Lewis Hamilton is back. 

It was a sweet home race victory for Hamilton as he returned to the top podium in the British Grand Prix on Sunday. 

This marked his 104th race victory, and his 9th in the Silverstone track, which broke Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher's record for most wins at a single circuit. 

Hamilton, who is currently tied with Schumacher with the most championship titles with 7, started on P2 behind fellow British driver and Mercedes teammate George Russell. 

Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the Formula One British Grand Prix at the Silverstone motor racing circuit in Silverstone, central England, on July 7, 2024. Benjamin Cremel, AFP

Tailing behind at P3 was another British driver Lando Norris of McLaren, followed by championship leader Max Verstappen of the Red Bull team. 

Russell was posing to convert his P1 qualification to his second consecutive race win, but Mercedes had to retire him at lap 34 due to a suspected water system failure in his car. 

This had the German team placing all its bets on Hamilton, who was racing his last races with the team before joining Ferrari in 2025. 

Hamilton and Norris exchanged race leadership, but a slower pit stop for Norris at lap 40 cost him to drop to P2 and be on defense against a raging Red Bull no. 1 car in tow. 

While Verstappen and Norris both setting a fastest lap record, Hamilton, who must have memorized the British track by heart, cruised in well enough to maintain his hold of the rein. 

With Norris and Verstappen closing in on each other, it was almost a replay of their tough battle in the Austrian GP in the previous round that resulted in the McLaren driver's DNF and the Dutch driver's P5 result. 

Verstappen was able to overtake Norris at lap 48, and Norris' interval to P2 did not close in enough to mount a challenge to regain his position. 

Hamilton got past the checquered flag first—waved by Queen's Brian May—-followed by Verstappen, then Norris. 

Emotions ran high among the British GP crowd, but not as much with Hamilton and his team as heard from their team radio exchanges. 

His race engineer Peter Bonnington, or Bono, was the first to congratulate him with a cheery "You're the man!"

"Oh, mate, I've been waiting for this. Thank you so much, guys. This means a lot, this means a lot to get this one. And big thank you to all the fans here," Hamilton said in a shaky voice.

"We will prevail, we never give up, and a sign off for our drive trajectory here on the British Grand Prix. We could not wish for anything better," Mercedes team principal and CEO Toto Wolff said.  

A race marshal handed Hamilton the Union Flag, which he waved as he drove the remainder of the track to the delight of the home crowd. 

His father Anthony Hamilton was waiting for him on the stands, and they shared an emotional embrace, all the while the audience kept on cheering on. 

Hamilton's win made him the first driver to win a race after 300 race starts. 

This was also his first race victory since the Saudi Arabian GP in 2021. It had been 945 days since, ESPN reported. 

Verstappen still holds the title leadership with 255 points. Hamilton is 8th with 110. 

Next round is the Hungarian GP set on July 21.