Lewis today took his 47th career victory - his fourth at Silverstone and fourth of the 2016 season so far. Nico completed a third Silver Arrows 1-2 of the season in P2.
Nico (171) leads the Drivers' Championship by four points from Lewis (167) in P2. Mercedes AMG Petronas (338) lead Ferrari (204) by 134 points in the Constructors' Championship.
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: This afternoon was Formula One at its best: probably the best fans in the world, a wet-dry race, loads of incidents and overtaking, and a fantastic home winner at the end of it all. On days like this, Lewis is unstoppable: he pulled the gap in the early laps, we made the perfect call on the strategy, then he controlled the race from there. He was calm all day, had everything under control and just nailed the race. Brilliant. For Nico, it was a bit trickier: running in the spray in the wet always costs lap time, then he had a long battle with Max. He lost out on the intermediates, but then was able to hunt him down after switching to the dry tyres and pulled off a great outside move into Stowe, one of the fastest points on the circuit. In the final laps, he was stuck in seventh gear, which was clearly a critical problem that would have resulted in failure. Our understanding of the rules is that this kind of message is allowed - it's not the kind of driver coaching the rules were designed to prevent - so we gave him the necessary information and he did a great job to hold his position and bring the car home. It's an amazing feeling for the whole team to win a fourth British Grand Prix in a row, in front of so many of our colleagues from our factories in Brixworth and Brackley. It will be a big celebration with our families this evening and then back hard to work in the morning. After so much drama already in 2016, it's amazing to think we haven't yet even reached the halfway point of the season...
Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical): A fantastic race result as the home Grand Prix for everyone at Brackley and Brixworth. We haven't had a 1-2 since Russia, so it's great to have both drivers up there on the top two steps once again. Our congratulations first and foremost to Lewis on a third consecutive home victory - his fourth in total thus far - and a really perfect weekend overall. We were spared the variability of a standing race start with the last-minute downpour. From there, we had two clean rounds of pit stops - benefitting nicely from a convenient VSC period for the switch to intermediates. Both were double-stops with the drivers arriving in quick succession, which is never an easy task, but were immaculately executed by the crew, so well done to them. As the race settled down from there, it was clear that Lewis was in control while Nico had a battle on his hands with Verstappen. The Red Bull was strong in the wet - likely due to their choice to run with a higher wing level over ultimate top speed. It was a great duel between the two of them, with Max managing to make his car very wide indeed but Nico eventually pulling off a fantastic move around the outside at Stowe corner to take the place. A crisis then developed six laps from the end when Nico's gearbox got stuck in seventh gear. To finish the race with minimal use of that gear while also fending off the advances of the Red Bull behind really was a great piece of driving, so we applaud him for that. A huge thank you and congratulations to everyone at Brackley and Brixworth for bringing us such performance from the car and the result today. A proud day for the team in front of a truly fantastic crowd.
Maurizio Arrivabene: We knew, coming here, that it would not be an easy track for us-but if you want to be on top, there must be no 'difficult' ones. This is a circuit which, power unit aside, puts a premium on other factors which we were lacking here. It's not the first time it happens, but perhaps it was much more apparent this weekend. In these conditions, we opted for a very aggressive strategy, pitting in for Intermediates after the initial Safety Car stint. Unfortunately, this choice did not pay off because of the Virtual Safety Car which came out immediately afterwards. But to be honest, the best we could have done was to gain one position in the race. Our drivers did a solid job, despite being hampered and somewhat frustrated by the technical issues we are aware of. Now we must turn the page, look ahead to Hungary and capitalize on the hard lesson we learned here.
Felipe Massa finished 11th and Valtteri Bottas 14th in the British Grand Prix. Valtteri started on wet tyres under safety car conditions, but switched to the intermediates when the safety car was called in. He was one of the first front-runners to switch to the intermediates on lap five, but struggled with the mixed conditions. He spun on lap 10 in the wet and fell to P13, before pitting on lap 16 for the medium compound tyre where he struggled with pace.
