Hamilton rains supreme

6:27am Tuesday 8th July 2008

Lewis Hamilton followed in the footsteps of his hero Ayrton Senna on Sunday by becoming a wet-weather master.

Hamilton thrilled 90,000 rain-lashed fans at Silverstone, and millions more on television, by romping to a thrilling British Grand Prix victory.

Evoking memories of the way Senna was dominant in such conditions, Hamilton said: "He was spectacular in the wet. He once said if you can drive in the wet then you can do anything, and the top drivers do come to the fore."

The 23-year-old left his rivals trailing in the spray from his McLaren to join Sir Stirling Moss, Peter Collins, Jim Clark, Sir Jackie Stewart, James Hunt, John Watson, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, Johnny Herbert and David Coulthard as a winner on home soil.

After failing to score in the last two races in Canada and France, and with increasing pressure on his shoulders, Hamilton produced what he described as "the best victory I've ever had".

"Growing up I knew I wanted to master the wet, so throughout my career I've worked very, very hard to be sitting where I am," he added.

"But it also comes very naturally. I am very sensitive and I know when to push, when not to push, and this win was a result of that.

"It was so extreme out there, in some cases as extreme as Fuji last year," reflected Hamilton.

"Obviously, there wasn't as much rain, but they were such tricky conditions, and I had huge problems with my visor. I couldn't see a thing, and it was fogging up on the right side, so between turns one and two I had to lift the visor and clean it on the inside, drop it down, and then clean it again before Stowe."

The victory means that at the half-way point of the season there is a three-way tie at the top of the drivers' championship, with Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen also on 48 points, although Hamilton has a slight edge on countback.

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