“I Had to Change My Boxers After” – Hamilton Jokes to Leclerc About a Verstappen Repeat at Silverstone

Lewis Hamilton secured his eighth British Grand Prix victory yesterday and his first win since Spain this year. He claimed the victory by overtaking Charles Leclerc with just three laps to go in front of 140,000 spectators at Silverstone.

Despite suffering a 10-second penalty after a huge first-lap crash with Verstappen, the Briton passed driver after driver to secure his fourth win of the season. The two title contenders collided on the opening lap at Copse, which sent the Dutchman into the barriers and out of the race.

And after the race, Hamilton admitted fearing a repeat of the dangerous Verstappen crash while overtaking Charles Leclerc at the same turn.

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What did Lewis Hamilton say?

“I saw the backmarkers, and I realised that might create some opportunities, so I was like ‘I’ve got to catch him as soon as possible’ so that when I did catch him, there would be opportunities to fight,” said Lewis Hamilton in the post-race press conference.

“Then my heart nearly stopped when I went up the inside of you (pointing to Leclerc) in Turn 9, because I thought the same thing was going to happen that happened to me and Max. I had to change my boxers after.”

Not the way I wanted to win the British GP: Lewis

Lewis Hamilton’s left-front wheel tangled with Max Verstappen’s rear-right at Copse Corner on the opening lap. This sent the Dutchman spinning into the tire barrier, in an impact that measured 51G. And the reigning champion claims he would rather have not won that way.

“I dummied him, moved to the right for that gap and I was pretty far up alongside him but I then could see he wasn’t going to back out, and we went into the corner, and we collided,” Hamilton said.

“Of course, that’s never the way I want to win a race–or in general, to race–but yes, these things do happen. I just hope he’s OK and I look forward to many more races.”

Despite failing to secure points at Silverstone, Max Verstappen still leads the driver’s championship, and the Knight still sits in P2. However, the latter did manage to bring down the former’s 33-point lead in the championship to just eight points.

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With Verstappen and Red Bull holding Hamilton responsible for the crash, fans expect the return of Mad Max in Hungary. So, will the Dutchman unleash his rage and extend his championship lead? Or was Silverstone the return of Lewis’ dominance? Let us know your predictions in the comments.