At Silverstone, Hamilton will be in search of a “real” trophy

According to our colleagues at the Daily Telegraph, the British Grand Prix organizers have posted online the image of the trophy that will be awarded to the winner next Sunday. On track to repeat his performance from last year, Lewis Hamilton does not hide his dismay: “We need to make better trophies,” he complains.

They are on par with those given in karting; it’s really disappointing. In Formula Renault, they were small boxes with a car in the middle. In Formula 3, they were not bad, and at the beginning of my career in F1, the trophies were really beautiful… But today they’re just ugly. I spoke to Bernie [Ecclestone] who brought in the guy responsible for the awards and I simply said, ‘You already know.’ he explains.

For Hamilton, it’s obvious. Moreover, he takes the example of his trophy received in Austria, a little less than two weeks ago: « The one in Austria was all wood, whereas the base at least should be silver, » he says, referring to his second place, usually represented by the grey metal in competition.

We actually learn that it was precisely his reward received after his victory at the last British Grand Prix that made him start questioning the negligence of the aesthetic of trophies: « Last year, they gave me a plastic thing, and I thought, “Where’s the gold trophy?” [referring this time to the golden trophy of the Royal Automobile Club Grand Prix] It’s a GP2 trophy, not an F1. The gold one is really special, it would be great if all countries could have one like it. »

Despite this, some will mention the so-called “bling-bling” side of the British driver, while others will see it more as a personal connection to the British Grand Prix, which would explain his demands regarding symbols. Winning at home is always special for a driver, and for Lewis Hamilton, when he wins at Silverstone (in 2008 and 2014), he goes on to become world champion a few months later.