As it happened: Britain 2017 - The race

• 12:30

  Hi F1 friends, how are you doing? It's Silverstone weekend, and naturally, it's overcast and cloudy with a chance of rain. Anything could happen!

• 12:31

  We're just a week on from what was a relatively tame Austrian race weekend, and now it's the British Grand Prix - the midpoint of the 2017 season.

• 12:32

  Circuit Data

  Silverstone Circuit
  Local timezone	+01:00 GMT
  First race	1950
  Number of laps	52
  Circuit length	5.891km
  Race distance	306.198km
  Start offset	0.134km

• 12:32

  The pit lane just opened at Silverstone, allowing drivers to make their practice starts, installation laps, and eventually line up on the grid.

• 12:33

  Lewis Hamilton has pole position this weekend, with two Ferrari drivers behind him, Kimi ahead of Vettel for a change.

• 12:33

  Valtteri Bottas took a five place grid penalty after qualfying fourth, so he starts in ninth place.

• 12:33

  Daniel Ricciardo had a terrible qualifying, stopping out on track during the first session which not only brought out red flags during that session but also means he starts 19th.

• 12:35

  Starting grid

  1	L Hamilton	Mercedes
  2	K Räikkönen	Ferrari
  3	S Vettel	Ferrari
  4	M Verstappen	Red Bull
  5	N Hülkenberg	Renault
  6	S Pérez	Force India
  7	E Ocon	Force India
  8	S Vandoorne	McLaren
  9	V Bottas	Mercedes
  10	R Grosjean	Haas

• 12:38

  Great job by Stoffel Vandoorne to sneak into the top ten. Alonso stole much of the glory, as per usual, by posting the fastest time in Q1 (thanks to a drying track), but he's at the rear of the grid now due to many, many engine related penalties.

• 12:39
  Medium

  Soft

  Supersoft

  Pirelli had originally planned to bring tyres that were a step harder than this, but eventually saw sense.

• 12:40

  Tweet from @F1: "Qualifies: P6. Starts: P5 - Renault's best position since F1 return"

• 12:42

  It's a busy, busy grid today. Lots of people dashing this way and that, as the clouds move in threatening overhead.

• 12:42

  

  21°C
  Track	28°C
  Humidity	71%
  Wind speed	2.4mps

• 12:45

  2017 Race Wins

  Pos	Driver	Total
  1	S Vettel	3
  2	L Hamilton	3
  3	V Bottas	2
  4	D Ricciardo	1

  Who will be adding either a number, or themselves, to this table today?

• 12:46

  Drivers have made their way to the front of the grid for the national anthem, and a glimpse of the trophy they can win today.

• 12:49

  The Red Arrows have zoomed across the skies above the circuit, leaving behind their traditional red, white and blue smoke trails.

• 12:50

  Tweet from @ForceIndiaF1: The anthem is played, the Red Arrows fly past - it's 10 minutes to the race and we can't wait for the lights out!

• 12:51

  Tweet from @andrewbensonf1: Love this bit. Drivers' game faces on, ear plugs go in, balaclava, helmet on. Tension building

• 12:55

  Risk of rain 60%.

• 12:57

  Race Battle

  Force India	Finished Ahead
  S Pérez	7
  E Ocon	2

  We've seen the inter-team battle at Force India heating up over the past few race weekends. They're starting next to each other on the grid yet again, sixth and seventh.

• 12:58

  Worth noting also that Vettel is the only driver that has outperformed his teammate in each and every of the nine races so far. (Based purely on finishing position, regardless of retirement or reason.)

• 12:59

  The top ten are starting on supersoft tyres, all bar Bottas who has the yellow soft compounds on. Outside of the top ten, we've got Palmer, Kvyat and Sainz on supersofts, then a whole heap of soft tyres. Finally, at the very back, Ricciardo and Bottas are on the red supersofts as well.

