Lewis Hamilton admits “there were days when I felt like I wasn’t good enough” during his Formula 1 victory drought, which ended in exhilarating fashion at the British Formula 1 Grand Prix.

In the dry-wet-dry Silverstone race as summer rains continued to impact the Formula 1 racing weekend, Hamilton took full advantage as Mercedes took the advantage on strategy calls, while McLaren did not react quickly enough when the rain ended. Hamilton then kept his soft tires intact to ensure he could keep Max Verstappen on pace, thereby ending a streak of 945 days without a victory after his last victory at the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP in Jeddah.

Overcome with emotion after his win, Hamilton admitted there were days when he thought he would never win again in F1, and thanked the Mercedes team – which he will leave at the end of 2024 for Ferrari – for their support. their support.

“I think it’s very difficult for anyone,” Hamilton mused. “But I think what’s important is how you continue to get through this and you have to keep trying your best, even when you feel like you’re at rock bottom. “There have definitely been days from 2021 until now where I felt like I wasn’t good enough, or couldn’t get back to where I am today. “But the important thing is that I have great people around me that continue to support me. My team, every time I come in and see them making an effort, it really encourages me to do the same.

“Also, my fans when I met them around the world, they supported me a lot. So, I would like to sincerely thank everyone at the factory. Everyone here , I love you and God bless you.” Team principal Toto Wolff had previously predicted Hamilton would end his final tenure with Mercedes with a win, a prediction that proved correct in the race at Silverstone. The Austrian driver called it a “fairy tale” and felt it was fitting that Hamilton could claim his ninth victory at the British GP with Mercedes.

“[It was] brilliant. I mean, you couldn’t have written better for our farewell British Formula 1 Grand Prix after 12 years. It was brilliant,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1 afterwards. “Yes, we’ve had some difficult times recently but coming back, driving flawlessly in a variety of conditions has been really nice. “I really like that we’re back. We ran one and two for a long time when it was dry. So in terms of performance, it looks like we’re back. “And goodbye. I mean, like a fairy tale, we left the British crowd there with the most iconic and successful British driver in a Mercedes.”