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Lewis Hamilton has compared Sunday’s record-breaking sixth British Grand Prix victory to the first win he ever had, as the Brit stormed to the win in front 350 000 fans.
The reigning world champion started from second on the grid and quickly set about challenging polesitter and Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.
The two had a mesmerising battle over the course of the opening laps before Bottas pitted.
Crucially, he took the lead from the Finn thanks to a mid-race safety car allowing Hamilton to pit without fear of Bottas catching him.
“Today was one of the best days I can remember having,” Hamilton said.
“It felt just amazing as the first win I ever had. Me and Valtteri had such a good fight.
“But I thought I’d better back off, wait until he stops and then nail it after that. Obviously I was going to do a few more laps and hopefully try the undercut but the safety car came out.”
For Bottas, it was a case of what might have been. The team’s strategy ultimately didn’t fall in his favour with the safety car and he now sits 39 points behind Hamilton in the drivers standings.
“It was maybe not my luckiest day but that’s life,” Bottas quipped.
“Lewis drove well with the massive support here so congrats to him.
“Obviously we had a good race at the beginning; I enjoyed racing hard and fair.
“After my first stop it felt under control, I was handling the gap to Lewis nicely, waiting for him to stop but then the safety car got him ahead of me.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounded off the podium after a spectacular battle with Max Verstappen saw them bashing and barging each other off-track as the pair endlessly swapped positions.
“That was definitely the most fun I’ve ever had in my F1 career,” Leclerc said.
“It was very fun from inside the car.
“I think Austria was an eye opener for me to understand how far we can go, what was accepted and I’m very happy at the end to race like this. It was borderline but I think always within the rules.”
Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly finished fourth ahead of team-mate Max Verstappen.
The Dutchman was at one stage involved in a battle for third with Sebastian Vettel, who had benefitted from the neutral period.
Another scrap ensued and Vettel, trying to regain the place, misjudged his braking point and slammed into the rear of the Red Bull, sending both cars off track.
Vettel was forced to pit for a new front wing and handed a 10-second time penalty, whilst Verstappen was able to continue, albeit with damage to his rear bodywork.
As a result, Leclerc inherited the third place he lost earlier, while Gasly moved to fourth.
Hamilton’s home triumph was the 80th of his career and leaves him just 11 wins away from matching Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of 91 victories. It also leaves the 34-year-old with one of the biggest championship leads he’s ever had at this stage of a season. He leads from Bottas by 38 points.
