Silverstone (United Kingdom) (AFP)

Lewis Hamilton "didn't feel any abnormal wear", "didn't see the puncture coming" on the last lap but finished on "adrenaline" to win the Formula 1 British Grand Prix on Sunday, on three wheels, ahead of the Dutchman Max Verstappen.

"I had no warning sign, no abnormal wear," he said at a press conference, indicating that his car behaved well until the puncture despite the pressure of Valtteri Bottas who was following.

“Normally these type of tires have good resistance and we thought we could finish the race with them,” he said, confident that a two-stop strategy to change them, instead of just one, might have. -be more judicious.

"In the excitement of the moment, I had an adrenaline rush but the survival instinct is also triggered," said the six-time world champion after the finish.

"I heard (on my radio, editor's note) that Max (Verstappen) was catching up with me very, very quickly. I was trying to keep enough speed but the last two corners were very difficult and I heard 7, 6, 5", for the seconds he had left. "But I managed to stay in front," he said, relieved.

He recalled, however, that this was not the first time he had finished, and won, a three-wheel race. The last time was when he was a young driver in a promotion formula: "It was a bit similar but the consequences would have been much more serious today".

"We'll have to see why we had these tire problems," said Hamilton, who won his national Grand Prix for the 7th time on Sunday. He now has 87 victories, against 91 for Michael Schumacher. Hamilton is also aiming for a 7th world title, like "Schumi".

- Fight against racism -

The current F1 boss also welcomed the demonstration by the drivers before the start, against racism, a subject on which he took notable public positions.

As in Austria at the beginning of July, they gathered on the starting line wearing a t-shirt with the inscription "End Racism", except Hamilton, the only black driver present in F1, who sported "Black Lives Matter" on his.

"I am happy that the organizers have done and that F1 has devoted the time to this", believing that it had been better organized than in the previous Hungarian Grand Prix where a similar event had turned out somewhat disorganized.

"Each of us must remind ourselves from time to time of the gravity of the situation," he recalled.

(Interview at a press conference)

© 2020 AFP