Lewis Hamilton opens up on the lasting impact Abu Dhabi 2021 GP had on him: "It's taken a long time for sure to heal that kind of feeling"

After winning the British GP for a ninth time on Sunday, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton claimed that the Abu Dhabi 2021 season finale had a lasting impact on him and it had taken a long time to heal from it. The seven-time world champion started the race on Sunday from P2 behind his teammate George Russell and was looking like second-best in the opening phase of the race.

However, he slowly started to claw back into the lead of Russell in front and passed him as it started to rain and the conditions became damp. But he wasn't able to hold the lead for long and was overtaken by the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

The Mercedes driver showcased his prowess in the difficult conditions as he took the race lead again on Lap 40 after undercutting Norris in the pitstops and held on for the win from a fast-approaching Max Verstappen.

The win is Lewis Hamilton's first since the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP and the 104th of his illustrious career. In the post-race press conference, the 39-year-old spoke about the pain of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP where he lost the title to Verstappen in controversial fashion on the last lap. He said:

"I think only time will tell. What I can say is that I'm not giving up. I feel like I'm making the right decisions with my life, with how I prepare and how I manage my time, the decision I've taken, for example, for next year, the commitment I still have to this team, and the love that I still have for this team and the love that I still have for my job. I really, really love this job."

"Honestly, when I came back in 2022, I thought that I was over it. And I know I wasn't and it's taken a long time for sure to heal that kind of feeling. And that's only natural for anyone that has that experience. And I've just been continuing to try and work on myself and find that inner peace day by day," he added.

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Lewis Hamilton speaks about the 'emotional' win at Silverstone

Lewis Hamilton stated that the feeling of the 2024 British GP was incomparable to any of his previous eight victories at the iconic Silverstone track.

He told the media:

"I think being at your home Grand Prix, That's the longest stint that I've not had a win, 945 days. And the emotion that's accumulated over that time. So this one feels, could be one of the most special ones for me, I think, if not the most special one."

With the win, Lewis Hamilton has closed the gap to George Russell in P7 to one point and also to Sergio Perez, who is just eight points ahead of him in P6, in the Driver's Championship.