“God Save the King,” was the headline carried by a French newspaper today. But you know what? The King doesn’t need saving, he needs to be thanked. Lewis Hamilton drove down the straight that bore his name [Hamilton Straight] to write the most epic chapter in his glorious career. Win number 104 took 945 days to come, but the heavens cried when it did. Yesterday, Lewis Hamilton won, the Mercedes team won, but above all, the sport of Formula 1 triumphed. Days like this remind us that there is nothing bigger than belief. Sir Lewis Hamilton showed us why.

2024 British GP at Silverstone; the win that ended a 945-day drought

“There was absolutely no way with that car and the tires he had underneath him that he was going to allow that win to slip the British public. That’s what drove him on,” said an emotional Anthony Hamilton (Lewis’ father). But it was Lewis Hamilton who couldn’t contain his emotions, as he couldn’t stop crying after the win. The ‘pour-down’ began as he took the chequered flag, it continued to the post-race interview, the podium, and then the celebrations. But why was it such an emotional one? Because it happened after the most difficult phase of his life. Yesterday, Lewis Hamilton showed us nothing is impossible.

Lewis explained why this was the most emotional and special win for him, noting, “With the adversity, we’ve gone through as a team, and I personally felt that I’ve experienced, those challenges, the constant challenge like we all have to get up out of bed every day and give it our best shot. There are so many times when you feel like your best shot is not good enough and the disappointment sometimes that you can feel. We live in a time where mental health is such a serious issue and I’m not going to lie. I have experienced that. There’s definitely been moments where the thought that this was it, that it was never going to happen again.”

But it did. Hamilton has been the most successful driver of the sport and to some, it might appear like a boring task to stand on the top step of the podium for the 104th time. However, the hunger never went away, and the drive never died down; which is why it was just a matter of time before it came home, even if that time lasted for a painfully long period and mental health struggles.

Lewis Hamilton showed how even the greatest have weak moments, but, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel

Lewis Hamilton’s mental health battle has been a glimpse of the humane nature of F1’s greatest driver ever. This shows us that it is difficult even at the top. It is said that when the going gets tough, the tough get going, Lewis was the ‘tough’ that got going despite the “human error” that robbed him of his eighth title in 2021. In 2022, it took everything in him to come back to the track, but unfortunately, the testing times were far from over. Over the last 2.5 years, many experts wrote Lewis off, there were times when he doubted himself, but one thing that remained consistent was his will. He showed up to work every day, even after times when he was lapped by Max Verstappen on pure pace. But he came, he saw, and he eventually conquered.

Talking about these struggles, he said, “After such a difficult 2021, just trying to continue to come back but we as a team had a difficult time. There were so many thoughts and doubts in my mind along the way to the point that, at times, I wanted to not continue. To arrive and continue to get up and continue to try to finally succeed is the greatest feeling I can remember having.”

Hamilton further added, “It’s so tough, I think for anyone, but the important thing is just how you continue to get up and you’ve got to continue to dig deep even when you feel like you’re at the bottom of the barrel. There have definitely been days between 2021 and here when I didn’t feel like I was good enough or I was going to get back to where I am today.” Despite all the hardships, Lewis’ win yesterday has taken the sport to a new zenith. So, let us take a look at the bar he keeps raising.

Records that Lewis Hamilton broke and set the bar at “Stratospheric Levels”

Yesterday was the ninth time when the 39-year-old took the chequered flag at his home circuit, beating Michael Schumacher’s precious record of 8 wins on a single circuit. But there are more than a dozen records that Lewis smashed on his way to the top step yesterday. A look at the ones on top of the pile:

1. Most Championships; he shares the seven championship record with Michael Schumacher but interestingly has many more wins than him.
2. Most wins; It was his 104th win. For context, Michael Schumacher stands seconds in that tally with 91 wins.
3. Most podiums and wins for a team (and in F1); It was his 150th podium for Mercedes (83rd win for them) and 199th podium in F1.
4. Hamilton has the all-time record interval between his first and latest win (17 years one month)
5. No driver has ever won a race after their 300th start, well let us just say some curses are meant to be broken.
6. He is the oldest driver in the 21st century to win a race.
7. It was his 12th consecutive podium at the venue (in F1)

Michael Schumacher once said that records are meant to be broken. Interestingly, he had even named Lewis as the potential candidate who could take the bar even higher, but shattering the glass ceiling like this felt unimaginable, paving the way for Formula 1 to always be indebted to its knight in neon yellow helmet.

There couldn’t have been a better end to this winless drought of Hamilton’s career. In front of his family and home crowd, Lewis took the top step of the Silverstone podium. He expressed he was hugely grateful to everyone at Mercedes, lauding everyone’s efforts while saying, “I think this is just hats off to everyone. Niki would definitely take his hat off [today].” And we have no doubts about that.

Thank you, Lewis Hamilton, for showing us the possibilities of the unimaginable, especially when one doesn’t give up! The sport of F1 will forever be grateful to you.