• 13:00

  Tweet from @glenn_autosport: Coming up: 52 laps featuring constant weather updates, and it'll rain after the finish

• 13:00

  Hamilton pulls away for the formation lap, leading the pack away from the Silverstone wing and on that first warm up lap. The grid clears.

• 13:02

  Palmer is reporting a brake-by-wire failure already, it's only the installation lap! The team are looking into it.

• 13:02

  Team radio from Jolyon Palmer: "I've got a hydraulic problem."

  "Go to neutral and stop the car please."

• 13:02

  He's pulling over and has stopped that yellow car before the race has even begun. Disappointing for him at his home race.

• 13:03

  Lots of smoke from the cars as they wait on the grid.

• 13:03

  Start aborted - extra formation lap.

• 13:04

  Palmer is out of the car and stalking away to the infield. Marshals come in and push the car out of the way.

• 13:05

  There were yellow flags still showing as the cars passed the stricken Renault but it's clear now as Hamilton rounds the final corner and takes to the grid once more.

• 13:06

  Vettel's car is smoking outrageously, like there's a chimney in there!

• 13:06

  Race started.

• 13:06 Lap 1

  Räikkönen looked for a way past Hamilton but had to stay behind him. Verstappen passes Vettel in the first few corners to move into third place.

• 13:07 Lap 1

  Verstappen is now taking a look at the next Ferrari in his path, Kimi holding him back for now.

• 13:07 Lap 1

  Bottas made up two places in the first half of the lap, starting ninth and now sitting seventh.

• 13:07 Lap 1

  Yellow flags.

• 13:08 Lap 1

  Hülkenberg overtakes Ocon for fifth place, running wide but keeping control round the next corner. Ocon looks for a way back but it's Nico's position.

• 13:08 Lap 2

  Sainz has spun his car off track, sitting in the run off area. "Tell Dany he did a good job," he says, as replays show the Toro Rosso pair collided.

• 13:08 Lap 2

  Safety car deployed.

• 13:09 Lap 2

  Another look at the Toro Rosso incident show it is a fair move to start, but Kvyat ran wide over the kerbs, picked up some dirt on his tyre and then barrelled into the side of his teammate. Sainz could do nothing as he was spun off and out of the race.

• 13:10 Lap 3

  Tweet from @Jamesallenonf1: Sainz out. Kvyat crashed into him in Becketts at V high speed. Toro R is in chaos at moment.

• 13:10 Lap 3

  Turn 13 incident involving D Kvyat and C Sainz under investigation - causing a collision.

• 13:10 Lap 3

  Wehrlein has come into the pit lane and he's put the yellow soft tyres on his Sauber.

• 13:11 Lap 3

  Tweet from @redbullracing: Pushing to the Max! The Dutchman gets up to P3 from the start with Daniel up to P15 from the back of the grid.

• 13:12 Lap 3

  Tweet from @pirellisport: Soft tyre runners will aim to go longer than supersoft starters to gain track position. But it will all depend on degradation of supersoft.

• 13:13 Lap 4

  One of the Toro Rossos bumped into Magnussen in that incident but Kevin confirms he felt the hit but nothing feels wrong with his car.

• 13:14 Lap 4

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	0	L Hamilton	0
  2	0	K Räikkönen	0
  3	1	M Verstappen	0
  4	-1	S Vettel	0
  5	0	N Hülkenberg	0
  6	1	E Ocon	0
  7	2	V Bottas	0
  8	-2	S Pérez	0
  9	-1	S Vandoorne	0
  10	4	F Massa	0

• 13:14 Lap 4

  Safety car in this lap.

• 13:14 Lap 4

  Track is clear.

• 13:14 Lap 5

  Team radio to Kimi Räikkönen: "Remember Hamilton and what he does normally with restarts."

• 13:15 Lap 5

  Hamilton does slow down and zips off as the coast is clear. A good restart, but he doesn't shake Kimi who sticks with him.

• 13:16 Lap 5

  Massa and Stroll have both gained in the first few laps, just like they did last weekend. Massa up to tenth, Stroll in 12th.

