Hamilton won Silverstone from sixth after a red-flag restart

A first-lap crash stopped the 2014 British Grand Prix for more than an hour, and Lewis Hamilton, starting sixth, was more than 30 seconds clear of Valtteri Bottas at the flag. Daniel Ricciardo held off Jenson Button for third.

The race was the ninth of 19 and the 65th British Grand Prix as a championship round. Before a crowd of 122,000, Hamilton's fifth win of 2014 came after a run of errors had left him 29 points behind Rosberg in the drivers table.

Who won the 2014 British Grand Prix?

Hamilton won the 52-lap race from sixth, leading once Rosberg retired on lap 29 with a gearbox fault. Bottas finished second for Williams, with Ricciardo third for Red Bull. It was Hamilton's fifth win of 2014 and his 27th in Formula One.

Rosberg had led for 18 laps after the restart before making a pit stop for tyres, which handed Hamilton the lead for six laps. Hamilton took it for good when Rosberg's gearbox failed, and he crossed the line more than 30 seconds ahead of Bottas.

A first-lap crash, a red flag, and a Hamilton win from sixth that turned the drivers table back into a two-man fight.

What was the title position going into Silverstone?

Rosberg led the drivers championship with 165 points, ahead of Hamilton on 136, Ricciardo on 83, Alonso on 79 and Vettel on 60. In the constructors table Mercedes had 301 points, with Red Bull on 143, Ferrari on 98, Force India on 87 and Williams on 85.

Hamilton was 29 points behind Rosberg after a series of errors in the previous four rounds. Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda said he saw no reason to guide Hamilton's driving, and that the Briton would fight back without being disturbed. He said there was no worry on his side about the position.

Silverstone was also Williams' home Grand Prix. Bottas said the team wanted to run well after the momentum from Austria, and he hoped the people from the factory would come up to support the team. Ricciardo said he liked the track and was looking forward to the race.

Who drove for each team at Silverstone?

There were eleven teams, each with two race drivers, and four driver changes for the first practice session. Susie Wolff stepped in for Bottas at Williams, becoming the first woman involved in a Grand Prix weekend since Giovanna Amati's 1992 Brazilian attempt.

Force India gave its reserve and simulator driver, Daniel Juncadella, his first Formula One race appearance in Hulkenberg's car. Robin Frijns drove Kobayashi's Caterham for the second time in 2014, and Giedo van der Garde drove Sutil's Sauber for the fourth time in the year.

How did practice and qualifying go at Silverstone?

Rosberg was fastest in the first practice session at 1:35.424, with Hamilton and Alonso next. Felipe Massa ran onto the artificial grass at Stowe and was sent into the outside tyre barrier at 130 mph (210 km/h). The session was stopped for 17 minutes while his damaged car was removed from the track.

Hamilton set the fastest time of the second session at 1:35.508, but his engine cut out 30 minutes before the end. Bottas had an explosion that loosened the left side of his engine cover, and Vergne's left-front wheel came off at Abbey corner. On Saturday morning the race director, Charlie Whiting, adopted a zero tolerance policy, warning drivers that laps with a wide exit from Copse and Club would have their times deleted.

Overnight rain left the track wet for the final practice session, and Vettel set the fastest lap at 1:52.522, with Ricciardo second. Jules Bianchi broke his front wing against the barrier at Stowe.

Qualifying was in three parts of 18, 15 and 12 minutes, with the 107 per cent rule in force. Rain fell with growing intensity, so all drivers used intermediates in the first two sessions. Rosberg took his fourth pole of 2014 and the eighth of his career with a time of 1:35.766, and Vettel started alongside him on the front row.

Button went wide at Aintree corner and started third, his first top-three start at Silverstone since the 2005 British Grand Prix. Hulkenberg briefly held pole as the first driver to improve on a drying track, and Magnussen was fifth. Hamilton had provisional pole after the first timed laps, but he abandoned his final run because the track was not dry enough and fell to sixth.

Perez went wide at Chapel and lost heat in his tyres, and Ricciardo stayed in the pit lane when the track improved. The Toro Rosso pair of Kvyat and Vergne were ninth and tenth. Bianchi and Chilton were twelfth and thirteenth, although Chilton was given a five-place penalty for changing his gearbox.

