Lewis Hamilton fights back tears after ending three-year wait for a win at British Grand Prix

Sir Lewis Hamilton finally ended his near-three-year winless streak on Sunday to claim a stunning victory at the British Grand Prix.

The seven-time Formula One champion strategically overtook Lando Norris before holding off a late charge from Max Verstappen to win at Silverstone, his first win since Saudi Arabia in December 2021.

Home fans were thrilled on Saturday, with the three Brits George Russell, Hamilton and Norris qualifying in the top three, but with dark clouds looming a chaotic race was on the cards.

The Mercedes initially pulled away but as the rain began to fall, the McLarens found an extra gear, with Norris and Oscar Piastri blitzing past Hamilton and Russell but only after the polesitter had been overtaken by his teammate.

The typical British weather didn’t make things easy, with some parts of the track much more slippery than others, while on the whole it was initially too wet for dry tyres but too dry for intermediates.

Verstappen was the first frontrunner to brave the inters before Norris, Hamilton and Russell all pitted but disaster soon followed with the latter forced to retire on lap 34 with a ‘suspected water system issue’.

Soon, the rain stopped and with the track drying the next stop was critical, with Hamilton getting it right, going first, swapping to softs and undercutting Norris to take the lead with 12 laps to go.

The race was far from over though, with just several seconds separating the two Brits and Verstappen who was on a charge on hard tyres.

The Dutchman got past Norris with four laps to go but could not close the gap to Hamilton who took the chequered flag to the elation of the crowd.

The 39-year-old was in floods of tears after crossing the finishing line, understandable having endured a difficult few years after controversially losing the 2021 title to Verstappen.

‘Thank you so much guys. It means a lot. Big thank you to all the fans here,’ he said over the radio, before returning the pits where he shared an emotional embrace with his team and parents.