SILVERSTONE, UK: World championship leader Lewis Hamilton survived a tense last lap drama with a deflated and shredded tire to clinch a record seventh victory in Sunday’s British Grand Prix, claiming “my heart almost stopped.”
The six-time world champion led from lights to flag, and through two safety car interventions, before he suffered a front left tire failure on his final lap, leaving him to nurse his Mercedes home with second-place Max Verstappen in hot pursuit in his Red Bull. He finished 5.9 seconds behind.
The Dutchman had inherited second when Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, running comfortably in second for most of the contest, was hit by the same problem, his front-left delaminating and deflating on his penultimate lap.
The Finn limped back to the pits and finished pointless in 11th place while his rivals slowed to preserve their rubber, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc taking third place behind Verstappen ahead of Daniel Ricciardo of Renault and Lando Norris of McLaren.
Hamilton’s victory was the 87th of his career and moved him within four of Michael Schumacher’s record of 91.
Norris’s teammate Carlos Sainz was also a puncture victim in the closing laps of an exciting race that saw him fall from fourth to 13th.
Esteban Ocon finished sixth in the second Renault ahead of Pierre Gasly of Alpha Tauri, Alex Albon in the second Red Bull, Lance Stroll of Racing Point and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, in his final season with Ferrari.
“In the last few laps, I started to back off and then on the last lap, it just deflated,” said Hamilton. “It was heart in the mouth. I nearly didn’t get round the last two corners. I was managing it and praying to get round and not be too slow. “I have definitely never experienced anything like that on the last lap and my heart definitely nearly stopped.” In the drivers championship, he leads with 88 points after four races, a lead of 30 ahead of the luckless Bottas.
“It was lucky and unlucky for us,” said Verstappen.
“The Mercedes were too quick. The tires didn’t look great with 10 laps to go and then Valtteri got a puncture and they boxed me to go for fastest lap ... Second is a
good result.” Leclerc said: “It was a tricky race — as soon as I heard Valtteri had a tire problem, I slowed down quite a lot. We took our opportunities.”
On another bright, but windy day, Hamilton overcame an imperfect start from his 91st pole position and record seventh in Britain.
He led as he pulled clear before a final corner collision, on the opening lap, involving Kevin Magnussen and the luckless Albon led to the first deployment of a safety car.
The Dane’s Haas car was on the outside of Albon’s Red Bull, with the Thai driver refusing to concede, when they crashed and Magnussen spun into a gravel trap, his front left wheel smashing off in the barriers. The stewards blamed Albon and gave him a five-second penalty. The safety car led the field for five laps before handing back to Hamilton who stayed in control until lap 13 when Daniil Kvyat suffered a right rear puncture and crashed heavily at Maggots, where both rear wheels smashed off his Alpha Tauri. He was unhurt, but a second safety car was required for five laps while debris was cleared.
This reduced the field to 17, Nico Hulkenberg having failed to start on his dramatic return, with Racing Point, as stand-in for coronavirus victim Sergio Perez.
The interruptions did nothing to halt Mercedes’ progress at the front, Hamilton and Bottas pulling clear of Verstappen with some ease.
By lap 30, the gap was eight seconds with Leclerc 14 seconds adrift.
Behind them, Grosjean and Sainz were engaged in a fierce battle for fifth, which saw the Frenchman weaving to resist at Brooklands. The Frenchman continued his aggressive approach, however, in a duel with Ricciardo.
It was duly noted by the stewards as more “moving under braking.” Ricciardo called it “sketchy.”
Hamilton wins seventh British Grand Prix on three wheels
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Hamilton wins seventh British Grand Prix on three wheels
John Cena, WWE superstar widely admired in Saudi Arabia, retires from in-ring competition
- Cena was one of a few WWE superstars such as Hulk Hogan who were admired in Saudi Arabia and the region
- His career spanned more than two decades on top of the sports entertainment landscape
RIYADH: John Cena officially retired from in-ring competition on Dec. 13 after competing his final match at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington, DC.
