06/07/2014
NEWS STORY
Lewis Hamilton took victory in his home race at this afternoon's British Grand Prix, while Nico Rosberg was forced to retire.
Lewis scored the team's eighth win in nine races in 2014 - and his fifth of the season so far. This marked Lewis' 27th Formula One victory, putting him level with Sir Jackie Stewart. His win came 60 years and two days after the first Formula One victory for Mercedes-Benz at the 1954 French Grand Prix.
Nico retired his car with gearbox problems just after half distance on lap 29, having led from the start. Lewis ran an option/prime/option tyre strategy, with Nico running option/option before his retirement. The team now leads the Constructors' Championship by 158 points after nine of this season's 19 races.
Lewis Hamilton: Winning in front of your home crowd is just the best feeling. We really do have the greatest fans here and thank you so much to everyone for your patience after yesterday. To see the support all around the track is just amazing. I said before that I'd never give up but it was a tough qualifying and I really needed to dig deep and come back positive this morning. A huge thank you to my family and all of the fans for pushing me on - I couldn't have done it without them. Nico had a pretty big gap at the beginning of the race but I kept pushing and was happy with my pace. After extending my first stint, we switched to the prime tyres and I honestly couldn't believe the pace that I had and was closing up to Nico. Of course, he then had a problem and I saw him pull over. It's a shame for the team and I never want to see a team-mate fall behind - I always want to battle it out - but I'm sure we will get to do it again in the future. It's been a rollercoaster weekend and to come away with the win after a day like yesterday is fantastic, so thank you to everyone in the team for all their hard work. I'm proud to have done it for them here - so close to our factories in Brackley and Brixworth.
Nico Rosberg: It's a pity what happened today as I lost a lot of points in the Championship. We are always aiming for 100 % reliability but unfortunately that didn't work out for me today. I had a small issue in the installation lap but the car felt great in the beginning. By lap 20, though, the gearbox started to become a serious problem and from then it got worse. I tried to get it into some safety settings, let Lewis through and just keep going until the end of the race. But there was nothing we could do so I had to stop the car. All I can do is accept that these things happen and work with the team to find out what went wrong. It's a shame for the race in a way, as it could have been a great battle against Lewis, but congratulations to him for the win. Now we are heading to Germany with the quickest car and I'm looking forward to a home Grand Prix for both Mercedes-Benz and myself.
Toto Wolff: It was a day of two halves for the team - a fantastic result for Lewis at his home race and disappointment for Nico when he had to retire. First, the positive aspect: Lewis drove a faultless race today. He made up positions at the start and in the opening laps after the restart, then it was shaping up to be a big battle until Nico started to suffer the gearbox problems. But what I want to praise most of all is Lewis' approach today. He had a bad qualifying session but he arrived at the circuit this morning in such a positive frame of mind and determined to perform - and he did that for his home fans. It was a great performance that showed his mental strength. Nico was doing a great job leading the race today and handled his retirement like the professional he is: he understands that this is part of motor racing and that we still have a long way to go this year. For our team, it's great to win at Silverstone for the second year in a row, so close to our factories in Brackley and Brixworth. And for Mercedes-Benz, it's a special day too - to win on the 60th anniversary of the company's first victory with Juan Manuel Fangio. It's a proud day for all of us.
Paddy Lowe: It's fantastic to produce a win at our home circuit and I'd like to dedicate this to all our team-mates in Brackley and Brixworth - I know they will have been living through every second with us, so this one is for you all. Our W05 Hybrid car was very strong today: Silverstone is a benchmark circuit not just for engine performance but also for aerodynamic efficiency, and we saw incredible pace from Nico and Lewis in the opening stint. There we had two of the best drivers in the world, right on the limit, fighting tooth and nail - and every sector of every lap counted. It was great to watch. We decided to put the drivers on different tyre strategies, with Nico planning to run option/option/prime - and Lewis offset on the slower option/prime/option strategy, which could have given him a chance to challenge for the lead in the closing laps. It was shaping up that way until Nico's problems. It was a real blow to lose Nico's car: there was an early sign of a problem with a strange downshift, then it went away for 10 laps before recurring. We tried to change settings to remedy the situation but ultimately he lost drive and had to retire. But on the positive side, Lewis delivered a fantastic home win for the crowd - and it couldn't have been better at Silverstone's 50th British Grand Prix. It's eight wins in nine races now, which is an amazing statistic, but today also reminded us that we need to keep focusing on every small detail if we want to maintain that level of performance.
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