Lewis Hamilton was left to reflect on the British Grand Prix win that got away after seeing his latest Silverstone victory bid ended in a blur of shredded Pirelli rubber.
The driver for the Brackley-based Mercedes team had looked on course to add to his masterful 2008 triumph at the Northamptonshire track when he surged into the lead from pole position in Sunday’s race.
The 28-year-old was comfortably holding the Red Bull of world championship leader Sebastian Vettel at bay when misfortune struck on lap eight.
As he accelerated down the Wellington Straight, Hamilton’s left-rear tyre suddenly exploded and left him wrestling for control in a manner reminiscent of Nigel Mansell’s famous blow-out in Adelaide in 1986.
Hamilton was not alone in suffering such a fate, with Felipe Massa, Jean-Eric Vergne and Sergio Perez also being hit by left-rear failures on an embarrassing day for the sport.
The Briton launched a superb recovery drive from last through to fourth, but there was a more than a tinge of frustration as his team-mate Nico Rosberg ultimately took the race win, capitalising on Sebastian Vettel’s gearbox failure to finish ahead of Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso.
He said: “I’m disappointed with the race and I would have loved to deliver the win for all the British fans here at Silverstone.
“The race started so well for us; I felt comfortable out in front and was managing my pace.
“The tyre problem was such a shame and from then it was just a case of giving it my all and battling as far up the field as possible.
“I had some good overtaking moves and, given another lap, I might have got Fernando and ended up on the podium.
“Everything considered, fourth place is pretty good after having been last.’’
Jenson Button has shared the burden of British victory hopes with Hamilton in recent years.
But McLaren’s current travails meant the 2009 world champion was never likely to secure his first British GP podium finish this year.
He eventually finished 13th after falling down the order following the second of two safety car periods, and was annoyed to have missed out on a top-10 finish as the decision not to make a third stop for fresh rubber backfired.
“Our pace wasn’t too bad, but the last stint was particularly tough,” said Button.
“After the final safety car, there wasn’t a lot of tread left on my tyres, so getting them up to temperature was very tricky - we struggle with that anyway.
“Into the closing laps, I was vulnerable. All the cars on fresher tyres were fighting to get past, and as soon as I went off-line to defend, it became even more difficult to get temperature back into the tyre.”
Paul di Resta, meanwhile, bounced back from the disappointment of losing his fifth place on the grid through the combination of he and his Force India being underweight, to take a battling ninth place.