Credits :IMAGO / NurPhoto and IMAGO / PanoramiC
For a driver with over 100 race wins, Lewis Hamilton had to wait nearly a thousand days to get back on the top step of the podium. And he couldn’t have dreamt it better than to do so in front of his home crowd. However, motoring journalist and television presenter Jeremy Clarkson had predicted Hamilton’s victory on two occasions even before the lights went out at Silverstone.
Before the start of the 2024 British Grand Prix, Clarkson was present on the starting grid. During his grid walk, Martin Brundle asked Clarkson about the mixed weather conditions and how they might affect the race.
Clarkson confidently stated that the wet conditions would favor the older drivers on the grid. He repeated the same prediction during an interview with a media member of the Alpine team.
Clarkson singled out Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso as the favorites to win the British Grand Prix if it rained. “This isn’t bad at all,” Clarkson told Brundle. “Great for the race as well. I mean really good for the race because it means the old boys get a chance, Alonso and Hamilton. If it rains, it’s always the old boys that do well, you know that Martin.”, he added.
Rain indeed played a crucial role during the race, and while Alonso couldn’t capitalize on the wet conditions, Hamilton, who is often referred to as the master of rainy conditions, excelled with strategic help from Mercedes.
Hamilton broke multiple records on his way to 9th home victory
This victory was not just another win for Hamilton; it was an emotional triumph on his home soil where he broke several records. Hamilton broke the seventh-longest win drought in Formula 1 history, which now stands at 56 races. The Briton became the first F1 driver to win the same Grand Prix nine times, surpassing the previously shared record with Michael Schumacher.
He became the first driver to win a Grand Prix having made more than 300 race starts in a career. Hamilton is now also the first driver to have won a race in 16 different Formula 1 seasons.
The British driver is now only one podium away from scoring a double century of podiums and it was his 150th podium finish for Mercedes. He is also the oldest driver of the 21st century to have won a race with the record now set at 39 years and 182 days.
