Lewis Hamilton heads to his home race with unfinished business after a puncture cost him victory in 2013 and the Briton is looking reward the thousands of fans this time out.
A win is almost essential to get Hamilton’s title hopes back on track after yet another difficult weekend which saw him finish behind team-mate Nico Rosberg for the third weekend in a row.
Mistakes on Saturday cost the Mercedes driver, but a charge through the field in the race meant he limited the damage.
“It was great to get another one-two finish for the team in Austria,” he said. “Of course, it wasn’t the result I wanted personally and it was disappointing not to be able to capitalise on my pace when it was clearly there. But in the end, coming back to second place was positive in terms of damage limitation.”
Heading to Silverstone, Hamilton is eyeing the race win in order to not only close the 29 point gap to Rosberg, but to give his fans a home win – something they last saw in 2008 when he dominated the race.
“Silverstone is obviously a special race for me and the support I have there is just incredible,” added Hamilton. “The British fans are the absolute best in the world and it’s really humbling to see thousands of people out there cheering you on – no matter what the weather or the result.
“Silverstone is a track that really suits my style. I won the race in the wet in 2008, which was just the best feeling. I think the gap was around 60 seconds at the end, and I’d lapped everyone up to third place which was just unreal. I could never have hoped or dreamed for a race like that – especially at my home Grand Prix. That has to be one of the best moments of my career. I loved raising that gold trophy in front of the home crowds and I’m determined to get my hands on it again this year.”
