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F1: Hamilton wins British GP as Rosberg penalised

The race started with six laps behind the safety car after a heavy shower, though it had stopped raining by the time the grand prix began.
3 min read11 Jul '16
Staff WriterStaff Writer
2K+ views

Lewis Hamilton took a comfortable victory in a rain-hit British Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate Nico Rosberg, who was penalised for a breach of radio rules after a lengthy review.

Reigning world champion Hamilton, who secured his third straight Silverstone win, crossed the line 6.9 seconds clear of Rosberg with Red Bull's Max Verstappen taking his second successive podium in third after splitting the Mercedes for much of the race.

Verstappen nearly grabbed second when Rosberg ran into late gearbox problems.

The German was told to shift quickly through seventh gear and given a line of advice on settings, messages the stewards investigated. Eventually, Mercedes was found guilty of breached the restrictions on team radio.

The race started with six laps behind the safety car after a heavy shower, though it had stopped raining by the time the grand prix began.

Several drivers, led by Kimi Raikkonen in fifth, dived straight into the pits for intermediates when the safety car pulled in but Hamilton, Rosberg and Verstappen chose to stay out.

It proved to be smart decision as the virtual safety car was introduced when Pascal Wehrlein beached his Manor in the gravel, allowing the top three to pit and rejoin with a sizeable gap on the rest.

Verstappen coped with the drying track better than Rosberg, carrying far more speed through Becketts and then passing around the outside within the high-speed complex for second before pulling away.

Sebastian Vettel started the trend for dry tyres soon afterwards, with the top three maintaining the same order as they moved to slicks.

Hamilton and Verstappen were caught out by a puddle at Abbey, pitching them over the runoff and allowing the top three to close to within five seconds just past half-distance.

Rosberg was quicker than Verstappen as the track continued to dry and after complaining that the Red Bull driver moved too many times in defence, he eventually made a move stick to snatch second around the outside of Stowe.

Rosberg then closed on Hamilton, getting the gap down from eight to six seconds before the gearbox scare halted his chase.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth for the fifth time in 10 races this season, with mid-race Raikkonen fifth after a late pass on Sergio Perez - who had gained ground by staying out on wets as long as the leaders - into Stowe.

Nico Hulkenberg was seventh, ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr and Vettel, who held onto ninth despite a five-second time penalty for forcing Felipe Massa off track at Village.

Raikkonen, Perez and Sainz all escaped excursions and spins at Abbey on the same slippery patch that caught out Hamilton and Verstappen.

Daniil Kvyat completed the top 10 to ensure Toro Rosso's fourth double-points finish of the season.

Massa missed out on points in 11th ahead of Jenson Button, who started 17th, and Fernando Alonso, who had a spectacular spin at Abbey and nudged the barrier before continuing.

Jolyon Palmer had a messy home race, with 10-second stop-go penalty after his Renault team released him in the pits without a right-rear tyre, and retired late on.

Rio Haryanto spun out at Abbey, tapping the barrier, while Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean and Marcus Ericsson also failed to see the chequered flag.

RESULTS - 52 LAPS:

Lewis HamiltonMercedes1h34m55.831s
2
Max VerstappenRed Bull/Renault8.250s
3
Nico RosbergMercedes16.911s
4
Daniel RicciardoRed Bull/Renault26.211s
5
Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1m09.743s
6
Sergio PerezForce India/Mercedes1m16.941s
7
Nico HulkenbergForce India/Mercedes1m17.712s
8
Carlos SainzToro Rosso/Ferrari1m25.858s
9
Sebastian VettelFerrari1m31.654s
10
Daniil KvyatToro Rosso/Ferrari1m32.600s
11
Felipe MassaWilliams/Mercedes1 Lap
12
Jenson ButtonMcLaren/Honda1 Lap
13
Fernando AlonsoMcLaren/Honda1 Lap
14
Valtteri BottasWilliams/Mercedes1 Lap
15
Felipe NasrSauber/Ferrari1 Lap
16
Esteban GutierrezHaas/Ferrari1 Lap
17
Kevin MagnussenRenaultGearbox
-
Jolyon PalmerRenaultGearbox
-
Rio HaryantoManor/MercedesSpun off
-
Romain GrosjeanHaas/FerrariTransmission
-
Marcus EricssonSauber/FerrariElectrical
-
Pascal WehrleinManor/MercedesSpun off

DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP

Nico Rosberg168
2
Lewis Hamilton167
3
Kimi Raikkonen106
4
Daniel Ricciardo100
5
Sebastian Vettel98
6
Max Verstappen90
7
Valtteri Bottas54
8
Sergio Perez47
9
Felipe Massa38
10
Romain Grosjean28
11
Nico Hulkenberg26
12
Carlos Sainz26
13
Daniil Kvyat23
14
Fernando Alonso18
15
Jenson Button13
16
Kevin Magnussen6
17
Pascal Wehrlein1
18
Stoffel Vandoorne1
19
Esteban Gutierrez0
20
Jolyon Palmer0
21
Marcus Ericsson0
22
Felipe Nasr0
23
Rio Haryanto0

CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP

Mercedes335
2
Ferrari204
3
Red Bull/Renault198
4
Williams/Mercedes92
5
Force India/Mercedes73
6
Toro Rosso/Ferrari41
7
McLaren/Honda32
8
Haas/Ferrari28
9
Renault6
10
Manor/Mercedes1
11
Sauber/Ferrari0

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