World Champion Lewis Hamilton says his recovery from last to second at the British Grand Prix is a standout moment from 2018 – and acted as a turning point.
Hamilton fought tooth-and-nail with Sebastian Vettel through the first half of the campaign and took pole position for his home race, only to be tipped into a spin on the opening lap by Kimi Raikkonen.
Hamilton recovered from last to finish runner-up to Vettel, after which he began a sequence of six Grand Prix wins in seven races, while Vettel and Ferrari suffered a series of mistakes and setbacks.
The Mercedes driver duly clinched his fifth world title in Mexico and reckons Silverstone marked a turning point that enabled him and the team to go “from strength to strength”.
“I think naturally at the beginning of the year, we started out great in the first race and then we had that fall back and then we had some testing races after that,” he said.
“Then we had that DNF when I think we were leading the Grand Prix or at least 1-2 or whatever it was in Austria and then we the difficult collision at Silverstone but came back.
“I think when I came back at Silverstone, firstly being on your home circuit is always something so special and when you see that crowd that really lifts you up, they just… ever since my first Grand Prix there but most importantly, the second one, 2008, I could see the guys in the grandstand.
“That’s probably the first time I started noticing people standing up and cheering me on. And that has never faded, all these years being going to the British Grand Prix.
“So coming back from last to second, for me, in my mind, was like OK, I think that might have been quite a confidence boost, then of course we went on to some great races after that.
“Budapest, obviously, going into the break, it’s great going into the break with a win, particularly when we knew that we weren’t quickest at that point of the season.
“And we knew that that was more a confidence blow to the other team.
“And then Hockenheim, Monza… I think we just went from strength to strength after that and we just kept taking a step up.
“I think we’ve been very, very close on performance through the year and I think it’s still arguable whether or not we’ve had the perfect package but I think, as a team, we’ve operated better than any other.”
While Hamilton is assured of the Drivers’ crown, the Constructors’ Championship remains open, with Mercedes 55 points clear of Ferrari, and 86 up for grabs.
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