Cena, a 17-time world champion, tapped out to a sleeper hold after a brutal 24-minute match with rising Austrian superstar Gunther, a result which stunned and disappointed some fans but served to elevate Gunther’s status as a dominant force in the sport. Cena would not have left the world of sports entertainment without the long-standing tradition of paying it forward to elevate talent on the way out of the business.
The legendary superstar first announced his plan to retire from being an active member of the WWE roster in July of 2024 during the Money in the Bank Premium Live Event. Cena said that 2025 would be his last as an active in-ring performer and he embarked on a year-long farewell tour.
Cena was one of a select few of WWE Superstars such as Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin who were at the forefront of fans’ admiration in Saudi Arabia and considered as unofficial ambassadors to American sports, entertainment and pop culture.
This admiration only amplified after March 2018 through the partnership deal between the General Entertainment Authority and the WWE for an exclusive 10-year contract to hold multiple events in the Kingdom.
This partnership was a catalyst for Cena to hold a special place in the hearts of fans in the Kingdom. He has competed in three significant matches in Saudi Arabia. His first match in the Kingdom was during the Greatest Royal Rumble in April of 2018 where he defeated Triple H in the opening match of the event, which was also the first major WWE show in Saudi Arabia under the partnership.
His second match was in 2023 during November’s Crown Jewel where Cena lost to Solo Sikoa after a brutal match in which he endured nine Samoan Spikes from the rising Samoan star. In his final appearance in Saudi Arabia, John Cena defeated his long-time rival CM Punk to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship in the main event of the Night of Champions held last June in Riyadh.
Since the partnership began, major events such as Crown Jewel, Elimination Chamber, and King & Queen of the Ring have been held in the Kingdom. The partnership also includes the Royal Rumble in January 2026 and WrestleMania 43 in 2027 — the first times these events have been held outside of North America.
Cena began an illustrious career that spanned 26 years and started in November 1999 before signing a developmental contract with the WWE in 2001. His first televised WWE match was against WWE Hall of Fame inductee and Olympic gold medalist and former world champion, Kurt Angle, in the June 27, 2002 edition of WWE’s blue-branded show SmackDown.
Cena’s introduction to the WWE fanbase started when he answered Angle’s open challenge and introduced himself as possessing “ruthless aggression” before slapping Angle and starting the match.
At WrestleMania 20 in 2004, Cena defeated Big Show in the opening match to win his first championship in WWE, the US Championship at Madison Square Garden. This marked Cena’s first WrestleMania appearance and the beginning of his significant championship collection, and was a pivotal moment in his career.
A year later in 2005, Cena defeated John Bradshaw Layfield at WrestleMania 21 for his first WWE championship, marking his official transition to top star.
Cena is a ten-time Slammy Award winner, and has headlined WrestleMania a record six times. Cena holds a record of 17-WWE World Champion wins (14 WWE Championship, three World Heavyweight Championship) under his belt, only surpassing Ric Flair's 16 reigns, a record Flair held for years.
Cena is a two-time Royal Rumble winner (2008, 2013) and a one-time Money in the Bank winner (2012). He is recognized as both a Triple Crown and Grand Slam champion, holding the US Championship five times, Intercontinental Championship once, WWE Tag Team Championship twice, with The Miz and David Otunga, and World Tag Team Championship twice with Dave Batista and The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels.
Cena became the face of the WWE brand over the past two decades. He also enjoyed the accolade of being the longest-reigning face of the WWE brand before he transitioned to a part-time schedule around 2017 to focus on his acting career. He has built a significant career in film and philanthropy.
He holds the record for the most wishes granted by any celebrity for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, with more than 650 wishes fulfilled. In 2005, he released the rap album “You Can’t See Me,” which debuted at No. 15 on the US Billboard 200 chart.
Cena has successfully transitioned to acting, with notable roles in films such as
“Trainwreck,” “Blockers,” “Bumblebee,” “F9,” and “The Suicide Squad” as the character Peacemaker, which was also spun off as a superhero series for HBO Max.