Gutierrez lost traction on a kerb and ran into a guardrail, and he had a ten-place penalty for an unsafe release at the previous race in Austria. Maldonado had a fuel pressure problem and was excluded from the results for not providing a fuel sample, so he was moved to the back of the grid.

How did the race start and why was it stopped?

The race started at 13:00 local time, dry and sunny, with the air between 17 and 19 degrees C and the track between 33 and 39 degrees C. Rosberg made a brisk start and held the lead into Abbey corner, while Vettel got away slowly and was overtaken by Button and Magnussen. Hamilton climbed from sixth to fourth, and Massa stalled from 15th on the grid.

On the Wellington Straight, the rear of Raikkonen's Ferrari lost grip and he ran onto the run-off area. He rejoined at an angle at about 240 km/h (150 mph), hit a bump on the grass verge and was thrown into the guardrail close to the pillar of an overhead bridge. The impact was 47 g. Raikkonen's right-front tyre flew past Chilton, who ducked to avoid it, and his front wing and brake duct were damaged.

Raikkonen ricocheted across the track into the path of Kobayashi and Massa. Kobayashi grazed the Ferrari and went onto the grass, and Massa braked to avoid a head-on hit but made contact with the Ferrari. Marshals helped Raikkonen out of the car, and he was taken to the medical centre with hip and heel injuries.

The safety car was deployed for a lap, until the race director found the barriers were dented and needed repair. The race was stopped and every driver was directed to stop on the grid. Massa's rear suspension damage ended his race, and Chilton picked up a drive-through for using the pit lane while the red flag was displayed.

Repairs to the barrier took an hour and five minutes. The race restarted behind the safety car with the drivers in the positions they had held before the stoppage. Both Red Bulls switched to hard tyres on the grid during the stoppage, and Alonso also changed his tyre choice to improve his chances of a single pit stop.

How did the race unfold after the restart?

After the restart Rosberg led, followed by the McLarens of Button and Magnussen. Bottas got past Kvyat at Brooklands and climbed to ninth, while Hamilton started to press Magnussen for third. On lap three Hamilton drew alongside Magnussen through Woodcote and passed him for third at Copse, as Magnussen ran off the track.

On the next lap Hamilton drew alongside Button and passed him on the outside at Brooklands for second. Alonso passed Gutierrez for 12th, then Sutil and Bianchi before Brooklands. Hulkenberg lost sixth to Bottas at Stowe on lap five. DRS was enabled on lap six, and Alonso used it to pass Kvyat for ninth into Luffield.

Ricciardo overtook Hulkenberg at Stowe on lap seven, and then Alonso used DRS to pass Hulkenberg on the outside at Brooklands on lap eight. Sutil passed Bianchi for 11th, while Ricciardo battled Hulkenberg for eighth at Luffield on the 10th lap without being able to get through. He tried again into Stowe and succeeded.

On the inside at Club on the same lap, Gutierrez attempted to pass Maldonado, who was trying to overtake Bianchi. Gutierrez hit Maldonado's left-hand side, and the contact launched Maldonado into the air off Gutierrez's front tyre. Gutierrez was beached in a gravel trap and retired with rear damage.

How did the race end?

Rosberg held the lead for 18 laps after the restart before his first pit stop, and Hamilton led for six laps while his team-mate changed tyres. Hamilton's lead became permanent after Rosberg's gearbox failed on the twenty-ninth lap. He won by more than 30 seconds from Bottas, and Ricciardo held off Button in the closing laps to take third.

Rosberg's retirement cut his lead over Hamilton in the drivers standings to four points. Ricciardo and Alonso kept third and fourth, and Bottas passed Vettel for fifth. Mercedes kept a 158-point lead over Red Bull in the constructors table, and Williams overtook Force India for fourth with ten races left.

Race facts at a glance

What did the result mean for the championship?

Hamilton's win shortened the gap to Rosberg to four points, and the title fight became a two-driver contest again. Mercedes kept a comfortable constructors lead, and Williams moved ahead of Force India for fourth.

The race also showed how quickly a season can turn on one incident. A first-lap crash by a Ferrari, a long stoppage and a restart from the grid left the Mercedes pair four points apart at the top of the table, with ten races still to run.