Lewis Hamilton produced one of his most spectacular wins in dreadful conditions around Silverstone in front of the adoring British Grand Prix crowd in 2008.
You would have to go far back into the history books before you come across a race when over half of the field up to third place were put a lap down, such was the dominant display by Hamilton at the wheel of his McLaren MP4-23.
Hamilton himself regards it as one of his greatest wins in Formula 1, impressive given that he has achieved 103 in his glittering career to date. It was also an important one that set off his 2008 title run.
Hamilton arrived at the ninth round of the championship 10 points away from title rival Felipe Massa, following a retirement at the Canadian GP due to an embarrassing error at the pit exit with Kimi Raikkonen and failure to score points at the French GP.
With Robert Kubica’s maiden (and only) F1 victory at Canada, it meant it was a tight contest for the title.
Lewis Hamilton battles the conditions while rivals spin off
The weather forecast was grim on the day, with heavy rain set to disrupt the action. Hamilton was fourth on the grid having been out-qualified by Heikki Kovalinen to pole.
Slow getaways in the greasy conditions for Red Bull’s Mark Webber and Raikkonen enabled Hamilton to edge ahead at the first corner. While everyone else struggled, Hamilton was relishing the challenge and caught up to Kovalinen within the opening laps.
He managed to get a run on his teammate exiting the Hangar Straight, before overtaking up the inside of Stowe on Lap 5. From there he streaked away while his rivals spun off. Massa had the first of five spins in the race while Kovalienen also spun off while trying to stay on the track which dropped him to third.
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When the rain eased it became a battle between Hamilton and Raikkonen, who started to reel in his lead after they switched to intermediate tyres on the drying track.
A strategic error in the next round of pit stops for Raikkonen saw his car only get topped up for fuel rather than taking on a new set of tyres, with the team opting to keep him on the worn set.
The team did not expect any more rain to come, but it did. This effectively ended the battle as Hamilton was put on a new set of intermediates during his next stint. Hamilton had to keep his car on track while everyone else faltered, with Nick Heidfield and Rubens Barrichello making it up to second and third place in the treacherous conditions.
Lewis Hamilton praises ‘greatest race’
Reflecting on the win a few years later in an interview with Sky Sports, Hamilton recalls the rain making him edgy on his way to victory.
“I remember just feeling nervous. It was raining, that means mistakes can happen and it’s the worst thing when it happens at your home Grand Prix particularly,” said Hamilton.
The conditions were so tough because people were just aquaplaning off particularly going into Abbey and I just remember every time I’d make it through and not go off, I would see the fans sitting in the rain stand up and I knew that they were with me right on the edge of their seat like I was on the edge of my seat. That was for me, at least to that point, the greatest race that I had ever done.”
Hamilton’s official win margin was 1:08.877 over Heidfeld, with Barichello a further 14 seconds behind. Only 13 cars finished the race, nine of which were a lap down while Massa finished the race two laps off the lead.
The result would prove to be critical in Hamilton’s title charge. It put him level on points with Felipe Massa and effectively ahead in the Drivers’ Championship, a lead he would not relinquish throughout the rest of the season.
It would also be the first of a record eight British GP victories, making Hamilton the most successful British driver in the history of the race.
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