SILVERSTONE, U.K -- As Lewis Hamilton walked away from Mercedes' pre-race strategy meeting on Sunday morning, he had a clear plan of how to win the British Grand Prix. Starting from second on the grid behind teammate Valtteri Bottas he knew it wouldn't be easy, but nothing - not Bottas, not Pirelli's temperamental tyres, not even the British weather - was going to get in his way.
As events transpired, a well-timed Safety Car gifted him the jackpot of a free pit stop and the lead of the race on lap 20, but this was not a lucky victory.