Hamilton salutes British crowd after Silverstone victory

Lewis Hamilton paid tribute to the fans as well as his Mercedes team after collecting a record sixth British Grand Prix victory, in a race where he took advantage of a safety car to trump team-mate Valtteri Bottas to the chequered flag.

Bottas started on pole and stayed ahead of Hamilton off the line, with the two of them involved in a real battle for the opening 10 laps.

But an incident involving Antonio Giovinazzi brought out the safety car, allowing Hamilton to pit and come out ahead of Bottas, where he remained for the rest of the race.

Hamilton waved the Union Jack around his victory lap and made it clear how much he valued the support of the fans and his team in order to achieve unprecedented success.

He told Jenson Button post-race: "I can’t tell you how proud I am to be here today in front of my home crowd. There are so many British flags here, every time I see it and I notice it. You think you would get used to it but I enjoy it every time, this feels like the first time.

"I couldn’t have done it without my team. When I tell people thank you to the team, there’s nearly 2000 people who make this possible.

"I value them massively and I’m super proud to be a part of this."

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