Lewis Hamilton heads to Silverstone and his home British Grand Prix – a venue where has won more often than any other driver – aiming to put the disappointment of what he termed a “shocking” weekend in Austria swiftly behind him.
George Russell ended Mercedes’ 33-race victory drought at the Red Bull Ring last Sunday after being in prime position to profit from Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’ late collision while disputing the lead of the race, but Hamilton finished three places back in fourth after trailing the sister car for pace throughout the Sprint weekend.
Hamilton’s grand prix, which saw him collect a five-second penalty for crossing the white line on his entry to his first pit stop, was compromised by damage sustained to his car’s floor early on – but the seven-time champion made no excuses for his showing afterwards.
“Pretty shocking,” Hamilton admitted to Sky Sports F1.
“But really happy for the team. Everyone in the factory has worked so hard this year to get a result like this so big congratulations to the team and George. Well deserved.”
Asked what the reason was for his “shocking” race, Hamilton simply replied: “Me. Just been pretty sh.. all weekend.
“It’s not for the lack of trying but just generally slow.”
‘We are going to win a race with him this year’
Hamilton’s underwhelming Austrian weekend – when he was outqualified by Russell for both the Sprint and the Grand Prix before finishing behind his countryman in both races – came just a week after his season had appeared to turn a corner when he drove a stirring race to third at Barcelona, claiming his first podium of 2024.
Hamilton heads to Silverstone 9-2 down to Russell in Grand Prix qualifying so far this, while the latter’s second career win in Austria increased the younger Briton’s advantage in the championship over his team-mate to 26 points.
Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ team principal, believes Hamilton will work through this difficult period of form and predicted “we are going to win a race with him this year” before the seven-time champion departs for Ferrari.
“He has a bad spell and, as a racing driver, it can be mind crashing if you feel that you are not able to deliver your best performances,” Wolff told Ted Kravitz.
“He needs to go through this. This is not a situation that suddenly he has unlearned driving, on the contrary, things have come together.
“He had a brilliant race in Barcelona so we’ve just got to dive through this – and we are going to win race with him this year.”
The most recent of Hamilton’s record 103 career wins came in the penultimate round of the 2021 season in Saudi Arabia, with Russell taking Mercedes’ only two wins since then and the change of F1 regulations which saw the former champions drop down the field.
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On the difficulties of Hamilton’s Sunday around the Red Bull Ring, Wolff said: “A pretty decent start and then turn one, lap one, giving the position back was a harsh thing. But it was pretty clear that we would be getting a 10-second penalty by not doing it.
“Then it started to spiral. He pushed very hard on the entry, you can see how much he pushed, lost the rear and then obviously the next penalty came about.
“On top of that, we had floor damage because of the kerb ride, which I guess most people have but his was extensive. It was two and a half tenths in parts that broke off on the kerb.”
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Can Hamilton maintain unique home podium streak?
In what marks a blue-riband conclusion to the F1 season’s first triple-header, Silverstone hosts this year’s British Grand Prix with Hamilton, the country’s most successful and famous driver, racing in the event for the 18th time.
The 39-year-old has won the event a record eight times, most recently in 2021 after a controversial first-lap collision with Max Verstappen, and will be looking to extend a remarkable sequence of 10 consecutive podium finishes dating back to 2014.
That run includes third-placed finishes in each of the past two years despite Mercedes being off the leading pace.
The 10-race podium run also represents a record for a driver at a single Grand Prix. In total, Hamilton has finished on the British GP podium 13 times which, again, is more than any driver at any other event.
Sky Sports F1’s live British GP schedule (all F1 sessions on Sky Showcase)
Thursday July 4
1.30pm: Drivers’ Press Conference
6pm: The F1 Show
Friday July 5
8.35am: F3 Practice
9.55am: F2 Practice
12pm: British GP Practice One (session starts at 12.30pm)
2.05pm: F3 Qualifying
3pm: F2 Qualifying
3.45pm: British GP Practice Two (session starts at 4pm)
Saturday July 6
9.15am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: British GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: British GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: British GP Qualifying
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday July 7
8:15am: F3 Feature Race
9:50am: F2 Feature Race
11:50am: Porsche Supercup
1:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday – British GP build-up
3pm: The BRITISH GRAND PRIX
5pm: Chequered Flag: British GP reaction
6pm: Ted’s Notebook
F1’s summer triple-header concludes with the big one, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Watch every session live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase, with Sunday’s race at 3pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime
Source : Sky Sports
