Lewis Hamilton: “This is what I could do, it was a crazy race”

Lewis Hamilton he labeled his British Grand Prix race “crazy”, after beating Felipe Massa for less than a tenth of a second.

The McLaren driver finished the race in fourth position, having saved fuel in the final part of the race. Massa caught up with the Englishman on the final lap, and the duo finished side by side coming out of the final corner, touching, with Massa careening off the track and crossing the finish line 0.024 seconds behind his rival.

“This was what I could do. It was madness,” said Hamilton. “First of all, the team did a fantastic job with all the pit stops today, coming here with the support we had… I've never seen so many people as at Silverstone.”

“The support we have here is beyond anything a rider could get, I think. A huge thank you for that. I could feel them pushing me and I had a good start and moved up a few positions."

“Unfortunately, at the end, with 21 laps to go or something like that, I had to start saving fuel. So much. I had to give the position to Webber and on the last lap they told me I could push again and I was like 'Oh, thanks, after I let Massa catch me'. But I had no intention of giving up the position to him, in any way."

Hamilton admitted he felt frustrated at having to save fuel during the race, as he was ahead of Webber, who finished on the podium.

“You always drive at the limit and certainly I think of those in front, the Ferraris and the Red Bulls, they didn't seem to have to save fuel, so it wasn't very good for us. They told me to maintain a certain delta, but I wanted to make sure I was always there; I didn't want to save too much fuel and I wanted to make sure I maintained my position."

The Briton joked that he expected to be called by the stewards after the last few races.

“I have, so to speak, a platinum card for the commissioners, so I expected to be called by the commissioners! Now I'm going straight to the stewards – I'll just sit and wait – rather than going back and forth."

The teammate Jenson Button he had another disappointing British Grand Prix, after being forced to retire, when his front right tire was not properly secured after a pit stop.

“As I turned slightly, the wheel came off and I stopped immediately. Very disappointing. We all make mistakes, let's hope it never happens."

“It was also disappointing because I was in front of the home crowd – there were a couple of good battles and the pace was very good before my pit stop. Everything was going quite well and I think I would have managed to be alongside Webber, if not in front of him, at the time of the stop."

“A lot could have happened and there's always the possibility of a podium when you're that far ahead and the pace is good.”

Alessandra Leoni