Silverstone (United Kingdom) (AFP)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) won his 8th British Grand Prix, the 99th of his Formula 1 career, Sunday at Silverstone, after a mad race marked by a collision in the first lap with Max Verstappen (Red Bull), who had to give up.
Hamilton was penalized ten seconds for the crash with Verstappen.
Despite this penalty, the Briton managed to come back and then overtake Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) on the 50th lap out of 52, to the delight of the 140,000 spectators.
"It's a dream for me today," Hamilton savored.
He praised "the best, the best of the public!", Before being congratulated by Tom Cruise in person and then to slip on the podium for the British anthem.
The seven-time world champion remains 2nd in the championship behind Verstappen.
But he returned to eight small points in the standings, while he was 33 behind before this 10th round out of 23.
He had not won since May 8 in Spain.
Verstappen had won four out of five races since.
The Dutchman was "taken to a local hospital for additional precautionary tests" after an initial check "by doctors at the Silverstone circuit medical center," Red Bull said.
He was able to get out of his car quickly but was visibly in shock after the very violent accident on the first lap.
The two rivals were neck and neck at every turn after a breathtaking start.
But during a Hamilton overtaking maneuver, the two collided.
Hamilton was able to stay in the race but Verstappen crashed into the safety barriers.
Behind Leclerc, who signs his first podium this season for want of the third victory of his career, Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) is third.
The next Grand-Prix will be held in Hungary on August 1st.
© 2021 AFP