Hamilton claims British Grand Prix as rivals fall in wet weather

LEWIS Hamilton rocked Silverstone to its roots and sent 90,000 fans into a frenzy with a glorious British Grand Prix victory yesterday.

The McLaren star, who had failed to score a point in his last two races, had his legion of supporters singing in the rain at the end of a chaos-strewn event as wet weather sent his rivals into a spin.

Hamilton finished an astonishing 68.5 seconds clear of BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld at the conclusion of the 60-lap encounter, with a remarkable Rubens Barrichello third in his Honda, on the podium for the first time in three years.

The 23-year-old Hamilton is now level on points with Felipe Massa, who could only manage 13th, and reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who was fourth in his Ferrari.

McLaren team manager Ron Dennis hailed Hamilton's "disciplined" drive. "We had to really, really keep the pace down," said Dennis. "He could have gone much quicker and the last 15 laps he was complaining at having to drive too slowly. It's very easy to make mistakes in those conditions."

Dennis believes Hamilton has answered his critics, saying: "It's tough because you're trying to do your best all the time and you're surrounded by armchair experts who just constantly apply pressure.

"You have to put that out of your mind and concentrate on the job. But he's done a good job."

Hamilton joins a list of illustrious British names to win his home race, including Sterling Moss, Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, Johnny Herbert and David Coulthard, who was the last to triumph in 2000.

On a wet track courtesy of persistent rain throughout a cold, grey morning, with standing water in places, the start was as dramatic as could have been expected. The rain may have relented once the five red lights disappeared, but the conditions were the worst experienced since last year's monsoon-hit grand prix in Japan.

Perhaps with nerves on full alert, Heikki Kovalainen and Red Bull's Mark Webber were slow away from the front row of the grid, allowing Hamilton to seize his opportunity.

With Raikkonen baulked behind Kovalainen, Hamilton flashed past him and Australian Webber, and had his nose in front of his McLaren team-mate heading out of first corner Copse.

But Kovalainen had the line, and after brushing tyres with Hamilton he managed to sneak ahead, leaving the Briton to file behind in the spray that kicked up off the sodden tarmac.

There was further drama behind as Webber spun, swiftly followed by Felipe Massa who had started ninth, whilst Coulthard's final British race was one to forget. The Scot, who announced on Thursday he is to retire at the end of the season, attempted to pass the Toro Rosso of Sebastian Vettel, only to clip the German, sending them into the gravel where they remained beached.

"I'm truly disappointed," said Coulthard. "I'm sorry for the team. I went for a gap and didn't make the move, coming together with Sebastian, so taking out two Red Bulls.

"In a race like that you have to take your opportunities when they come, but unfortunately it was a bad decision."

Hamilton then continued to hound Kovalainen, and after Massa spun for a second time on lap three to the back of the field, the Briton made his move on the Finn going into Copse.

To the delight of the fans, Hamilton made it stick and proceeded to pull away from Kovalainen, who then gave up second place on lap 10 by spinning at Abbey, allowing Raikkonen to pass.

Over the following 10 laps, approaching one-third distance, the 28-year-old Raikkonen began to reel in Hamilton until he was within a second when they pitted together on lap 21. Raikkonen opted not to change his tyres, in contrast to Hamilton as his team went for fresh rubber, and it proved the correct decision. Within three laps the rain started to fall again, leaving Raikkonen with limited tread and barely able to cope with a wet track.

Hamilton then began to take five and six seconds per lap out of Raikkonen who on occasion was tip-toeing his way around the track.

The Finn was a sitting duck and on lap 27 he was passed by not only Kovalainen, but also a flying Heidfeld who surged past both into and then out of Woodcote, the final turn.

Seemingly going backwards, Raikkonen was soon passed by Robert Kubica and Nelson Piquet in his Renault before finally diving into the pits for a desperately-needed fresh set of tyres.

