Hamilton secures his first F1 win in 945 days at British Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton had been counting the days since his last Formula One (F1) win and the number was creeping toward 1,000.

After a brilliant victory in front of his home fans at the British Grand Prix on Sunday – his 104th win in F1 – a relieved Hamilton can finally stop counting.

"That's the longest stint without a win, 945 days. This could be one of the most special for me, if not the most special," Hamilton said. "There have definitely been moments when I thought it's never going to happen again."

There have been so many wins to celebrate dating back to his first in Canada in 2007, but this was his first anywhere since the penultimate race of the 2021 season in Saudi Arabia. That's more than 50 races ago.

That year he lost his F1 crown to Max Verstappen, who will be hard to stop from getting a fourth straight F1 title this season.

But Sunday belonged to the 39-year-old Hamilton, in his last British Grand Prix with Mercedes before joining Ferrari next season.

"Leaving on a high," Hamilton said. "This is my last race here with this team, so I wanted to win this so much for them, because I love them and I appreciate them so much."

As much as the fans appreciate him.

"My fans around the world have been so supportive," Hamilton said. "I was coming round and there's just no greater feeling than to finish at the front here."

Silverstone held a collective breath in the closing laps as Hamilton fended off Verstappen's late charge and became the first F1 driver to win on any track nine times.

"For me, personally, it's the best track in the world," said Hamilton after adding another F1 record to go with his 104 wins and 104 pole positions. He also shares the record of seven world titles with Michael Schumacher.

So how was he planning to celebrate?

"With a curry," he said. "I love Indian food."

The close finish saw him edge out Red Bull's Verstappen by 1.5 seconds, with Lando Norris rounding out the podium in third place for McLaren ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri.