Zoom An important victory for Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the first of the team’s two home races.

After an eventful race over 60 laps in changeable weather conditions, Hamilton lapped all but two drivers and came home over a minute ahead of Nick Heidfeld in second place. Heikki Kovalainen, who had started from his first ever Formula One pole position, ended up fifth at the chequered flag. Both drivers were on two-stop strategies. It was Hamilton’s third win of the season, the seventh in his 26 F1 races so far, the 55th of the McLaren Mercedes partnership and McLaren’s 159th Grand Prix victory.

Halfway through the championship, after nine out of 18 Grand Prix, Hamilton is back in the lead with 48 points; he is tied on points with Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen. Kovalainen is sixth overall with 24 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, McLaren Mercedes is third with 72 points; Ferrari leads with 96 points.

Lewis Hamilton
"This was the toughest race, but also one of the best ones I have ever driven. It was so extreme and slippery out there, very similar to the Japanese Grand Prix in Fuji last year. I had troubles with my visor and tried to clean it a couple of times. I thank my team for a great job; they did fantastic work and we always made the right decisions with the tyres in the difficult conditions. When I came round the last time, I saw the crowd standing up and I prayed: ‘Just finish, just finish.’ It was a very emotional moment to win my home Grand Prix and I want to dedicate this victory to my family. As everybody knows I had some troubles over the past few weeks and they have been always there for me and supported me. To pull on another Vodafone McLaren Mercedes rocket red victory T-shirt feels awesome."

Heikki Kovalainen
"Congratulations to Lewis on his superb home win. I had a good start and, for a few laps, Lewis was really pushing hard - which meant he eventually managed to overtake me on lap five when I ran a little wide. It was an extremely difficult race with lots of things happening. It was so easy to get caught out today by aquaplaning and slippery conditions: I spun twice but I was not the only one. At least I scored four points and helped to increase our constructors’ points total."

Ron Dennis
"To win your home Grand Prix is always special, and so today is indeed a special day for Lewis. It's also a special day for all at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. But above all it was a magnificent grand prix, full of drama, and it was won by a man who mastered the treacherous conditions faultlessly. Lewis's was one of those drives that will live in the memory for a long time - but it should be remembered that, fabulous though Lewis's performance was, it was also the result of brilliant teamwork by our engineers and mechanics. As for Heikki, he qualified superbly yesterday and clearly showed that he too is truly world-class. He shouldn’t feel too disappointed today because he demonstrated once again that his racing skills are beyond question. His time will come."