Lewis Hamilton has explained that the rain arriving was when he sensed it was the “moment to pounce” en route to claiming a win in the Formula 1 British Grand Prix.
The seven-time F1 champion emerged victorious from a riveting mixed conditions encounter to bring an end to a win drought that had dated back to December 2021.
Hamilton was running behind George Russell in the nascent stages but capitalised on a shower descending to overtake his Mercedes team-mate at Stowe on Lap 18.
Expanding upon how his race at Silverstone unfolded, Hamilton divulged that he was nursing his rubber in the initial stint with the intention to run longer than Russell.
However, Hamilton has revealed the forecasted precipitation transpiring prompted him to change his approach and go on the attack to make a move on the sister car.
“I think the first in was a little bit on the wing to the front, so I was, you know, understeering, I think,” Hamilton said.
“But I was just managing, trying to make sure that, because you didn’t know how long you had to go, I was actually planning to go to a long way.
“I was supposed to go a lot longer than George. He had really great pace and he was trying, obviously, to break the tow.
“So I was trying to make sure that stayed within 1.6, two seconds. And then I knew that I could see the rain was coming.
“And then when that rain came, I knew that that was the moment to pounce.
However, both Hamilton and Russell would then run wide at Turn 1 on the next lap and succumb places to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri as the McLaren came alive.
“Then we both went off and the McLarens came by,” he continued. “I couldn’t believe it.
“I couldn’t understand how they were able to generate so much heat still in their tyres or whatever. But then just trying to hold on to them.”
But McLaren slipped up on the pit wall as the track dried to allow Hamilton an undercut onto slicks to regain a lead that he controlled to the end over Max Verstappen.
“That last thing, I think we timed it perfect,” he added. “Getting that undercut on Lando, I think was really key. And the team did such a great job with the pit stop as well.”
Hamilton has admitted it was challenging to preserve the Intermediates in good condition as the track dried as he sought to reduce the margin that Norris harboured.
The outgoing Mercedes driver has proclaimed that the win would have been tough to obtain without gaining track position as he believes McLaren had the faster car.
“It was really, really tricky conditions because it was wet from Turn 14 to 15, but then dry in places,” Hamilton elucidated. “Turn 9 was dry.
“So the tyres, the whole left side was graining for both of us. I’m pretty sure for Lando as well. And at the beginning it was really difficult to close that gap.
“Then obviously I started closing that gap to him. But I think on those tyres, it was literally, it was starting to dry up and it was about just trying to get the right timing.
“And I think if Lando had stopped before us, it would have been very, very, very difficult to go by.
“I think the moment in which I came out of turn 15 and I came in and he stayed out, I knew that this was the moment that I was going to have the chance to undercut him.
“And then after that, I think I was able to just keep him… I could see him in my mirrors coming through a particular corner and I could just see him right there.
“Every now and then he put in a really quick lap. And I couldn’t match their pace when they did do that lap.
“When they did a low, I don’t know what it was, a 20. I can’t remember what number the lap was. It was 0.3 something.
“At the end when Max started to close in, again, just trying to give absolutely everything, right on the edge, full attack to try and keep the gap at three seconds or whatever it was.
“And the time started to just drop off a little bit towards the end. So I think it was the perfect distance of a stint.
“If we had another five laps, I don’t know if we would have held on to it, but I’m grateful that we were able to.”
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