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Hamilton ‘very, very grateful’ for long-awaited 104th F1 win as he explains why it feels ‘different’ to all his others
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Lewis Hamilton expressed his pride at not only delivering for the hundreds of thousands of home fans at Silverstone last weekend, but also the several family members who were present to support him – making for a unique and emotional experience.
Mercedes driver Hamilton ended a victory drought stretching back to the tail-end of the 2021 season with a stunning performance in Sunday’s dry-wet-dry British Grand Prix, getting the better of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
With his father Anthony and mother Carmen there to greet him afterwards, as well as long-time race engineer Peter Bonnington, Hamilton was asked if his 104th win felt emotionally “very different” compared with the previous 103, to which he replied: “Yeah, it really does.
“I’ve had my parents come to a race here and there. We’ve had, you know… My mum was there when we won a championship, my dad’s been there when we won a championship, it’s always been just at a different point of life.
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“The first world championship was incredible, but it was really difficult to absorb it all at the age I was at. I think this weekend, and I think just within life… Your parents are getting older, we’re travelling so much, and time with family is a constant challenge.
“My niece and nephew are growing up and growing out of their cuteness, but I’ve had them here this weekend, and I think they’ve all... We all try to be there for each other, even at a distance.
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“I know I’ve always had their support, but to be able to see them there and share this experience… They wanted to be at my last race, the last British Grand Prix with this team that have been so incredible to us.
“I mean, Mercedes [have] obviously supported me since I was 13, so it’s definitely meant the most to have them there and to be able to share it with them.”
Hamilton then expanded on the mental struggles he has experienced over the lengthy spell between his last two victories, following up on immediate post-race comments that there were days he “didn’t feel good enough”.
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The Briton continued: “I think with the kind of the adversity I would say that we’ve gone through as a team and that I personally felt, that I’ve experienced, those challenges, the constant challenge like we all have to get out of bed every day and give it our best shot…
“There’s so many times where you feel like your best shot is just not good enough, and the disappointment sometimes that you can feel, you know, and we live in a time where mental health is such a serious issue. I’m not going to lie, that I have experienced that.
“There’s definitely been moments where, you know, the thought that this was it, that that was never going to happen again, so to have this feeling coming across the line…
“Honestly, I’ve never cried coming from a win, it just came out of me. It’s a really, really great feeling and I’m very, very grateful for it.”
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