SILVERSTONE 2008: ‘He was determined to be the best that day’ – Hamilton’s mesmerising first home win remembered by team mate Kovalainen

On this day 15 years ago, Lewis Hamilton produced one of the most spectacular performances of his burgeoning career up to that point – and one that remains at the sharp end of the list – with an utterly dominant display in a severely rain-hit 2008 British Grand Prix. To mark the occasion, we sat down with his team mate that season and weekend, Heikki Kovalainen, to tell the story from inside the McLaren camp, and how it was the Finn who held the advantage before the weather conditions changed…

Following a 2007 campaign full of flashpoints on and off the track, once Fernando Alonso had returned to Renault after a stormy single season at McLaren, it was the up-and-coming Kovalainen who filled the McLaren void for 2008 alongside Hamilton – who was determined to make up for the world title he had recently and agonisingly missed out on.

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