• 13:16 Lap 6

  Ricciardo has dropped back down to 18th again now, he was following the Haas of Magnussen and then got pushed wide and ran over the gravel, crunching his way back down the field.

• 13:17 Lap 6

  Bottas has made his way past Esteban Ocon, he's up to sixth place now, and Hülkenberg will be his next target.

• 13:18 Lap 7

  DRS enabled.

• 13:18 Lap 7

  Hamilton complaining about the engine de-regulating, whilst Räikkönen says he has hesitation when accelerating. Problems for the pair out front.

• 13:19 Lap 7

  Tweet from @pirellisport: Potentially an interesting strategy for @PWehrlein. He’s run the medium for one lap under safety car, can now go on soft to the end. Maybe.

• 13:19 Lap 7

  Replays show yet more teammate woes as the two Sauber drivers struggle to leave each other space as they round the same corner at the same time.

• 13:20 Lap 8

  Solid move from Bottas as he dips to the inside of Hulk's Renault, and sweeps ahead. He's on the harder compound from the drivers around him too.

• 13:20 Lap 8

  Team radio to Daniil Kvyat: "Keep looking after the car, we have some floor damage."

• 13:20 Lap 8

  Vettel must now be looking into his mirrors with some concern, Bottas is just three seconds behind him.

• 13:21 Lap 9

  One to Watch

  M Verstappen	vs.	S Vettel
  3rd	+0.769s	4th

• 13:21 Lap 9

  Ricciardo has finally managed to get past Magnussen, and has regained the momentum he had earlier, he's now in 14th.

• 13:23 Lap 10

  Drive through penalty for D Kvyat - rejoining the track unsafely.

• 13:24 Lap 10

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	HAM	1:33.422
  2nd	RAI	+2.445
  3rd	VER	+7.478
  4th	VET	+8.266
  5th	BOT	+10.852

• 13:26 Lap 12

  Ricciardo's hunt has been curtailed somewhat by Fernando Alonso, who knows how to make that McLaren as wide as possible.

• 13:26 Lap 12

  It was a late DRS dive that finally lets Ricciardo past on the back straight. Stroll next.

• 13:27 Lap 13

  Vettel has a look at the rear of Verstappen but isn't close enough to attempt a passing manoeuvre.

• 13:28 Lap 13

  Stroll poses no issue at all for the Red Bull of Ricciardo, he's up to 12th place now.

• 13:29 Lap 14

  Vettel's a lot closer to the rear of Verstappen this time, and does make the pass but Verstappen comes roaring back, and the pair run each other wide. No contact between the two, and it was some great, hard racing. Verstappen remains ahead for now.

• 13:30 Lap 14

  Tweet from @MercedesAMGF1: LAP 14: The crowd enjoyed that! VET has a go at VER into Stowe... The boy just doesn't know when to give up!! Hangs onto P3...

• 13:30 Lap 15

  They're at it again, as Vettel looks for another opportunity but Verstappen keeps ahead away. The crowd are cheering as they pass the grandstands.

• 13:31 Lap 15

  Tweet from @RenaultSportF1: We'd like to thank the #BritishGP crowds for cheering so loud during exciting bits, we're guaranteed not to miss them!

• 13:33 Lap 17

  Bottas has closed the gap now, and joins the back of that Red Bull/Ferrari fight.

  Battle for 3rd

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  3	VES	-
  4	VET	+0.736
  5	BOT	+1.493

• 13:34 Lap 17

  Hamilton is pulling out a bit of a gap out front, up to 4 seconds from Räikkönen now, but he's not running away with it yet.

• 13:35 Lap 18

  Vettel tries the outside line this time, but doesn't have the pace to get past Verstappen this time round.

• 13:36 Lap 19

  Jolyon Palmer: "Not even a start, pretty gutted with that, so much support here, the crowd has been great… It’s just so disappointing to not even start the race. I think we were in a really good position, starting 11th on new tyres. Just a hydraulic leak, looks like it went through the formation lap. It was all looking good, looking ahead, trying to focus on the start but we never made it."