Then the rain threw down, sending Piquet spinning out, whilst Hamilton, Massa, Raikkonen and Kubica all had their nervy moments before the Pole hurtled into the gravel on lap 40 and out of the race.

That was at a time when sun and blue skies made an appearance on a day of contrasts, with Kubica's exit soon followed by Nico Rosberg in his Williams and Jenson Button, sliding off in his Honda.

But all the while Hamilton marched on imperiously, lapping Kovalainen, Raikkonen and Alonso who were running sixth, fifth and fourth respectively at the time on lap 52.

From that moment it was all Hamilton with only Heidfeld and Barrichello on the same lap. Behind Raikkonen – who becomes the seventh driver to top 500 career points in F1 – came Kovalainen, Alonso, Toyota's Jarno Trulli and Kazuki Nakajima in his Williams.

Hamilton punched the air in delight as he crossed the start/finish line, taking the acclaim of the crowd on his slow down.

This season Hamilton has now won in Australia, Monaco and his home race, the three he targeted at the start of the year, but this was his greatest victory.

Prophetic words see brother's triumph in mirror image of rain master Senna

"YOU'RE the master in the wet," were the words Nicholas Hamilton told his brother Lewis before the British Grand Prix, and so it proved as the McLaren driver ran away with his home race.

Hamilton admitted to feeling downbeat on his arrival at Silverstone, in particular after being drained by the events of the last few weeks. Failing to score a point in Canada and France had piled pressure on his young shoulders, and after describing his performance in qualifying as "a terrible job", his mood was heavy.

A number of personal events – meeting Nelson Mandela, the sailing in the Solent that earned him a cut lip, becoming the new figure of Reebok – had also taken their toll on his mind.

But a comforting chat with his brother, the support of the rest of his family and the majority of a 90,000 crowd, reinvigorated him.

Hamilton then duly delivered on the track, leaving his rivals in the spray that plumed off a sodden circuit, winning by a remarkable 68.5-second margin from BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld.

By the time he crossed the finishing line at the end of a chaos-strewn race, the sun was shining – apt after a driving display to match the feats of his hero Ayrton Senna, the real rain master.

"It is definitely by far the best victory I've ever had," assessed Hamilton, just six weeks after his Monaco success. "It was one of the toughest races I've ever done. As I was driving I was thinking, 'if I win this it will definitely be the best race I've ever won'.

"That's not only because of its history, but also because I'm on home ground and I drove one of my best races ever. I was coming to the last lap and I could see the crowd beginning to stand up and I was just praying, praying, praying, 'keep it on the track and just finish'. You could not believe the emotions inside. I wanted to push, get it round, and we did. The team did a fantastic job."

More pertinently for Hamilton, so did his family – with his 73-year-old grandfather, Davidson, also looking on – and in particular his brother. "The last couple of weeks I've been flat out, working very hard, a lot of travelling and many different things, different emotions in my life," said Hamilton.

"I've obviously had a couple of bad grands prix, so coming into this one I felt it would have just been nice to have started with a clean slate and get some points, or even a win.

"To be honest, this morning I wasn't feeling great, but it wasn't until I got to the track and I spoke to my family, and then I was good. I saw some kids as I had time to see some fans at the gate, and it gave me energy. All of a sudden I had so much energy.

"I have to say a big thank you to all the fans. They have been so incredible throughout the weekend. Without them I wouldn't have done this. This is the best weekend ever. But I want to dedicate this to my family because I have had some troubles over the last couple of weeks, and it's been really tough. But as always, family are there for you, giving you support, and they're all here.

"Just before the race I spoke to my brother. He came to my room and I said to him: 'I hope I keep it on the track.' He replied: 'Don't even worry about that, you're the master in the wet!'

"He's always there, same with my dad. He'll never miss a race, he has been there since day one. We still do the same handshake as we always have from the first race, and that means a lot to me.

"But your family are there through thick and thin. They always stand next to you."