By July 2024, Lewis Hamilton had learnt not to even remotely entertain the prospect of getting his hopes up. Two-and-a-half years, 31 months and 945 days speak to that: the time since his last victory in Formula One, back in December 2021 in Saudi Arabia.
But if the man himself wouldn’t prophesise with a smidge of optimism, then his supporters and the British media would. After qualifying second for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone – behind Mercedes teammate George Russell and ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris in an all-British top-three – a long-awaited win was on the horizon.
And there was a crucial variable at play on Sunday: the rain.
When I asked Hamilton, at the post-qualifying press conference, whether he could draw inspiration from his scintillating first Silverstone victory in 2008 in wet weather, the Briton was keen to keep his feet on the ground after a torrid few years for a team he would be leaving at the end of the season.
“All experiences definitely help, and when it rains those are the conditions I am most comfortable in,” he acknowledged.
“But these two are driving well. So I don’t think it will make a difference.”
Spoiler alert: it did make a difference.
After a smooth, incident-free get away for the leaders on an overcast afternoon in Northamptonshire, the raindrops started to fall in lap 20. McLaren’s superior pace – which would take them to the constructors’ title by Abu Dhabi in December – allowed both their drivers, in Norris and Oscar Piastri, to take the lead.
But a slow pit-stop as the rain eased handed the initiative from Norris to Hamilton. The elder statesman was in the lead, with his compatriot and a certain Max Verstappen on his tail.
In variable conditions, the balance between tyre management and lap time is always intricate. Nobody in the sport does it better than Hamilton. And this was the seven-time world champion at his very best. “Leave me to it, mate,” he told long-term race engineer Peter Bonnington.
Hamilton held his nerve. Eight times a winner already at his home race, a ninth was in his hands and despite a rapid Verstappen closing in, the boy from Stevenage who became a global superstar was reminded of why he’s opted to go all-in on a new challenge at Ferrari as he enters his 40s. Nothing quite compares to the taste of victory and seeing that chequered flag first.
He was in tears as he took his adulation from his home supporters. A hug with father Anthony and mother Carmen followed. This was a Hamilton we have not seen for quite some time.
“It’s all about not giving up and making the right decision with my life,” he said, perhaps referencing not just the last two years but the off-season post-2021, when he undoubtedly flirted with packing it all in after the controversy of that season-ending moment in Abu Dhabi.
“The decision for next year [joining Ferrari]. The commitment for this team and the love I have for my job. There’s nothing that will come close to it. That glimpse of hope, that tiny speck, try not to ignore that, focus on my inner peace.
“Never give up, it’s the easiest thing to do but you should never do it.”
In the grand scheme of the season – a season where Hamilton would finish in his lowest-ever championship position in seventh – Silverstone did not mean an awful lot. The 25 points for a win simply went to Mercedes finishing a lowly fourth in the teams’ standings.
But for Hamilton, starved of the top-of-the-podium for so long, it meant his Mercedes swansong would have its fairytale moment. And a week before his 40th birthday, it now means the Brit can launch himself into his 2025 Ferrari tilt safe in the knowledge that he can still produce on the biggest stage.
