Lewis Hamilton achieved something historic on Sunday: The Mercedes driver not only achieved GP victory number 104 after 945 days without a win, but also won his home Grand Prix for the ninth time. No one before Hamilton had ever achieved nine GP victories on one track. The fact that Hamilton managed this feat at his home race of all places was enough to make even him shudder.
Home wins are something very special in Formula 1. After Charles Leclerc’s victory in Monaco, it was already the second home win of the 2024 Formula 1 season. Appropriately, the current print edition of Motorsport-Magazin.com in the popular series ‘Top 5’ is about exactly that: The most beautiful home wins in F1 history. To mark Lewis Hamilton’s success, we are publishing the print article here free of charge.
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5. Schumacher in Germany 1995
The first German to win in Germany
“This home victory is in no way inferior to my world championship title,” said Michael Schumacher after his first victory in Hockenheim. On July 30, 1995, Schumacher crowned himself the first German driver to win an F1 race in Germany. The record world champion started from second place. World championship rival Damon Hill in the Williams took pole and won the start. But Hill’s race came to an abrupt end in the second lap. In the north curve, the Briton went off the track and crashed into the tire wall at around 200 km/h. The way was clear for Schumacher in the Benetton, who then dominated the race and took his first home victory in front of 120,000 fans. Around 7.3 million viewers in Germany watched the spectacle on TV. After him, Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg managed this feat.
4. Lewis Hamilton in Great Britain 2008
In a class of its own in the rain
Lewis Hamilton celebrated his first victories early on. However, he was unable to win in his home country for a long time. Instead, Hamilton attacked again in 2008 – and how. The British Grand Prix was to be Hamilton’s highlight in 2008. The conditions were wet, many drivers struggled with their cars. His World Championship rival even spun several times and finished 13th. Incidentally, that was nominally last place; all other vehicles were eliminated. Not so Hamilton. In front of his home crowd and in pouring rain, the Briton held his nerve. He drove his McLaren over a minute ahead of second-placed Nick Heidfeld in the BMW-Sauber. Only second and third places actually stayed on the same lap as Hamilton, who put in an impeccable performance that day. Even after 104 race wins, the first home win remains one of the most dominant.
3. Niki Lauda in Austria 1984
Two courses for the World Cup
“In retrospect, that was the most important race for me,” said Niki Lauda. The Austrian celebrated his last world championship in 1984. But it almost never came to that. He almost lost his home victory in Austria. After his world championship rival Alain Prost was eliminated, Lauda took the lead. The home victory at the Österreichring seemed certain, but suddenly Lauda slowed down. The reason: a gearbox failure. Lauda limped towards the pits, unable to change gear. On the way there, he tried the different gears and found that fifth gear still worked! Half a lap later, third gear also returned. Lauda, still in the lead, won his home race with only two gears. At the end of the year, Lauda won the world championship ahead of teammate Alain Prost by just half a point. Without third and fifth gear, that would hardly have been possible.
2. Ayrton Senna in Brazil 1991
Against all odds
Ayrton Senna is and remains one of the highlights of the premier class. He still holds a very special position in Brazil. But he was never able to win his home GP until 1991. And in 1991, too, he was hanging by a thread. Senna started from pole and led the race confidently, but he too suffered the same fate as Lauda. With a third of the race left, Senna lost fourth gear. Fortunately, rival Nigel Mansell suffered a flat tire and had to let go of the Brazilian. But shortly afterwards, two more gears stood in Senna’s way to the home victory. A few laps before the end, he also lost third and fifth gear. Riccardo Patrese in the second Williams was coming fast – and to make matters worse, it started to rain in Interlagos. But the national hero persevered and won his home GP with a lead of almost three seconds. His cries of joy on the radio remain in the minds of many Senna fans to this day.
1. Nigel Mansell 1987
Amidst thousands of fans
One part of a home victory in Formula 1 is performance. Withstanding the pressure of the thousands of home fans, the family, the team and, last but not least, the pressure yourself. All the drivers on this list managed that. But Nigel Mansell’s victory celebration after crossing the finish line was something very special. Throughout the entire Grand Prix, Mansell fought against teammate Nelson Piquet, who was then a two-time world champion. With a thrilling overtaking maneuver three laps from the end in Stowe, Mansell snatched victory. He saw the checkered flag 1.9 seconds ahead of Piquet. The cheering in the stands was boundless – and it spread incredibly quickly. Not for nothing: After all, Mansell was in the middle of a world championship battle against Piquet at that point. But he was to lose. What he did not lose was the cheering of the British fans. They stormed onto the track to celebrate their hero. Mansell had to stop his car in the midst of thousands of cheering fans. To this day, these are unique scenes in the premier class.
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