Five of the best British F1 wins at Silverstone

2008 British Grand Prix - Lewis Hamilton 

Lewis Hamilton turned in a stunning performance in extremely difficult conditions to earn the first of a record eight British Grand Prix wins at Silverstone. 

Heavy rain left the track treacherously wet but Hamilton thrived in the challenge. A lightning-quick start immediately rocketed Hamilton from fourth on the grid and up to second as he briefly challenged McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen for the lead through the opening corners. 

It took Hamilton just five laps to move into the lead as he sailed past Kovalainen at Stowe, which was met by a huge roar from the home crowd. 

On a day when his title rival Felipe Massa spun his Ferrari no fewer than five times, Hamilton took himself to another level with a mesmerising drive to finish over a minute clear of Nick Heidfeld, having lapped every car up to third-placed Rubens Barrichello. 

It remains one of the greatest and most dominant displays in F1. 

1987 British Grand Prix - Nigel Mansell

A three-time winner at Silverstone, Nigel Mansell’s best home performance came in 1987 as he claimed his first triumph at the Northamptonshire venue. 

Amid a fierce world championship fight, Mansell and Williams teammate Nelson Piquet engaged in a dogfight for the win at Silverstone. The race appeared to be heading Piquet’s way when Mansell was forced into the pits for an unplanned tyre change. 

Mansell found himself almost half a minute behind Piquet but utilised his fresh rubber to mount one of the greatest comeback charges to catch his teammate over the next 28 laps. With just two laps remaining, Mansell launched an audacious dive at Stowe to pass Piquet and cap off a staggering fightback. 

It was a hugely popular and emotional win for Mansell, whose car ran out of fuel on the slowing down lap. Mansell mania then took hold at Silverstone and the home hero was engulfed by hundreds of delirious fans who invaded the track, sparking jubilant celebrations. 

He would go on to win at Silverstone again in 1991 and during his title-winning campaign in 1992. 

Sensational move, popular win @nigelmansell doing what he did best #OnThisDay in 1987 #BritishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/2MsA14WKzb

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 12, 2021

2000 British Grand Prix - David Coulthard

A year after winning his first British Grand Prix in 1999, David Coulthard secured back-to-back wins at Silverstone with a brilliant drive from fourth on the grid in 2000. 

Coulthard reeled in Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello and swept around the outside of the Brazilian at Stowe with a great pass to snatch the lead on Lap 30.

The Scot built up a comfortable lead to cover off Barrichello, who then spun out when he suffered a loss of hydraulic pressure. 

Coulthard came under late pressure from charging McLaren teammate and two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen but held on to claim his second consecutive victory on home soil. 

After his flurry of Silverstone success, Coulthard would never again stand on the British Grand Prix podium. 

1994 British Grand Prix - Damon Hill

After Damon Hill had beaten title rival Michael Schumacher to pole position by just 0.003s, a bizarre incident on race day saw Schumacher twice overtake the Williams driver on the formation lap before dropping back to his P2 starting berth. 

Hill kept Schumacher behind when the lights went out and pulled away out front, before his main rival was hit with a five-second stop-go penalty on Lap 14 for overtaking on the parade lap. 

Remarkably, Schumacher failed to serve his penalty and was shown the black flag twice. After an apparent misunderstanding, Schumacher finally took his penalty at the end of Lap 27. 

Hill claimed the victory to cut the gap to Schumacher in the world championship, while the German was disqualified and later banned for two races for ignoring the black flags. 

1995 British Grand Prix - Johnny Herbert

Johnny Herbert secured his maiden grand prix victory on home soil in a race he will never forget, even if he enjoyed a rather large slice of fortune en route to victory. 

The hugely likeable Brit, who started fifth, profited from the misfortune of his rivals to land a popular victory in front of a delighted home crowd. 

Running third, Herbert was promoted into the lead when Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher collided at Priory on Lap 46 and were left stuck in the gravel trap. 

Herbert was overtaken by David Coulthard, but a stop-go penalty for the Williams driver dropped him to third and enabled Herbert to take the first win of his F1 career at the 74th attempt. 

It marked Herbert’s only podium finish at the British Grand Prix. 

Jenson Button’s Silverstone misery 

Jenson Button endured something of a home hoodoo and seemed to be cursed when it came to the British Grand Prix. 

Despite earning 50 podium finishes throughout his F1 career, the 2009 world champion never once stood on the rostrum at Silverstone. 

In 17 British Grand Prix starts, Button’s best-placed finish was fourth, which he achieved on three occasions in 2004, 2010 and 2014. 

Button missed out on third place to Nico Rosberg by just 0.6s in 2010, while in 2014 he started third on the grid after capitalising on mixed conditions in qualifying. 

But once again he would end up just shy, having failed to find a way past Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull in the closing stages.