SILVERSTONE has renamed the pit straight in honour of Lewis Hamilton after his seventh world championship title.
Hamilton landed his latest title triumph last month and has been rewarded with this honour by the international circuit.
The British Racing Drivers’ Club, which owns Silverstone, announced the honour that the international pit straight will now be known as the Hamilton Straight.
It is the first time any of the circuit has been named after a driver.
Hamilton has an exceptional record at Silverstone, with six British Grand Prix wins on the current track layout.
This is AWESOME @SilverstoneUK will officially name the start-finish straight the ‘Hamilton Straight’. No other part of the circuit is named after a racing driver!
@LewisHamilton pic.twitter.com/MtYS468rl9
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) December 12, 2020
BRDC president David Coulthard said: “I was delighted, in my capacity as president of the BRDC, to share this news with Lewis today.
“It is the first time in Silverstone’s history that a part of the circuit has been named after any individual.
“Lewis has become a huge part of this history, and the directors of the club and I felt there was no better way to mark this than to re-name the iconic pits straight in recognition of his record-breaking achievements.”
Hamilton will be looking to sign off the season with a victory in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
But the world champion admitted he was not feeling great during qualifying as he took third place on the grid.
Hamilton was a doubt for the season finale after missing the Sakhir GP last weekend due to coronavirus.
The 35-year-old will be hoping his return to Silverstone, for the first time at Hamilton Straight, will be in front of fans at next summer’s British GP.
