Lewis Hamilton has revealed he went through mental struggles before winning the British Grand Prix on Sunday.
The victory at Silverstone ended a two-and-a-half-year wait for a race win stretching back to 945 days when he won the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
It was a season where the 39-year-old and Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen went toe to toe for the championship which eventually went to the latter after an epic battle in the finale in Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton’s victory at Silverstone was his ninth and made him the driver with most wins at any circuit while he became the first driver to win a Grand Prix after 300 races under his belt.
“My heart is racing. I had so many times here in the past. When I came across that line something released in me I guess I have been holding on to for a long time,” the 39-year-old said.
“It was the most emotional end to a win I’ve ever experienced. I always wondered why I’ve never cried. I used to see Rubens Barrichello crying… and I was like, that doesn’t happen to me but it hit me hard. I think after such a difficult 2021, just tried to continue to come back but also as a team we’ve had a really difficult time.
“There were just so many thoughts and doubts in my mind along the way to the point of times where I wanted to not continue. To arrive and to continue to get up, to continue to try, and finally succeed, it’s honestly the greatest feeling I can remember having.”
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Hamilton added: “The feeling, it feels different to previous races, and particularly races where you’re having race after race after race, or seasons where you’re having multiple wins
“I think with the adversity 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 up out of bed every day and give it our best shot.
“There are so many times when you feel like your best shot is not good enough, and the disappointment sometimes that you can feel. We live in a time where mental health is such a serious issue, and I’m not going to lie, I have experienced that.
“There’s definitely been moments where the thought that this was it, that it was never going to happen again. So to have this feeling coming across the line, I think honestly, I’ve never cried coming from a win. It just came out of me. It’s a really, really great feeling. I’m very, very grateful for it.”
Hamilton’s victory meant Mercedes recorded back-to-back race wins after George Russell’s unlikely win at the Austrian Grand Prix.