Felipe also started the race on wet tyres before stopping on lap six for intermediates. He made the switch to the medium compound tyre on lap 16 but couldn't make them last until the end of the race and was forced to pit for the soft compound on lap 38. The fresh tyres allowed him to gain a position late on as others around him struggled with degradation.
Both drivers retain their positon in the Drivers' Championships with Valtteri in seventh and Felipe in ninth, while the team stays fourth in the Constructors' Championship.
Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: We just didn't have the pace today. On top of that, Felipe ran out of tyres towards the end, so we had to pit and put on another set on which was a shame. It was a race to forget really so I'm not going to dwell on it too much. The rain at the start made our decisions more difficult, but we made the correct calls, and didn't do anything vastly different to anybody else, apart from our extra stop with Felipe. The car just wasn't quick enough to make any more progress in the race.
Christian Horner, Team Principal: "A fantastic race at our local track and a real fighting drive from Max. The highlight of which was passing Rosberg round the outside in Becketts. Unfortunately we didn't quite have enough pace in the dry conditions to stay ahead but it was very satisfying to get both cars to the finish in third and fourth. Daniel was unfortunate in losing a little bit of time under the Virtual Safety Car, he pitted at the optimum time and managed to clear Perez but the lead group was just too far down the road. Plenty of points in the Constructors' Championship and a great result in front of so many staff from our factory just down the road from here, and we may get better yet. We look forward to Hungary in two weeks' time and racing a track that hopefully will play to our strengths."
Sahara Force India scored 14 points in today's British Grand Prix as Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg raced to sixth and seventh places in a thrilling wet-dry race. This result represents the team's best ever showing at its local track.
Vijay Mallya, Team Principal & Managing Director: "Today's race was extremely entertaining and I am very happy with our team performance. It's our best ever result at Silverstone and we are now just 19 points adrift of fourth place in the championship. It wasn't an easy race by any means, especially with the track drying out so quickly in some places and remaining damp in others. Nico and Checo were both in the thick of the action all afternoon and did a splendid job to bring home 14 important points. We've shown today just how competitive we can be on one of the most demanding high-speed tracks of the year and I think there is even more potential to come in the second half of the season."
Renault Sport Formula One Team's British Grand Prix came to a frustrating end with a double retirement. Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen stopped on lap 38 and 50 respectively both with suspected gearbox problems. The mixed track conditions presented scant opportunity for advancement from their P18 and P16 starting positions, with both Jolyon and Kevin caught in traffic before their retirements.
The race got underway behind the safety car following heavy rain on the grid. Kevin started the race from sixteenth on full wet tyres and stopped for Pirelli intermediate tyres on lap five. He held station behind his team-mate and Romain Grosjean's Haas before a second stop to the medium compound slicks tyres on lap 17 while in sixteenth. He made a third stop to the soft tyres on lap 40 but retired 10 laps later with a suspected gearbox problem. He was running in sixteenth at the time.
Jolyon started on full wets from P18 and gained one position when the safety car was withdrawn. The Brit stopped on lap six for the intermediate tyres and closed the gap to Grosjean on the drying track. A second stop on lap 16 for medium tyres brought frustration, however, as he was released with only three of the four wheels. The resulting delay and penalty dropped him to the rear of the field. A retirement on lap 38 capped a disappointing day.
Fred Vasseur, Team Principal: "Not the best Grand Prix in our history. It was a difficult race for us and we will be looking into what caused a double retirement. Both Kevin and Jolyon had been driving well until then, but our pace was not strong enough today. We are testing next week and will be using that to ensure we are back on target for the next race."
Franz Tost (Team Principal): "We experienced a very exciting race because of the changing weather conditions. At the start it was very difficult for the drivers to find the correct balance between being aggressive and not spinning off the track. This also happened when they changed to the slick tyres. It was tricky out there and in fact we saw many offs in Turn 1. I must say that both Carlos and Daniil did a very good job because they kept the car on track and finished the race within the points - in P8 and P10 respectively - without any major problems. This is a good result for us, the team also did well strategy wise and it's positive that we can add another five points in the Constructors Championship. We now look forward to Budapest, a track that should suit our car well and where we should be fighting for good points."
