[Lewis Hamilton Wins F1 British GP. Photo Credit to PublicDomainPictures.net]

After 945 winless days, Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton finally raced to victory at the Silverstone Circuit in England on Sunday.

The Briton’s victory, his ninth at Silverstone, set a new record for the circuit.

It also marked his twelfth consecutive podium finish at his home race, the grand prix hosted by a driver’s home country.

In addition, Hamilton also extended his record for most Formula 1 wins in history, bringing his tally to104 victories.

This win increases his lead over Michael Schumacher’s 91 wins and Max Verstappen’s 61.

The 7-time world champion was almost in tears, overwhelmed by emotion as he celebrated his victory after a raced filled with many lead changes.

Starting strong, Mercedes locked out the front row in qualifying and took an early lead on Sunday afternoon.

Three-time champion Verstappen overtook McLaren's Lando Norris on the opening lap to take third position, but the Red Bull driver reclaimed the spot on lap 15 as Verstappen struggled to maintain his pace.

Rain began to fall two laps later, and both Hamilton and his teammate spun off track as their slick tyres, unsuited for wet conditions, failed to provide sufficient grip.

Norris capitalized on this, easily passing them.

Norris's teammate at McLaren, Oscar Piastri, moved up to second as the rain eased and the track began to dry.

However, heavy rain returned, and Verstappen was able to benefit from a strategic decision to switch to intermediate tyres early.

The Mercedes drivers followed the very next lap, but a pit stop error by McLaren put Piastri out of contention for the lead.

On lap 38, with the track drying for the rest of the race, Verstappen opted for an early switch to durable hard tyres, while both Mercedes drivers chose the grippier soft tyres.

Norris delayed his pit stop by a lap, which significantly slowed him down.

The three cars were close enough to be filmed on a single camera shot for the remaining few laps.

Verstappen flew past Norris into second place on lap 48, 3.2 seconds behind Hamilton, and began chasing the lead.

Despite Verstappen’s efforts, Hamilton crossed the finish line four laps later with a 1.4-second lead over the current season leader.

“I can’t stop crying,” Hamilton told the BBC after climbing out of his car.

He later added that this “might be the most emotional ending to a race I think I have probably ever had.”

Hamilton’s last win was in Saudi Arabia in 2021, one race before the highly controversial finale to that season, which saw Verstappen clinch his first world championship due to mid-race rule changes by the race director.

Mercedes had a difficult time adjusting to new regulations in 2022, but now appear to be regaining their strength.

This change likely comes from the reinstatement of James Allison as technical director last spring.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff made optimistic comments about the team's future, as did Hamilton.

“There's still a long, long way to go, but we are super close, and I think hopefully with the next upgrade perhaps, we will be in an even stronger position to really, really be fighting for the front row more consistently,” Hamilton said to the BBC.

This season is Hamilton’s final year with Mercedes, a team he has been with since 2013, winning six world titles.

Next year, he will be moving to Scuderia Ferrari.