One lucky Lewis Hamilton returned home to a seventh record British Grand Prix victory with a heart in his mouth, a prayer to his lips and three wheels on his car after a flat tire on the last lap on Sunday.
In a surprising finish to a race he had dominated from pole position, the Mercedes driver fueled his car across the finish line to stretch his lead in the Formula One world championship to 30 points.
“I’ve definitely never experienced anything like that on the last lap,” said Hamilton after inspecting his barely attached left front tire.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished second, but he would have won if he hadn’t found new tires in a successful late bet to score an extra point for the fastest lap, assuming victory was out of reach.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was third, another surprise for a team struggling for performance.
Hamilton’s teammate and closest rival, Valtteri Bottas, failed to score after suffering a late puncture and finishing 11th, despite a double for the pair that seemed to have pinned certainty until the end of the race.
“Until that last lap, everything was relatively smooth,” said the six-time world champion in a race with two long periods of safety cars. “The tires felt very good.
“I heard that his (Bottas) tire was gone and I was looking at mine and everything seemed to be fine. The car kept turning without problems … Those last few laps I started to back off and then, just on the straight, it just deflated.
“It was definitely a heartfelt feeling in my mouth … I was just praying it wasn’t too slow. I hardly made it to the last corners. Thank God we did.”
The victory was 87 of Hamilton’s F1 career, leaving him four of the all-time 91 records for Ferrari’s great Michael Ferrari, and his third consecutive. He was also probably the luckiest.
The Verstappen race engineer summed it up on the team radio to the Dutch driver: “He is a lucky boy.”
Chasing a seventh consecutive double title, Mercedes has won all four races this season.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo was fourth for Renault, ahead of future McLaren teammate Lando Norris, whose own teammate Carlos Sainz also suffered a puncture.
Frenchman Esteban Ocon ensured Renault’s double points finish in sixth place, with compatriot Pierre Gasly seventh for AlphaTauri and British Thai Alexander Albon on a race roller coaster to eighth place.
Canadian Lance Stroll was ninth for Racing Point, and Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari took the last point.
The next round, the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix to celebrate the first-ever Silverstone World Championship race in 1950, is on the same circuit next weekend. But he will have a hard time matching the sensation on Sunday.
Only 19 of the 20 drivers started, and Nico Hulkenberg, a substitute for Racing Point, was unable to leave the garage due to problems with the power unit.
The German was replacing Mexican Sergio Perez, in quarantine after testing positive for the new coronavirus earlier in the week.
All of the drivers participated before the start in a stance against racism, with Hamilton one of the 13 kneelings while the other seven stayed behind.
A World War II Spitfire fighter jet flew overhead in a gesture of thanks by Britain’s National Health Service.
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.