Lewis cuts loose at Silverstone

“YOU’RE the master in the wet,” were the words Nicholas Hamilton told his brother Lewis before the British Grand Prix, and so it proved as the McLaren star thrilled the home fans.

Hamilton admitted to arriving at Silverstone feeling downbeat.

Failing to score a point in Canada and France had piled pressure on his shoulders, and after describing his performance in qualifying as “a terrible job”, his mood was heavy.

But a comforting chat with his brother, the support of the rest of his family and the majority of a 90,000 crowd, reinvigorated him.

Hamilton then duly delivered on the track, leaving his rivals in the spray that plumed off a sodden circuit, winning by a remarkable 68.5-second margin from BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld.

By the time he crossed the finishing line at the end of a chaos-strewn race, the sun was shining — apt after a driving display to match the feats of his hero, Ayrton Senna, the real rain master.

“It is the best victory I’ve ever had,” assessed Hamilton, just six weeks after his Monaco success.

“It was one of the toughest races I’ve ever done. As I was driving I was thinking, ‘if I win this it will definitely be the best race I’ve ever won’.

“That’s not only because of its history, but also because I’m on home ground and I drove one of my best races ever.

“I was coming to the last lap and I could see the crowd beginning to stand up and I was just praying, praying, praying, ‘keep it on the track and just finish’.

“You could not believe the emotions inside. I wanted to push, get it round, and we did. The team did a fantastic job.

“I have to say my mind’s always been right. I’ve just had a lot on my plate in my personal life — nothing too serious, just life in general.

“To be honest, this morning I wasn’t feeling great, but it wasn’t until I got to the track and I spoke to my family, and then I was good.”

Hamilton continued: “Just before the race I spoke to my brother. He came to my room and I said to him: ‘I hope I keep it on the track.’ He replied: ‘Don’t even worry about that, you’re the master in the wet!’

“He’s always there, same with my dad. He’ll never miss a race, he has been there since day one.

“We still do the same handshake as we always have from the first race, and that means a lot to me.

“But your family are there through thick and thin. They always stand next to you.”

The victory means that at the halfway point of the season there is a three-way tie, with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen also on 48 points, although Hamilton has a slight edge on countback.

Massa spun an astonishing five times in total, whilst Raikkonen lost control twice in a race that accounted for many others, with the duo eventually ending up 13th and fourth respectively.

Rubens Barrichello claimed his first podium for three years in his Honda, whilst behind Raikkonen came McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen, Fernando Alonso in his Renault, Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and Kazuki Nakajima for Williams.

David Coulthard’s final British race, as he confirmed on Thursday he is to retire at the end of the season, lasted just a half a lap as he collided with Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel, with both ending up in the gravel.

Jenson Button’s race lasted 37 more laps than his fellow Briton, only to slide off himself, joining the likes of Robert Kubica, Giancarlo Fisichella, Adrian Sutil and Nelson Piquet.