Hamilton wins British Grand Prix to close in on Schumacher\'s record

Hamilton wins British Grand Prix to close in on Schumacher's record

The championship leader's record-extending seventh Silverstone win saw him finish six seconds ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen

Topics
Lewis Hamilton | Formula One Lewis Hamilton | Formula One

AP | PTI 

Lewis Hamilton wrapped up the title at  last month’s Mexican Grand Prix. Photo: Reuters
With Hamilton so far ahead, Verstappen went in for a tire change in a bid to gain an extra point for the fastest lap but that pit stop ultimately cost him victory because Hamilton's front left shredded with half a lap to go

held on to win the British Grand Prix on Sunday despite a puncture on the last lap to clinch an 87th career win and move within four of Michael Schumacher's record.

The championship leader's record-extending seventh Silverstone win saw him finish six seconds ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who unexpectedly moved up a place after Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas sustained a puncture with three laps left.

With Hamilton so far ahead, Verstappen went in for a tire change in a bid to gain an extra point for the fastest lap but that pit stop ultimately cost him victory because Hamilton's front left shredded with half a lap to go. Verstappen swallowed up most of the 25-second gap but ran out of time. Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari.

When his tire melted, Bottas had to come back for a tire change and dropped out of the points altogether into 11th spot and 30 points behind Hamilton in the title race.

Sebastian Vettel, a four-time F1 champion, placed 10th and has now failed to get into the top five for his worst start to a season since 2008. McLaren's Carlos Sainz Jr. also sustained a puncture on the last lap and fell to 13th. There is another race at Silverstone next Sunday.

Read our full coverage on Lewis Hamilton
First Published: Sun, August 02 2020. 21:34 IST