F1: Vettel wins British GP to extend lead over Hamilton
July 8, 2018
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel landed a blow in the Formula One world championship by winning rival Lewis Hamilton's home British Grand Prix in a dramatic Silverstone race on Sunday.
Hamilton started his Mercedes badly from pole position and was hit by the other Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen as he tried to cling on to third.
He fell to 16th but recovered to second, ahead of Raikkonen who completed the podium.
Vettel in contrast was rewarded for a brilliant start in which he overtook Hamilton within metres on the opening straight. A late move
on Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas, after two safety cars, then confirmed his 51st career victory.
It was championship leader Vettel's fourth win of the season and extends his advantage over Hamilton from one point in the standings to eight after 10 season races.
As it happened:
FINAL - Sebastian Vettel wins the British GP! Lewis Hamilton is second, Kimi Raikkonen finishes third.
The last lap is on!
Lap 50 - As things stand: 1, VET 2. HAM 3. RAI 4. BOT.
Lap 47 - VETTEL TAKES THE LEAD! The German driver overtakes Bottas. Hamilton is third and is also in the mix. Five laps to go!
Lap 44 - Vettel is trying to overtake Bottas again and again, but is failing so far. Raikkonen is also trying to get to third at the expense of Hamilton, but no success there so far. This is getting interesting with nine laps to go...
Lap 41 - The race is back on. Sebastian Vettel tries to overtake Bottas, but fails. The Finnish driver stays first. It's close...
Lap 39 - Another incident as Carlos Sainz tries to overtake Romain Grosjean, only for the two cars to crash into one another. Both cars end up in the wall. Sainz and Grosjean are out of the race, and are being checked by the medical staff.
Lap 37 - The race is back on after the safety car goes back in. 15 laps to go, and Bottas is in the lead. Vettel and Hamilton are behind him.
Event attendance is 340,000
Lap 33 - Incident! Sauber's Marcus Ericsson loses control over his car and crashes one of the safety walls. The Swedish driver seems to be OK, but he's out of the race. The safety car is out.
Lap 26 - After finally pitting, Hamilton is now sixth.
Lap 22 - Vettel still is in the lead. Hamilton is already second, but the German has already had his first pit stop, while the Brit is still going on his current tires.
Lap 19 - Lewis Hamilton is already at third! He's currently 22.118 second away from second-placed Valtteri Bottas, but he gets closer.
Lap 12 - Hamilton is already sixth, as Ferrari's Vettel keeps hold of his lead so far.
Lap 8 - *Insert fire emoji here*
Lap 8 - Lewis Hamilton seems to be recovering from the collision with Raikkonen that left him behind at the start of the race. The current F1 champion is now eighth, while Raikkonen receives a 10-second penalty for causing the collision.
Lap 4 - Kimi Raikkonen is trying to overtake third-placed Verstappen, but without any luck so far.
Lap 1 - Vettel is in the lead right from the get-go! Bottas and Verstappen are right behind him. Lewis Hamilton is heard saying his car is "broken." An early pit stop on the cards?
15:13 AND WE'RE OFF!
15:10 The formation lap is on...
14:56 Excitement is building up in Silverstone ahead of the British GP! Here's how the qualification looked like: