Lewis Hamilton in tears after winning incredible 2024 British Grand Prix at Silverstone

Lewis Hamilton managed to fend off a late surge from Max Verstappen, ending a 945-day drought in front of his adoring fans at Silverstone.

George Russell began the British Grand Prix in pole position and Lando Norris also had a stint leading his home race. However, it was Hamilton who ultimately triumphed, despite having a Red Bull looming in his rear-view mirror during the final stages.

The race kicked off under sunny skies, with Russell making a strong start to keep his team-mate Hamilton at bay. In fact, within just a few laps he had already moved out of DRS range of the other Mercedes, while Hamilton had established a lead of more than one second over Verstappen.

Verstappen, who started fourth, emerged victorious in his first wheel-to-wheel clash with Norris since their collision in Austria the previous Sunday. However, he was steadily losing ground on the Mercedes cars ahead, with no indication that this was due to tyre management.

This was because a large rain cloud was approaching, which engineers throughout the paddock were warning their drivers about. It was predicted to hit around lap 16 - but this was only the first, shorter spell.

After another brief period of sunshine, the real downpours began.

The day's first major cheer came on lap 18, after the raindrops had started to fall. Norris had Verstappen in his sights but there was no repeat of their prolonged duel in Austria - he used DRS to speed past the Red Bull, earning a resounding standing ovation from the Silverstone crowd.

Oscar Piastri swiftly overtook Verstappen, but the home crowd was too engrossed in cheering as Hamilton caught up with Russell and took the lead in his home Grand Prix. However, both drivers veered off the track during their duel,