Hamilton takes record seventh British GP win on three wheels

Hamilton’s team mate and closest rival Valtteri Bottas failed to score after also suffering a late puncture and finishing 11th, despite a one-two finish for the pair having looked a nailed-on certainty until late in the race. “Up until that last lap everything was relatively smooth sailing,” said Hamilton of a race that was already extraordinary for the absence of spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I heard that his (Bottas’s) tyre went and I was just looking at mine and everything seemed fine. The car was still turning no problem... Those last few laps I started to back off and then just down the straight it just deflated. “That was definitely a heart in the mouth kind of feeling... I was just praying to get around and not be too slow. I nearly didn’t get around the last few corners. Thank God we did.” The victory was the 87th of Hamilton’s F1 career — leaving him four short of Ferrari great Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of 91 — and his third in a row. It was also probably his greatest escape. Verstappen’s race engineer summed it up over the team radio: “He’s a lucky boy.”. The Dutch driver said he was happy with second place and brushed aside talk of a missed win in a race with two safety car periods. “I could also pick up a puncture and then you lose a lot more,” he said. It’s so easy to say afterwards we should have just continued. But who would have said Lewis would have got the puncture? “I don’t regret anything. I think we made the right decision.” Mercedes, chasing a seventh successive title double, have won all four races this season.