1st place Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W08.
16.07.2017. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 10, British Grand Prix, Silverstone, England, Race Day.
Lewis Hamilton’s record-equaling fifth British GP victory proved he is “an absolute legend” of Formula 1, according to this week’s F1 Report guests.
The Briton was in dominant form in front of his home fans at Silverstone, claiming pole by half a second before going on to lead from start to finish to win the event for the fourth consecutive year.
That saw the three-time world champion equal Jim Clark’s record, set between 1962 and 1965, while he also drew level with Clark and Alain Prost as the most successful drivers in the British GP.
Hamilton’s pole took him to within one of Michael Schumacher’s record of 68 while he sits second in the all-time win standings with 57, behind Schumacher on 91.
Former Marussia driver Max Chilton was a guest on this week’s F1 Report, which airs for the first time at 8.30pm on Wednesday, and described Hamilton’s achievements as “mind-blowing”.
“He’s an absolute legend of the sport and always will be because of what he’s achieved,” Chilton said.
Most Grand Prix wins
| Driver | Grand Prix wins |
| Michael Schumacher | 91 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 57 |
| Alain Prost | 51 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 45 |
| Ayrton Senna | 41 |
| Fernando Alonso | 32 |
| Nigel Mansell | 31 |
| Jackie Stewart | 27 |
| Jim Clark | 25 |
| Niki Lauda | 25 |
“Lewis Hamilton makes it easier now with more races in a season to get these records but four consecutive British GP wins is incredible and you’ve got to be able to race to do that. We’ve always known he’s fast but he can also race and it’s good to have a British driver doing so well.”
He added: “He got criticised heavily for not turning up in London and if he didn’t back it up with a performance then he would have continued to be criticised.
“But when you put it on pole and win the race like that and then equal Jim Clark, who is an absolute legend of the sport, with four consecutive British GP wins is mind blowing.
Lewis Hamilton v Jim Clark
| Jim Clark | Lewis Hamilton | |
| Race starts | 72 | 198 |
| Pole positions | 33 | 67 |
| Wins | 25 | 57 |
| Podiums | 32 | 110 |
| World Championships | 2 (1963, 1965) | 3 (2008, 2014, 2015) |
“My life would be complete winning one British GP so to win four consecutive is an incredible achievement and it’s great to see him in title contention only one point behind.”
Sky F1’s Marc Priestley joined Chilton and Rachel Brookes on the F1 Report and says Hamilton is getting better every year.
“It was amazing. We’ve seen it so many times when he’s done this before but every time he seems to go bigger and better, and he milks the experience,” he said.
British GP’s most-successful drivers
| Wins | Driver | Years |
| 5 | Jim Clark | 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 | |
| Alain Prost | 1983, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1993 | |
| 4 | Nigel Mansell | 1986, 1987, 1991, 1992 |
| 3 | Michael Schumacher | 1998, 2002, 2004 |
| Niki Lauda | 1976, 1982, 1984 | |
| Jack Brabham | 1959, 1960, 1966 |
“To win the British GP as a British driver, you can see how much he wanted it and he was dominant from start to finish. He absolutely deserved all those celebrations.”
Hamilton only trails championship leader Sebastian Vettel by one point after the Ferrari driver suffered a puncture on the penultimate lap when running third and ultimately finished seventh.
Vettel and Ferrari are without a victory in the last four races and Priestley believes Mercedes have taken the lead in the development race, which makes Hamilton favourite to win a fourth world championship.
