Lewis Hamilton's British GP win ends long drought for F1 great ...

Lewis Hamilton had been marking the days since his most recent Formula 1 win, and the number was creeping toward 1,000.

After a brilliant performance Sunday in front of his home fans at the British Grand Prix, the tallying finally stopped for Hamilton -- at least in that regard. He can now count to 104 when it comes to his career total for F1 wins, with his first victory in 2 1/2 years extending his record for total GP triumphs on the international open-wheel circuit.

As the 39-year-old Mercedes driver celebrated at the Silverstone Circuit in his native England, there was a sense of relief mixed in with the joy.

"That's the longest stint without a win, 945 days. This could be one of the most special for me, if not the most special," said Hamilton, who had gone more than 50 grand prix starts without a victory. "There have definitely been moments when I thought it's never going to happen again."

Hamilton's decorated career, which includes a record-tying seven F1 season championships -- he shares the mark with Michael Schumacher, whose 91 GP wins rank second -- has featured long stretches when he made winning seem routine. He debuted in 2007 and won the Canadian GP, the sixth race that season, for his first victory, and he won at least once a year for the next 14.

However, Sunday's win was his first since the Saudi Arabian GP on Dec. 5, 2021, the penultimate race of the season when his streak of F1 championships ended at four in a row as Red Bull's Max Verstappen began a dominant run of titles that reached three straight last year.

With this year's 24-race schedule reaching the halfway point Sunday, it will be hard to keep the 26-year-old Dutch star from four titles in a row, but Sunday belonged to Hamilton in his last British GP with Mercedes before joining Ferrari next year.

"Leaving on a high," Hamilton said. "This is my last race here with this team, so I wanted to win this so much for them because I love them and I appreciate them so much."

At least as much as the fans appreciate him.

"My fans around the world have been so supportive," Hamilton said. "I was coming round, and there's just no greater feeling than to finish at the front here."

Many of the fans at Silverstone surely held a collective breath in the closing laps as Hamilton held off Verstappen's late charge and became the first F1 driver to win on any track nine times.

"For me, personally, it's the best track in the world," Hamilton said.

Hamilton edged Verstappen by 1.5 seconds, with Lando Norris third for McLaren ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri.

The emotion was obvious in Hamilton's voice thanked his team over the radio, and he struggled to compose himself later when he addressed the crowd.

"I'm still crying," Hamilton said.

There were high hopes for a home win at Silverstone with a trio of British drivers in the top three spots on the starting grid. Hamilton's Mercedes teammate George Russell was just ahead of him in pole position with Norris third, but Russell's hopes of a second straight F1 win -- he took the Austrian GP a week earlier -- ended on the 34th of 52nd scheduled laps due to a mechanical problem with the water system in his car.

Verstappen, who started fourth, overtook Norris with four laps left but could not catch Hamilton, to the delight of most of the 164,000 fans.

Moments after crossing the line, Hamilton jumped into the arms of mechanics before sharing a long hug with his father Anthony. Then it was time to absorb the applause from the home fans. Carrying a British flag, he jumped over a crash barrier and held it aloft.

"I can see you lap by lap; there's just no greater feeling," he told the cheering crowd.

At the start of the race, Russell and Hamilton got away cleanly as Verstappen overtook Norris. Rain started falling some 25 minutes later and made the 3.7-mile track more greasy, though, and after Hamilton took the lead from Russell on the damp surface, Norris took advantage of Russell's error to move into second.

Verstappen, Norris and both Mercedes cars pitted for new tires shortly after the midpoint, but McLaren kept Piastri out a little longer, which proved costly in the long run. After that, Norris was just more three seconds ahead of Hamilton while Verstappen was drifting back.

The next tire changes, with a little more than 10 laps remaining, proved crucial. The teams for Verstappen, Hamilton and Norris made quick changes, but McLaren took too long on the rear tires for Norris -- 4.5 seconds --and he came out 2.4 seconds behind race leader Hamilton with Verstappen making up ground fast.

"Pretty disappointed," Norris said. "Frustrating a few times this season when we've thrown away something which should have been ours."

Verstappen couldn't get close enough, though, and Hamilton's win made it six drivers who have won through the first 12 races this season. Last year's 22 total races were won by just three drivers, with 19 victories for Verstappen, two for his Red Bull teammate Sergio Pérez early in the year and one for Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr.

"There's many of us in the fight," Norris said. "I expect there will be good battles."

Although Verstappen is not winning as much this year -- he has won seven of 12 races, with Sainz, Norris, Ferrari's Charles LeClerc, Russell and Hamilton the other winners -- he is still extending his gap because Norris is consistently finishing behind him.

Verstappen is 84 points ahead of Norris in the standings, 255-171, with Leclerc third at 150. Despite collecting 25 points for his win, Hamilton is eighth with 110.

Sainz finished fifth Sunday, ahead of Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg as Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Alex Albon (Williams) and Yuki Tsunoda (RB) rounded out the top 10.

Perez apologized to Red Bull after qualifying in a dismal 19th, and he started from the pit lane as his team made multiple part changes. He wound up 17th, while Leclerc started 11th and finished 14th.

   AP photo by Luca Bruno / Lewis Hamilton celebrates on the podium after winning Formula 1's British Grand Prix on Sunday at England's Silverstone Circuit.