thirty seconds ahead of Verstappen, must then reach the finish line at all costs. The gap melted like snow in the sun, but Hamilton crossed the line 5″8 ahead of his Dutch opponent, who perhaps should not have made this second stop in the end…

A dramatic final minute at Silverstone, as @LewisHamilton and his Mercedes hold on for a famous victory! 😮 🏆#BritishGP 🇬🇧 #F1 pic.twitter.com/CmD8hrz2Fw

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 2, 2020

« My heart almost stopped. »

« Until this last lap everything was calm, everything was going well in terms of tire management. When I heard that Valtteri's tire was failing, I looked at mine, it seemed okay. I still relaxed the pace in the last laps”, explained the winner of the day, winner at home but without excited fans, the fault of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Then I saw my tire deform, it shocked me and in the end I couldn't hit the brakes anymore, I just tried to bring the car back like that. I was afraid of breaking the aileron, but I managed to turn. I almost lost control in the last two corners but I got there. I've never experienced a situation like this, that's for sure. My heart almost stopped. »

This unprecedented moment did not prevent Lewis Hamilton from continuing his conquest of a seventh world title, which he managed to obtain at the Turkish Grand Prix. Max Verstappen was able to take his revenge the following week, by winning the Grand Prix of the 75th anniversary of F1, on the same Silverstone track.

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