Marcus Ericsson's heavy accident that happened in FP3 on Saturday still had an influence on the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, as the Swede had to pass another medical check this morning that allowed him to race. After starting the British Grand Prix from the pit lane, an electrical issue on the Sauber C35-Ferrari forced him to retire on lap 12. Felipe Nasr started the race in P21 and finished in P15.
Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: "We are very relieved that Marcus was uninjured after this severe accident yesterday. That this heavy impact had no consequences is also because Marcus is in a very good physical shape. It is a pity that his race was over in the opening phase due to an electrical issue. Felipe showed a good performance, especially in a phase of the race that was very demanding. The same applies to our crew - they did a very good job to rebuild Marcus' car after his accident. This strengthens the motivation of the whole team."
It was an uneventful home race for McLaren-Honda, Jenson Button finishing 12th and Fernando Alonso 13th after failing to make significant progress in the wet-to-dry conditions.
The opportunity to capitalise in the opening laps was negated by the decision to start the race behind the Safety Car. With few strategic options available, Fernando dropped places in the busy pit-lane as half the field stopped to switch from Full Wets to Intermediates. A lap-24 spin - on a wet track at Turn One - dropped him farther down the order, and a late switch to a fresh set of Primes failed to enable him to climb back into the top 10.
Jenson drove cleanly throughout, but his climb through the field slowed after everyone switched to dry-weather tyres. He pushed to close the gap to the top 10, but he eventually finished 12th.
Eric Boullier. Racing Director: "Obviously we aren't happy to have finished 12th and 13th in our home grand prix. Having said that, I want to say 'well done' to Jenson and Fernando, who both coped admirably in extremely challenging conditions, especially in the early stages of the race, when aquaplaning was a significant hazard. They never gave up, and continued to push, right to the end. Indeed, had Fernando not gone off when he was dicing with Felipe [Massa], he may well have scored points.
"Equally, I want to pay tribute to Honda, whose power units ran like clockwork all weekend. Next we go to the Hungaroring, whose tortuous nature we hope will suit our car's performance envelope rather better than has Silverstone this weekend.
"Last but very far from least, I want to say a final 'thank you' on behalf of all at McLaren-Honda to the Silverstone crowd, the best race fans in the world, who braved an early downpour uncomplainingly and then cheered the local winner to the echo. We're only sorry that it wasn't a McLaren-Honda victory they were acclaiming, but undoubtedly our time will come."
Yusuke Hasegawa, Honda R&D Co Ltd Head of F1 Project & Executive Chief Engineer: "Both the team and our drivers did a solid job during the ever-changing conditions of the race. There were many chaotic moments in the pit-lane due to the safety car start, and out on track due to the track conditions, but the pit-stops and the garage work were spot-on today.
"From our point of view it was another encouraging weekend. Reliability was once again good and the drivers were able to have some great on track battles.
"However, it was a disappointing end as Fernando was running well until mid-race, and there was a possibility for us to be in the points. However, we were just not strong enough today."
Dave Ryan, Racing Director: "A rather sobering day after the high of our points-finish last weekend. The pre-race downpour was pretty intense and even though the track was drying quite quickly there were quite a few smaller and heavier patches of standing water. Unfortunately these caught our drivers out - Pascal on the switch from full wets to intermediates and Rio when he switched to slicks. These are tricky conditions to manage at the same time as trying to maximise the race and keep pace with the cars ahead. A disappointing way to finish our home race, but we'll dust ourselves off and come back stronger for it in Hungary in two weeks' time."
The 50th running of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit proved treacherous when heavy rain fell just before the start of the 52-lap race around the 5.891-kilometer (3.660-mile), 18-turn track. Whatever strategies teams had in place for their drivers were washed away. In their place were seat-of-the-pants decisions as the track quickly changed from wet to dry.
This evolution saw all 22 drivers begin the race on Pirelli's Cinturato Blue full wet tire as the race's first five laps were run behind the safety car. But when the safety car pulled in, so did the drivers who saw firsthand how quickly the track was drying. Off went the full wets and on went Cinturato Green intermediate tires.
