Lewis Hamilton let Lando Norris know that he felt his compatriot and McLaren made the wrong call in the final stint of the British Grand Prix.
With rain showers at Silverstone triggering multiple lead changes and the need for intermediate tyres, the victory battle ultimately boiled down to a three-way scrap between Hamilton, Norris and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Lewis Hamilton questions Lando Norris British GP strategy
While Verstappen opted for hard tyres in the final stint as the track dried out, both Hamilton and Norris went with softs, though Norris did have the option of new medium tyres.
Verstappen enjoyed a pace advantage on the hards, hunting down and passing Norris as he then chased Hamilton for the win, but Hamilton would hold on for a 104th career victory, making further history as the first driver to win nine times at a single venue.
And as the trio headed to the cooldown room, Hamilton began quizzing a dejected Norris on that strategy.
“You on soft as well?” Hamilton asked Norris, adding: “But you had two new mediums?”
“I know,” Norris replied.
“Yeah, you could have gone to the medium,” Hamilton responded, “a new medium would have been faster probably.”
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That marked Hamilton’s first victory since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and clearly emotional after this achievement, Hamilton spoke to former team-mate Jenson Button of his delight to return to the top step of the podium at Silverstone, his final home race with Mercedes ahead of a move to Ferrari.
“It’s been since 2021, just every day, getting up, trying to fight, to train to put my mind to the task and work as hard as I can with this amazing team,” he said.
“And this is my last race here, the British Grand Prix, with his team, so I wanted to win this so much for them, because I love them. I appreciate them so much, all the hard work they’ve been putting in all of these years. I’m forever grateful to everyone in this team, everyone at Mercedes and all our partners.
“And then otherwise, to all our incredible fans. I could see you lap by lap as I was coming around and there’s just no greater feeling as to finish at the front here.”
As Button suggested that it must be “tough” for Hamilton to have gone two-and-a-half years without a win, Hamilton replied: “It’s so tough, I think for anyone.
“But I think the important thing is just how you continue to get up and you’ve got to continue to dig deep, even when you feel like you’re at the bottom of the barrel.
“I mean, there’s definitely been days between 2021 and here where I didn’t feel like I was good enough or whether I was going to get back to where I am today.
“But the important thing is I have great people around me continuing to support me and my team, every time I turn up and see them putting in the effort, that really encouraged me to do the same thing.
“And otherwise my fans, when I see them around the world, they have been so supportive. So a big big thank you to everybody back the factory, everyone here. Love you guys and God bless you.”
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