Hamilton wins despite flat tyre, closes in on Schumi

Silverstone, August 2

Lewis Hamilton held on to win the British Grand Prix today despite a puncture on the last lap to clinch an 87th career win and move within four of Michael Schumacher’s Formula One 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. — AP