• 13:37 Lap 19

  Sebastian Vettel pits, obviously making the call as passing on track wasn't working.

• 13:37 Lap 19

  Soft compounds go on the Ferrari in a 2.9 second stop for Vettel. He rejoins in sixth place.

• 13:38 Lap 20

  Ricciardo feigns a move one side of Massa before dipping to the other to pass the Williams. He's into tenth now.

• 13:38 Lap 20

  Team radio to Max Verstappen: "Keep pushing Max. Box and confirm. You will be racing Sebastian."

• 13:39 Lap 20

  Verstappen's stop was 3.4 seconds, which has dropped him behind Vettel who was a long way ahead when the Red Bull finally emerged from the pit lane.

• 13:39 Lap 20

  Team radio to Valtteri Bottas: "This is your chance, Valtteri. Get the hammer down. Tyres are looking good."

• 13:40 Lap 21

  Lewis Hamilton has the hammer down too, though, with a 1:32.286 for the fastest lap so far.

• 13:41 Lap 21

  Ocon comes in for his pit stop, not super quick but solid enough for the Force India crew.

• 13:41 Lap 22

  And Vettel sets the fastest lap now, with 1:32.225. Fresh tyres making a difference so far.

• 13:41 Lap 22

  Vettel easily gets past the Renault of Nico Hülkenberg for fourth place.

• 13:43 Lap 23

  Team radio from Fernando Alonso: "I went off in turn fifteen and not because I was sleeping."

• 13:44 Lap 23

  So Vettel and Hamilton are trading fastest laps, Hamilton's turn this time.

• 13:44 Lap 24

  Stroll comes in for a pit stop, and it's slow from the Williams crew, who are known for the pit stop skillz. 4.2 seconds for Lance.

• 13:44 Lap 24

  Bit of a lockup for Bottas as he's told this is a critical stage of his race. He now takes the fastest lap of the race so far.

• 13:45 Lap 24

  Pérez comes in, and as the Force India leaves the pit lane, the Haas of Romain Grosjean is coming in.

• 13:46 Lap 25

  Kimi Räikkönen pits. Yellow tyres going on the car.

• 13:46 Lap 25

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	K Räikkönen
  Team	Ferrari
  Pit lane	28.476s
  Stopped	2.5s

• 13:47 Lap 25

  And so Lewis gets the call to come in for his own stop, presumably the only one of the afternoon.

• 13:48 Lap 26

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	L Hamilton
  Team	Mercedes
  Pit lane	27.733s
  Stopped	2.3s

• 13:48 Lap 26

  Supreme stop from the Mercedes crew, and Hamilton rejoins side by side with teammate Bottas. He gets ahead, and of course Bottas has his own pit stop still to take.

• 13:49 Lap 26

  The fresh tyres are clearly advantageous, as Hamilton dashes away from Bottas, pulling out a full second gap before you can even blink.

• 13:50 Lap 27

  The Force India drivers are chasing each other on track again now. Ocon still ahead, but Pérez just half a second behind. It's not a day for teammates to do battle, it seems.

• 13:51 Lap 28

  Räikkönen reports there's something loose in the cockpit, something jabbing into his leg by the sounds of it.

• 13:51 Lap 28

  Tweet from @elephino_: Perez closing on Ocon & this is hit your team mate day. This'll be fun

• 13:52 Lap 28

  Kvyat comes into the pits, it sounds like there's something broken on his car and this will be a retirement.

• 13:52 Lap 29

  Or not, the crew change Kvyat's tyres and send him back on his way again.

• 13:53 Lap 29

  Ricciardo is up to sixth at the moment, but he has yet to come into the pit lane.

• 13:54 Lap 30

  Hamilton has started lapping cars now, Kvyat has dropped down 1 lap and Ericsson quickly follows.

• 13:55 Lap 30

  The only drivers yet to stop are Magnussen in eighth, Ricciardo sixth, and Bottas up in second.

