Lewis Hamilton, who started his Formula 1 career at McLaren in 2007, and remains their last Champion admitted his former team's comeback at the 2023 British Grand Prix warms his heart.
McLaren supported Hamilton's junior racing career and gave him his F1 debut in 2007 when he finished runner up to Kimi Raikkonen, before snatching his first ever Title in 2008, and until today, remains the last F1 Champion for McLaren.
Hamilton was beaten by both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in Qualifying for the F1 race at Silverstone, but in the race, the seven-time F1 Champion was lucky with the timing of the Safety Car that was sent out after Kevin Magnussen broke down on track.
The Mercedes driver had not pitted at the time, and benefitted from a free pit stop which meant he jumped Piastri for third, as despite his best efforts, he could not beat Norris for second.
Hamilton has a special connection with the British Grand Prix and Silverstone, winning their eight times, more than an other driver, and despite being on the back foot this year, he somehow ended up on the podium, which also happened in 2022, and the Briton claims his home crowds give him extra strength.
Speaking on Sky Sports F1 after the race, Hamilton said: "The crowd gets better and better every year. I don't know how. It's the pinnacle every year. The energy everyone brings is phenomenal.
"I hoped it would rain a bit today but I'm grateful it didn't and everyone stayed dry. For us to get on the podium is huge. Congrats to Lando and McLaren - that's where I started. So to see them back doing so well warms my heart," he added.
Mercedes need to rear end of the car
Speaking in Mercedes race report, Hamilton reflected: "The Safety Car came at a beneficial moment for us but ultimately, that was the plan starting on the Medium tyre. We wanted to go long, and we did; it came at the right time, and we made some gains.
"For us to get on the podium is huge," he pointed out. "It's been an up-and-down season and we've still got a lot of work to do with our car. We've got strengths with it, particularly our long run. George had a great stint on the Soft tyre and mine on the Medium was really good too.
"As soon as we can improve the rear end we will be on our way. We just need to hold on to the good bits and add a few others," he concluded.
George Russell finished fifth in the other Mercedes, having also missed out on the chance of a free pitstop which the Safety Car presented.
"We wanted to be aggressive today and we had the chance to split the strategies," he said in Mercedes' race report. "The Soft tyre felt really strong in that first stint but unfortunately, it was very difficult to overtake Leclerc.
"There was some questionable defending at points but in the end, I managed to get past," he said of his on-track battles. "Having stopped for the Medium tyre, it was unfortunate timing with the Safety Car. Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes against you. Ultimately though, we only lost one position and without it, I still wouldn't have ended up on the podium.
"It didn't change a huge amount for my race, and we can take the positives that for the Team, it is good points in the Constructors' Championship," Russell concluded.
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