"I felt stronger than ever this weekend in the car," says a beaming Hamilton after winning at Silverstone for third year in a row
Monday 11 July 2016 14:17, UK
Lewis Hamilton praised the "electrifying" British GP crowd for spurring him on to his fourth British GP win - as the world champion declared he felt "at my strongest".
The Mercedes driver all-but wiped out team-mate Nico Rosberg's season-long championship lead at Silverstone with his fourth win in the last five races after dominating a challenging wet-dry race from the front.
Becoming the first British driver to win four races at Silverstone, and the first from any country to claim three in a row, Hamilton soaked up the atmosphere created by the crowd of 130,000 and, in probably an F1 first, crowd-surfed with fans who had spilled on to the pit straight after the race.
Hamilton was full of praise for the home crowd - and said he had performed at his very best.
"We unequivocally have the best fans in the world here. In Italy, of course, they've got good fans but the passion here is equal, if not greater," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.
"I like to think I'm getting stronger. Even though I'm getting older, I definitely think I'm in my prime right now.
"It's been a year of growth. Lots of ups and downs and problems we've had, it's been an opportunity for growth and learning. Today I feel light, I feel energetic, I feel great.
Analysis: How Hamilton won the 2016 British GP
"I felt stronger than ever this weekend in the car and I'm sure a large portion of that is the fans. Their energy is electrifying and in the car I felt that."
After a start to the season blighted by technical problems, collisions and poor race starts, Hamilton dropped 43 points behind Rosberg in the battle for the 2016 title.
Asked if now felt he had a psychological edge having pegged his team-mate back, Hamilton replied: "When I'm at my strongest I don't feel (I have) any problems - let's just leave it at that.
"And I do feel at my strongest right now. I'm just going to make sure I arrive at (Hungary) the same.
"We have our ups and downs and our dips, but energy, physically I feel I can go again. I'm ready to go!"