• 13:56 Lap 31

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	HAM	1:32.745
  2nd	BOT	+4.858
  3rd	RAI	+13.966
  4th	VET	+18.676
  5th	VER	+26.244
  6th	RIC	+47.440

• 13:57 Lap 32

  Massa gets a radio message that the two Force India drivers ahead of him are being held up by Kevin Magnussen. Meanwhile, Mags is given a message on the radio: "Excellent pace, absolutely excellent pace." Bless!

• 13:57 Lap 32

  Tweet from @F1PaddockPass: Kvyat's been given 2 penalty points for the Sainz collision. Brings his tally to 9 - of the 12 available - with still half a season to go.

• 13:59 Lap 33

  Bottas finally comes in for his pit stop, tearing off several strips from his visor. It's a super quick stop for the Mercedes crew.

• 13:59 Lap 33

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	V Bottas
  Team	Mercedes
  Pit lane	27.858s
  Stopped	2.1s

• 14:00 Lap 34

  Ricciardo comes in for his own stop, and it's a 2.1 second stop. The crew are so impressed, the two tyre chaps share a quick fist bump to celebrate.

• 14:00 Lap 34

  Team radio from Fernando Alonso: "No power."

  "Okay, box now."

  Everyone sighs.

• 14:01 Lap 35

  So Lewis has a comfortable 13 second gap on Räikkönen in second, but behind him he has Vettel four seconds behind and Bottas a further four seconds down the road.

• 14:02 Lap 35

  Ricciardo makes a relatively easy move on Pérez to insert himself into a Force India sandwich. He's in ninth now.

• 14:02 Lap 35

  And Ricciardo dispatches the other Force India to make it look easy for eighth place.

• 14:03 Lap 35

  

  @SauberF1Team: Pitstop for @PWehrlein and back out on supersofts

• 14:04 Lap 36

  Ricciardo is chasing after Nico Hülkenberg again now.

• 14:05 Lap 37

  Bottas is on a charge, he's setting some fastest laps from fourth place. The gap to Vettel now dips under three seconds.

• 14:06 Lap 37

  Kevin Magnussen still hasn't stopped yet, he's on 35 lap old soft tyres, and sitting in eighth place.

• 14:06 Lap 38

  Team radio from Lewis Hamilton: "These tyres are blistered."

• 14:08 Lap 39

  Tweet from @ChrisMedlandF1: In a reversal of Austria, Bottas now closing down Vettel in the closing part of the race. 2.7s the gap

• 14:09 Lap 39

  Magnussen has pitted at last, he's dropped down to 14th place now.

• 14:10 Lap 40

  No waiting around for that Haas though, Magnussen zips ahead of Stroll to move into 13th.

• 14:13 Lap 42

  One to Watch

  S Vettel	vs.	V Bottas
  3rd	+0.882s	4th

• 14:14 Lap 43

  Bottas dives to the outside of Vettel, they run side by side until Vettel pushes the Mercedes wide. Bottas comes back but Vettel stays ahead, locks up into the next corner but still stays in third. His tyres can't be happy now though.

• 14:15 Lap 43

  Bottas is so close now, Vettel looking wild as he tries to defend from the clearly faster Mercedes.

• 14:15 Lap 44

  The speed difference is incredible as Bottas easily moves ahead this time, third place for the Mercedes driver.

• 14:17 Lap 45

  Team radio to Valtteri Bottas: "Great job."

  "Minimal talking."

  Bottas clearly concentrating as he sets Räikkönen in his sights, seven seconds up the road.

• 14:17 Lap 45

  Vettel: "I have no more front, they've been blistering for twenty laps." Six more laps to go.

• 14:17 Lap 45

  Romain Grosjean comes in for a very late pit stop. He's down in 14th place now.

• 14:18 Lap 46

  Vettel's tyres are worn out after he stopped so early. They made that call to get ahead of Verstappen, but now will face pressure from the Red Bull who is eight seconds behind.

