Pledge to fans by Hamilton as Alonso wins at Silverstone (From The Northern Echo)

Pledge to fans by Hamilton as Alonso wins at Silverstone

12:11pm Monday 11th July 2011 in Formula One

LEWIS Hamilton has pledged to repay the legions of British fans for their overwhelming support with a Silverstone success story in the future.

Hamilton hailed yesterday’s race as one of the best British Grands Prix of all time, despite finishing fourth, 29 seconds behind Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.

But after all the negativity and flak that Hamilton has faced leading up to this race with regard to his driving style, his performance was vintage, and one in the eye for his critics.

The first few laps, in particular, showed McLaren star Hamilton at his best, weaving his way up to fifth from tenth on the grid and in tricky conditions given a rain shower that had soaked around three quarters of the circuit an hour before the start.

One brilliant manoeuvre on Alonso epitomised his courage, diving down the inside of the Spaniard into Copse where it was still wet having shortly beforehand switched to slick tyres.

There were brief hopes of victory soon after the second stop when he closed to within a second of Alonso, who at that stage had taken up the lead.

But it was not to be, not in a car lacking performance compared to the Ferrari and Red Bulls, with Sebastian Vettel edging team-mate Mark Webber to claim second and so open up an 80-point lead.

And certainly not after being told to save fuel 15 laps from home, allowing Felipe Massa to close in the dying stages.

That resulted in a titanic last-lap struggle and last-corner collision from which Hamilton just gained the upper hand to cross the line by centimetres from the Brazilian.

That was a measure of his never-say-die spirit, and some reward for the majority of a 120,000-plus crowd who had lifted him in the wake of his qualifying performance yesterday.

“I feel massively exhilarated,” said Hamilton.

“The conditions made it exciting, gave us a chance to get up there, and I was able to show my true talent and skill over those early laps.

“I was the fastest on the track, even though I didn’t have the best car, so that felt fantastic for me, and the fans were phenomenal.

“Even though we didn’t win, I still feel it has been one of the best Silverstone grands prix of all time.