Formula One news

Hamilton: Home GP is biggest

As 'Lewis-mania' works itself into a frenzy in the build up to this weekend's British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he wants to win for his supporters. He also said that there is no bigger race on the F1 calendar than Silverstone and he is relishing the chance to impress in front of his home crowd.

Hamilton said: "Without a doubt, the Santander British Grand Prix will be the biggest race of the year for me, as it's my debut home race. It is going to be another new experience, I expect the atmosphere will be incredible and I cannot wait to race in front of my home fans. To win at this race would be immense, but we have to be realistic with our expectations. This is one race out of 17 and as with all the Grands Prix, I will do my best to win for the fans, but the most important thing for them is to enjoy the whole weekend whatever the result will be."

The 22-year-old will be hoping that he can do a repeat performance of last year when he wowed the spectators with some audacious driving in the GP2 series. Hamilton won both races but was hailed for his emphatic double overtaking manoeuvre on Clivio Piccione and bitter rival Nelson Piquet jr. around Becketts at high speed, which prompted Piquet to take evasive action as Hamilton muscled pass. The move was compared to one of the best overtaking stunts of all time - that of another McLaren driver - Mika Hakkinen's move on Riccardo Zonta and Michael Schumacher at Spa in 2000. 

The crowd found the spectacle breathtaking and after the race there was a queue of fans lining up to tell him that the F1 race was boring compared to him. Speaking to him afterwards he was in no doubt that that was his best race to date and it officially put him on the F1 map. After that weekend, rumours spiralled that Hamilton would be in contention for a drive with McLaren the next season until he was confirmed in November. Thus it comes as no surprise that Hamilton remembers his last race weekend at Silverstone fondly.

He added: "Silverstone always seems to have great races. I certainly had fun here last year as you can really push the limits. That weekend with GP2 last year is something I will never forget; the response from the crowd was like nothing I had ever experienced before and I can't wait to get back out on track."

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