Hamilton's third straight British Grand Prix and the Rosberg penalty at Silverstone

Lewis Hamilton won the 2016 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, his third straight win in the race and the 47th of his career. Nico Rosberg was handed a 10-second penalty for receiving illegal team radio instructions and dropped to third, which cut his championship lead over Hamilton to a single point.

What was the championship picture before Silverstone?

Rosberg led the drivers' table on 153 points, eleven ahead of his teammate Hamilton. Vettel and Raikkonen were third and fourth on 96 points apiece, with Ricciardo fifth on eighty-eight. Mercedes led the constructors' table on 295 points, 103 clear of Ferrari, while Red Bull Racing sat third on 168. Under the points system a race win was worth twenty-five points and a second place eighteen, so the gaps between drivers could change quickly.

Mercedes had introduced a new driver management policy after the Austrian collision between its two drivers, the second major clash between them in five races. The rules set out the terms on which the pair could race one another, and they promised penalties for any further altercations.

A 10-second penalty for illegal team radio help left Rosberg a single point ahead of Hamilton in the title race.

What changes did the teams bring to Silverstone?

Sauber skipped the second mid-season test, citing cost effectiveness and the lack of new components to fit. In practice at the event it fitted its first updates of the year, and Ericsson tried a new rear wing on track.

Sauber also received the benefit of Ferrari's updated power unit, which the works team had used since the Canadian Grand Prix, and Haas could run the upgraded units as well. McLaren ran an updated version of its Honda unit with two tokens applied to the combustion engine.

The test after the race brought new faces. Ferrucci and Mazepin debuted for Haas and Force India, Gasly was in a Red Bull, and Leclerc took a turn in a Ferrari.

How did the tyres and track limits shape the weekend?

Pirelli brought its three hardest compounds, the hard, medium and soft tyres. The stewards warned again that lap times set outside the white lines could be disallowed, a rule that would become central to qualifying.

Track limits are the white lines that mark the edge of the circuit, and a lap that runs over them can be erased. The warning was not an idle one. Hamilton and Hulkenberg both had laps erased in qualifying, and Jenson Button also backed the stewards' decision.

How did free practice begin?

Hamilton led the Friday morning session at 1:31.654, a margin of under a tenth over Rosberg. The Mercedes drivers then stayed out on the harder compounds for long stints to test their race pace.

Hulkenberg and Vettel were third and fourth, the only drivers within a second of the Mercedes. Charles Leclerc made his first practice outing for Haas, a tenth of a second quicker than Esteban Ocon, who was driving Kevin Magnussen's Renault.

Vettel tried an updated version of Ferrari's halo, which he described as not great, citing its impact on visibility. Button spent time in the garage twice for repairs, and Kvyat damaged his front wing on a kerb at Club corner.

In the second session Hamilton was fastest again, at 1:31.660, more than three-tenths ahead of Ricciardo. Rosberg could not take part because of a water leak on his car. Ferrari split its runs between the hard and medium compounds, and Alonso placed a good sixth.

How did Saturday practice end?

Hamilton made it a clean sweep of the practice times with 1:30.904 on Saturday morning, again less than a tenth ahead of Rosberg. Ricciardo was third and Verstappen fourth, each about half a second off Hamilton.

The session began in wet conditions after a shower half an hour earlier. Marcus Ericsson then hit the barrier hard at the Stowe exit, which brought a long repair to the barriers, and just five minutes of running remained when practice restarted.

Ericsson was taken to hospital for tests and received a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. Vettel took the same penalty after his gearbox failed late in the session.

How did qualifying play out?

Qualifying ran in three parts of 18, 15 and 12 minutes, with six drivers eliminated after each of the first two. The last part, Q3, decides the top ten, and the fastest driver in it takes pole, the front place on the grid. Ericsson, who had crashed in practice, did not take part, which left five drivers in danger of missing the second session.

Jenson Button ended the first part 17th after damage to his rear wing, a disappointment after he had started third in Austria the week before. Nasr, both Manor drivers and Palmer were also eliminated.

In Q2 Hamilton set the pace, with a margin of seven-tenths over Rosberg. Raikkonen spun before his first timed lap and ran wide on his second attempt, but he advanced with his third. Magnussen, Kvyat, Gutierrez, Grosjean, Massa and Perez were eliminated.

Hamilton's first timed run in Q3 was disallowed for track limits, so he had to set another fast lap. He slowed in the middle sector to avoid a repeat and still took the 55th pole of his career. Verstappen was third, almost a second off Hamilton, with Ricciardo fourth and Raikkonen and Vettel behind them.

