Lewis Hamilton wins third straight British Grand Prix at Silverstone to close to within a point

Updated 10/07/2016 at 17:36 GMT

Lewis Hamilton led from start to finish to win the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and close right up on Nico Rosberg in the drivers' championship.

Lewis Hamilton - 2016 British Grand Prix

Image credit: Reuters

Rosberg initially finished second in the race, but was hit with a ten-second penalty by stewards after being given advice over the pit radio on how to deal with a gearbox problem.

That decision elevated Max Verstappen to second and relegated Rosberg to third, meaning that he is now just one points ahead of his Mercedes team-mate in the driver's championship.

That will be the icing on the cake for Hamilton, who becomes the Englishman to win three successive British Grands Prix at Silverstone.

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It was also Hamilton's fourth victory in the last five races, a run of form which has seen Rosberg's lead in the drivers' championship cut from over thirty pointsto just one as we approach the half-way point of the season.

[ANALYSIS AND REACTION: Rosberg booed on podium, faces penalty over radio communication]

Hamilton started on pole, but behind the safety car as heavy rain 20 minutes before the race forced a rolling start.

And he held on comfortably thereafter to lead Rosberg home, with Max Verstappen third on the track - and while the positions were reversed in any case, the Red Bull driver might well have grabbed second in any case having battled hard, even overtaking the German at one point during the race.

[REACTION - Hamilton: Crazy weather part of what makes this the best race in F1]

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg on the podium - 2016 British Grand Prix

Image credit: Reuters

How the race unfolded

A torrential downpour 20 minutes before the start left a lot of standing water on the track and race director Charlie Whiting opted for a safety car start despite the sun coming out before the race got underway. The first five laps were spent behind the safety car, with ten drivers immediately pitting for intermediate tyres.

A safety car start due to standing water prevented any drama between the two Mercedes drivers at Turn 1 and Hamilton led comfortably in wet conditions before managing his pace as the track dried.

After everyone had stopped to switch to intermediates, Max Verstappen - who had been hustling Rosberg since the start - pulled a stunning move around the outside of Chapel after the Mercedes driver got out of shape and took second place before starting to close on Hamilton.

Verstappen ran second for the majority of the race after his breathtaking move on Rosberg, but the championship leader managed to regain the position with 14 laps remaining, by which tie he was too far adrift to challenge for victory.

Rosberg then suffered a late scare as a gearbox problem slowed him and dropped him into the clutches of Verstappen. He held on, but the German lost that place as he was hit with a penalty for the messages he received over the radio to "avoid seventh gear" as a result of the issue.

Verstappen's team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was 20 seconds further back in fourth place ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Perez.

Nico Hulkenberg, Carlos Sainz, Sebastian Vettel and Daniil Kvyat rounded out the top ten.

Full provisional result

1 - Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes - 1h 34:55.831
2 - Max Verstappen - Red Bull - +8.250
3 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - +16.911 [Time includes 10-second penalty for infringing rules on radio communication with the pits]
4 - Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull - +26.211
5 - Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari - +1:09.743
6 - Sergio Perez - Force India - +1:16.941
7 - Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - +1:17.212
8 - Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso - +1:25.858
9 - Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari - +1:31.654
10 - Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - +1:32.600
11 - Felipe Massa - Williams - +1 Lap
12 - Jenson Button - McLaren - +1 Lap
13 - Fernando Alonso - McLaren - +1 Lap
14 - Valtteri Bottas - Williams - +1 Lap
15 - Felipe Nasr - Sauber - +1 Lap
16 - Esteban Gutierrez - Haas - +1 Lap
17 - Kevin Magnussen - Renault - +3 Laps
DNF - Jolyon Palmer - Renault - 37 laps
DNF - Rio Haryanto - Manor - 24 laps
DNF - Romain Grosjean - Haas - 17 laps
DNF - Marcus Ericsson - Sauber - 11 laps
DNF - Pascal Wehrlein - Manor - 6 laps