The seven biggest talking points from the British Grand Prix

Oh. My. Word. After two and a half years without a win in F1, Lewis Hamilton roared back to the top step of the podium in front of his home fans to record his ninth - and possibly most emotional - British GP victory to date.

Race of the season. Easily. After Mercedes confirmed its return to the sharp end of the grid with a front-row lockout in qualifying, momentum changed lap by lap as two bands of rain swept across Silverstone, with George Rusell, Hamilton and then Lando Norris all hitting the front as the weather turned.

But it was Hamilton who timed the switch back onto slick tyres best, powering past Norris and then somehow keeping his softs alive all the way to the chequered flag as Max Verstappen threatened to snatch away the win in the final laps.

Cue a deafening roar as Hamilton crossed the line, followed by the loudest “GET IN THERE LEWIS!” Pete Bonnington has ever bellowed and his driver’s voice cracking up on the radio: “Thank you so much guys. It means a lot to get this one. Big thank you to all the fans here, I love you guys.”

Hamilton had a heartwarming embrace with his father after climbing out of the car, and later spoke movingly about the self-doubt that had knocked his confidence since the events of Abu Dhabi 2021.

His ninth British GP is the most any driver has ever achieved at a single circuit in the history of F1, and rounds off more than a decade at Mercedes with that Ferrari drive looming in 2025. Anyone gonna bet against him winning in red here next season?

The fans could so easily have been cheering a different British winner. Lando Norris streaked past both Mercedes as the rain began to fall, and seemed to be cruising towards a first British GP win in the damp conditions.

But everything unravelled when the track dried up, with Norris staying out a lap too long and then fitting a set of soft tyres - the same as Hamilton - when he had quicker mediums available. That decision ultimately cost him and McLaren the win, a fact that Hamilton was quick to pick up on in the cool down room afterwards. Norris could only sit there looking glum.

Meanwhile Oscar Piastri’s race was ruined when the team chose not to double-stack their drivers at the first pit stops: the Aussie was forced to do an extra lap on dry tyres after the heavens had opened, and the time he lost dropped him out of contention for the win. He did fit the mediums for his final stint, and very nearly beat Lando to the podium at the end. So close yet so far. Again.

The three-time champ never really looked like he was in the race… until he was. The Red Bull didn’t seem to have the pace either in the wet or the dry, with both McLarens steaming past the Dutchman who at one point had the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz breathing down his neck as well.

But as is so often the case with Red Bull, team and driver made the right calls at the right times to stay in the hunt, and when Verstappen was fitted with hard tyres for the final stint the RB19 finally woke up.

Verstappen slowly turned the screw on Lando Norris with 10 laps to go and after DRSing his way past the McLaren with four laps to go, he set about reeling in race leader Lewis Hamilton. But there wasn’t enough time left and Max had to settle for P2, just 1.4 seconds behind his old rival. Never count him out.

Behind the battle for the win, we entirely missed a Nico Hulkenberg wet weather masterclass which saw the Haas driver take sixth place, less than a minute behind Hamilton in a race unaffected by the safety car. Wow!

That’s the Hulk’s second P6 in a row after doing the same in Austria last time out, and it’s lifted Haas on 27 points - just four behind RB - in the battle for best-of-the-rest status in the championship.

Meanwhile Alex Albon put on an impressive display for Williams, recovering from a poor start to finish P9. Heck, Logan Sargeant had a commendable day as well in P11.

Oh dear. Sergio Perez desperately needed a strong performance to quell the rumours that Red Bull might drop him - just weeks after extending his contract - and this wasn’t it.

The Mexican driver ran off the road in qualifying and started the race in the pit lane, which he used as a platform to do… nothing of note whatsoever. Unlike with Verstappen the team made the wrong calls on his tyres, and Perez eventually came home in P17, two laps down on the lead. You’ve got to feel sorry for him right now.

Meanwhile Charles Leclerc had an equally bad day, Ferrari yet again sticking him on the wrong tyres for the conditions as he got lapped and finished 14th. That man used up all his luck to win in Monaco, didn’t he?

Speaking of bad luck, George Russell must’ve broken several mirrors and crossed paths with countless black cats in the seven days separating the British GP and his Austrian GP victory.

Having grabbed pole position and led the way for the first third of the race, George was overtaken by his teammate and the McLarens before being advised to retire his car because of a water leak.

The 26-year-old was visibly Quite Annoyed as he clambered out of the car, nonetheless he was the first person to congratulate his teammate after Lewis pulled into parc ferme. Great sportsmanship, his time will come.

Sure looks that way, doesn’t it? Just a couple of weeks after renewing his contract with Aston Martin, the Canadian driver finished ahead of his more illustrious teammate for the second race running, having also outpaced him by four whole tenths in qualifying. Ouch.

To be fair, Alonso hasn’t looked himself for a little while now, with Aston’s performances tailing off the longer the season has gone on: fifth is its best result of 2024, and prior to Silverstone it hadn’t scored any points since the Canadian Grand Prix.

This time last year Alonso and Aston were third in the drivers’ and constructors’ standings, now they’re ninth and fifth. Y’know Fernando, that Mercedes seat is still empty…