Sainz was eighth, ahead of Hulkenberg and Alonso. Vettel's grid penalty meant he would start 11th. A grid penalty moves a driver back from the place his qualifying time earned, and a gearbox change is one of the most common causes. The strict track-limits interpretation split the paddock, with Hamilton and Hulkenberg backing the stewards, and Palmer calling the situation a mess.

How did the race start in the rain?

The race began behind the safety car because rain had fallen shortly before the start, so every car began on full wet tyres, which are built for standing water rather than a damp track. Intermediate tyres sit between the two extremes, and teams switch to them when the surface is drying. The safety car came in at the end of lap five, and the leaders stayed out while several cars behind pitted for intermediates.

Pascal Wehrlein slid into the gravel on lap six and brought a short virtual safety car, during which both Hamilton and Rosberg changed tyres. Sergio Perez was the early winner, having worked his way up from tenth to fourth, while Hamilton built a five-second gap over Rosberg, who was then under pressure from Verstappen on intermediates.

Bottas spun on lap 11 and dropped to 13th. Vettel was the first to switch to slicks on lap 16, and Verstappen moved past Rosberg into second. Hamilton also made a short excursion off the track, a mistake mirrored by Verstappen behind him, which pushed the top three closer together.

On lap 18 more drivers changed to slicks, among them Raikkonen and Palmer. Palmer was released from his pit box before one wheel was properly fitted, which cost him time and a ten-second stop-and-go penalty. Haryanto retired after a spin a lap later, and Alonso had spun on lap 25. Vettel passed Kvyat for ninth on lap 29.

Why did Rosberg lose the win?

Late in the race Rosberg reported a gearbox problem on the team radio, and his team told him to avoid seventh gear. The stewards judged that the instructions went beyond what the sporting regulations allowed. The rule is that a driver must drive the car without outside help, and the wording on team instructions had been tightened before the season began.

Rosberg felt confident that the instructions he received were within the rules, and he described an exciting race against Verstappen. The stewards, whose panel included former driver Nigel Mansell, disagreed with his reading and applied a 10-second time penalty.

The penalty dropped Rosberg from second to third, and it left Verstappen in second place behind Hamilton. That result cut Rosberg's championship lead to a single point.

How did the Red Bull drivers fare?

Verstappen ran well on intermediates earlier in the race, moving ahead of Rosberg into second on lap 16. Rosberg got past him on lap 38, and the later penalty restored Verstappen to second place behind Hamilton.

Ricciardo had a harder afternoon. He came in for a second tyre change at the end of that lap and dropped back to 13th. A timely overtake on Sainz later in the stint, helped by stops ahead of him, lifted him back into ninth shortly afterwards.

How did Hamilton win the race?

Hamilton finished 6.9 seconds clear of Rosberg and claimed the British race for a third year in succession. He was also the record winner at Silverstone, with four victories, and the win was his 47th in the sport.

Rosberg started overtaking Verstappen on lap 33 and finally got past him on lap 38. His team's advice to avoid seventh gear helped him hold his slim advantage over Verstappen, a margin that had initially shrunk because of the gearbox problem.

Vettel received a five-second time penalty for putting Massa off the circuit as he passed him for eighth. Palmer retired in the pit lane on lap 40, and the closing laps belonged to Hamilton, who pulled away.

How did the podium react?

On the podium Rosberg was jeered by the home crowd, echoing the reception Hamilton had received in Austria. Hamilton later asked British fans not to behave that way towards his teammate, saying they were better than that.

Mark Webber conducted the podium interviews. Hamilton said he had enjoyed the weather making the race harder, and Rosberg highlighted his critical gearbox problem while stressing that he had acted within the rules.

What did Ferrari say after the race?

Vettel summed up the weekend as not his day, saying the team had simply not been quick enough. He also expressed irritation at a five-second penalty and at two points added to his FIA Super Licence after the move on Massa.

Raikkonen said he expected the next races to be much more normal for Ferrari, treating the British weekend as a one-off poor showing.

Podium and penalties

What did the result change in the standings?

After the race Rosberg led Hamilton by a single point, 168 to 167, so the race winner remained in the title fight at the head of the table. Raikkonen was third with 106 points, and Vettel fell back to fifth on 98, two points behind Ricciardo.

Mercedes' margin over Ferrari grew to 131 points, and Red Bull was now only six points off the Italian team.