• 14:19 Lap 46

  Grosjean makes contact with a Sauber and runs wide off track. "So stupid," he says, although it looked like it might be his fault.

• 14:20 Lap 47

  Team radio from Kimi Räikkönen: Put on the pit board the right numbers!"

  Not a lot to ask, really.

• 14:21 Lap 48

  Bottas has taken two seconds out of the gap to Kimi. Just over five seconds. Ricciardo, meanwhile, is just about 2.5 seconds behind Hülkenberg.

• 14:23 Lap 49

  Team radio to Nico Hülkenberg: "Why do I have too many de-rates on that straight?"

  "We have a problem, Nico, just need to keep pushing."

• 14:24 Lap 50

  Räikkönen's front left tyre has delaminated. "My front tyre... broke," the Finn says, swearing on the radio. Bottas easily gets past for second.

• 14:25 Lap 50

  Kimi pits, which is a disappointment after a solid race for him and his crew.

• 14:25 Lap 50

  Max Verstappen has also come into the pits!

• 14:26 Lap 51

  Vettel has run off track, he's got a front left puncture and is back on track but throwing up sparks as he tries to get back to the pit lane.

• 14:26 Lap 51

  It's the final lap though!

• 14:27 Lap 51

  Verstappen moves ahead of Vettel for fourth.

• 14:27 Lap 51

  Vettel comes into the pit lane.

• 14:27

  Lewis Hamilton wins the British Grand Prix!

• 14:28

  Bottas crosses the line second, who will be third?

• 14:28

  It's Kimi Räikkönen who makes it a podium finish despite that last minute drama.

• 14:29

  Vettel ended up seventh overall.

• 14:29

  Race Winner

  Driver	L Hamilton
  Team	Mercedes
  Race time	1:21:27.430
  Race distance	300.307km
  Average speed	221.201km/h

• 14:31

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	0	L Hamilton	1
  2	7	V Bottas	1
  3	-1	K Räikkönen	2
  4	0	M Verstappen	2
  5	14	D Ricciardo	1
  6	-1	N Hülkenberg	1
  7	-4	S Vettel	2
  8	-1	E Ocon	1
  9	-3	S Pérez	1
  10	4	F Massa	1

• 14:32

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	HAM	1:37.212
  2nd	BOT	+14.063
  3rd	RAI	+36.570
  4th	VER	+52.125
  5th	RIC	+65.955

• 14:32

  Tweet from @SteveCampF1: Championship fight blows wide open once again at the halfway mark of the season!

• 14:33

  Tweet from @C4F1: It's a disappointing P7 for Vettel after his penultimate-lap drama, cutting his championship lead to ONE point!

• 14:33

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	S Vettel	177
  2	L Hamilton	176
  3	V Bottas	154
  4	D Ricciardo	117
  5	K Räikkönen	98

• 14:34

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Team	Pts
  1	Mercedes	330
  2	Ferrari	275
  3	Red Bull	174
  4	Force India	95
  5	Williams	41

• 14:34

  Tweet from @_markgallagher: Bottas drove superbly today as well. Chased down Ferrari, won that battle, helped his team & keeps his own challenge on course too

• 14:35

  That race looked like it wasn't going anywhere but suddenly exploded (almost literally) in the final few laps. Great halfway stage of the season, to have such a close fight, with several drivers still in the battle.

• 14:35

  Great job by Ricciardo, too, starting from the rear of the field to finish comfortably fifth behind his teammate.

• 14:36

  Nico Hülkenberg didn't quite have the ability to fight that he may have wanted but a solid sixth place helps the Renault team no end. Particularly when compared with a DNS for Palmer.

• 14:36

  And another double points finish for Force India shows how reliable the team can be when they are behaving.

• 14:43

  A fortnight off now, before the F1 crowd turn up at the Hungaroring for the final race before the summer break. How will the championship stand then, and who will the momentum be with as the holidays begin? Can't wait to find out!