LONDON • A lucky Lewis Hamilton limped to a record seventh home British Grand Prix victory after his Mercedes suffered a dramatic last-lap puncture yesterday.

In an astonishing end to a race he had dominated from pole position, the Briton hung on to stretch his Formula One world championship lead to 30 points despite the tyre nearly falling off the wheel rim.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished second, but would have won had he not pitted for fresh tyres in a successful late bid to score an extra point for the fastest lap, after assuming that victory was out of reach.

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was third, another surprise for a team struggling for performance, after Hamilton's teammate and closest rival Valtteri Bottas failed to score.

He also suffered a late puncture with two laps to go to drop from second to 11th, despite a one-two finish for the pair having looked a nailed-on certainty until late in the race.

"I have definitely never experienced anything like that on the last lap," said six-time world champion Hamilton after inspecting his deflated front tyre. "Up until that, everything was relatively smooth sailing.

"The tyres felt great. I heard that his (Bottas') tyre went and I was just looking at mine and everything seemed fine. The car was still turning no problem. Those last few laps, I started to back off and then just down the straight, it just deflated.

"That was definitely a heart-in-the-mouth kind of feeling. You could see it falling off the rim. From then, I was just managing it and I was just praying to get round and not be too slow.

"I didn't think I would make it round the last two corners. I was just praying to get around and not be too slow. I nearly didn't get around the last few corners. Thank God we did."

The victory was the 87th of Hamilton's F1 career - leaving him four short of equalling Ferrari great Michael Schumacher's all-time record of 91 - and probably the luckiest as Mercedes, chasing a seventh successive title double, took home their fourth chequered flag in as many races.

Verstappen's race engineer summed it up over the team radio, saying: "He's a lucky boy."

But the Dutchman felt that finishing on the podium was a bonus, given the Silver Arrows' speed before the unforeseen turn of events.

"It was lucky and unlucky," he said. "Mercedes were too quick. The tyres didn't look great with 10 laps to go, they didn't look pretty.

"Valtteri got a puncture, then they boxed me to go for the fastest lap, then Lewis got a puncture. But second is a good result.

"I told my engineer to drink and to stay hydrated. It was pretty lonely; I was just managing my pace and looking after the tyres."

Hamilton and Bottas were not the only drivers to suffer a bad stroke of luck at the end.

McLaren's Carlos Sainz fell from fourth to 13th on the last lap because of a late puncture, leaving the Spaniard, who will join Ferrari next season, frustrated.

"I am disappointed, not going to lie," he said. "At the same time, everything was done correctly until the last two laps so I cannot be too tough on the team or myself."

REUTERS