For Haas F1 Team drivers Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez, this meant a double stop, with Grosjean the first into the pits and Gutierrez following just 20 seconds behind.
Grosjean made 12 laps on the intermediates before the track dried enough to bolt on slicks. He pitted at the end of lap 16 for Pirelli P Zero White medium tires. Gutierrez came in a lap later and did the same.
Unfortunately for Grosjean, he never got a chance to push his car on the ever-drying racetrack. He experienced a loss of forward drive after 17 laps and retired from the race. Gutierrez, meanwhile, soldiered on in 17th. With the field strung out and the leaders running an impressive pace in light of the conditions, he was lapped on lap 28. When the checkered flag dropped, Gutierrez had picked up one spot to finish 16th while Grosjean was listed 20th.
A week after scoring its best collective finish at the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg when Grosjean finished seventh and Gutierrez was 11th, Haas F1 Team experienced its worst collective result in the British Grand Prix. The damage, however, was negligible, as the two outfits bookending Haas F1 Team in the constructor standings - seventh-place McLaren and ninth-place Renault - also finished outside the points. Haas F1 Team remains eighth in the constructor standings with 28 points, keeping its four-point margin to McLaren and its 22-point buffer over Renault.
Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix to cap a clean sweep of every competitive aspect of the race weekend. Fastest in each practice session, fastest in qualifying and fastest in the race, Hamilton captured his 47th career Formula One victory, his fourth this season and second in a row. It was also his third straight British Grand Prix victory and fourth overall. Hamilton triumphed by 6.911 seconds over his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, again cutting into Rosberg's lead in the championship standings. Prior to Austria, the margin between the Mercedes duo was 24 points, but Hamilton's win there cut the deficit to 11 points entering Silverstone. After the British Grand Prix, Rosberg's advantage over Hamilton is a scant four points. Eleven races remain, with the next event coming in two weeks with the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest.
Guenther Steiner: "For sure, it's been our toughest day since we started this adventure. There were a few issues today. When we double stopped, we had a problem with the tire change on Esteban's car. Then we had the power go down on all our systems. We didn't have any GPS maps, so we didn't know when to call them in and when not. Then Romain had a transmission failure ending his race. You always learn from your mistakes. We'll work on getting ready for Hungary now, but we have to do better again."
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has won home grand prix for the fourth time, using three different Pirelli tyre compounds. The British Grand Prix was subjected to a torrential downpour 15 minutes before the beginning of the race, which meant that the start took place behind the safety car with all the drivers on Cinturato Blue full wet tyres.
When the safety car came in after five laps, a number of drivers went straight onto the Cinturato Green intermediate, while the leaders took advantage of a virtual safety car to switch to the intermediate shortly afterwards.
The crossover point - where it becomes quicker to move onto slick tyres rather than stay on inters - was chosen by most teams from lap 15 (when Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was the first to pit) to lap 18 of 52. The timing of the pit stops became crucial, because of the potential to gain plenty of time through being on exactly the right tyre at the right time. With the race having started in wet conditions, there was no longer the obligation to run at least two slick compounds.
Unusually, by the halfway point of the race, all the drivers still running chose exactly the same pattern of tyre usage: wet, intermediate, then medium. Most drivers ran on the medium all the way to the end, making it a two-stop race. This strategy was adopted by the top 10 finishers, with around 10 seconds separating the top three all the way to the finish. The highest-placed three-stopper was Williams driver Felipe Massa, who made a late stop for the soft tyre.
Paul Hembery: "The long-threatened rain finally materialised just before the race start, which clearly altered the complexion of the race and tyre strategy entirely, especially as there was then a lengthy safety car period. As a result we had a drying track with all the drivers moving progressively from wet to intermediate to slick: the timing of these stops being crucial. There was a close battle for the top positions all the way to the finish of a race that demonstrated every variety of conditions and weather that Britain is renowned for, but the drivers were able to push all the way to the chequered flag."
Truthometer
The rain meant that strategy predictions went out of the window and drivers had to react to changing track conditions as the surface dried out. Hamilton led from the start and stopped on lap seven for intermediates, then lap 17 for medium slicks.
