5 July 2015 – Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton extended his advantage at the top of the championship standings by beating team-mate Nico Rosberg to victory in a dramatic, rain-hit British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Hamilton lost the lead to Williams' Felipe Massa at the start, but used the undercut to reclaim the place, before mastering late showers.
It marks Hamilton's third victory on home soil, after triumphing in the wet in 2008, and capitalizing on Rosberg's technical woes last year.
As the race began under overcast skies, it was Massa who made the best of starts, jumping ahead of Rosberg and Hamilton into Turn 1.
Hamilton did just enough to keep Bottas at bay for second, fighting back along the Wellington Straight, while Rosberg dropped to fourth place.
The Safety Car was sent out after just a matter of seconds, with the Lotus and McLaren-Honda drivers getting caught up in the bottleneck at Village.
Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado initially tangled, before Fernando Alonso slid back in to the path of team-mate Jenson Button as he attempted to avoid them.
Button and the Lotus pair retired on the first lap, while Alonso pitted for a new front wing.
As the race restarted, Hamilton attempted to get a run on Massa at the Safety Car line, but ran wide at Vale, allowing Bottas to slip through and form a Williams one-two.
The top four positions remained the same until the pit-stops, but Hamilton pitted first to risk the undercut, before Massa and Rosberg, and finally Bottas.
Hamilton ultimately moved into the lead of the race, just ahead of Massa and Bottas, the latter defending masterfully from Rosberg on his out-lap from the pits.
There was little drama until Toro Rosso rookie Carlos Sainz Jr., who had been running in the points, ground to a halt at the exit of the final corner, signalling a Virtual Safety Car.
Just as the phase came to an end, rain fell for the first time, prompting a handful of cars, including Kimi Räikkönen, to pit for Intermediate tyres.
The front-runners battled the damp conditions for as long as they could, but eventually had to take on Intermediates when the rain intensified once more.
Hamilton emerged from this phase in the lead, ahead of Rosberg and Vettel, while Williams pair Massa and Bottas fell down the order after pitting later than their rivals.
While rainfall remained a threat, Hamilton kept his composure to reach the chequered flag first, 10 seconds clear of Rosberg, and a further four ahead of Vettel.
Massa and Bottas had to settle for fourth and fifth, while Daniil Kvyat led Red Bull's charge in sixth after team-mate Daniel Ricciardo retired with an engine electrical issue.
Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio Pérez recorded a double points finish in the revised Force India, the duo split by Räikkönen, who stopped for more Intermediates after his initial set wore out.
Alonso completed the top 10 positions, scoring his first point of the season.
Sauber's Marcus Ericsson followed in 11th, while Manor Marussia's Roberto Merhi and Will Stevens were the final finishers, Stevens dropping behind after losing his front wing late on.
Aside from the aforementioned retirements, Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen also failed to make the finish, spinning out of the race following the early Safety Car period.
Hamilton lost the lead to Williams' Felipe Massa at the start, but used the undercut to reclaim the place, before mastering late showers.
It marks Hamilton's third victory on home soil, after triumphing in the wet in 2008, and capitalizing on Rosberg's technical woes last year.
As the race began under overcast skies, it was Massa who made the best of starts, jumping ahead of Rosberg and Hamilton into Turn 1.
Hamilton did just enough to keep Bottas at bay for second, fighting back along the Wellington Straight, while Rosberg dropped to fourth place.
The Safety Car was sent out after just a matter of seconds, with the Lotus and McLaren-Honda drivers getting caught up in the bottleneck at Village.
Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado initially tangled, before Fernando Alonso slid back in to the path of team-mate Jenson Button as he attempted to avoid them.
Button and the Lotus pair retired on the first lap, while Alonso pitted for a new front wing.
As the race restarted, Hamilton attempted to get a run on Massa at the Safety Car line, but ran wide at Vale, allowing Bottas to slip through and form a Williams one-two.
The top four positions remained the same until the pit-stops, but Hamilton pitted first to risk the undercut, before Massa and Rosberg, and finally Bottas.
Hamilton ultimately moved into the lead of the race, just ahead of Massa and Bottas, the latter defending masterfully from Rosberg on his out-lap from the pits.
There was little drama until Toro Rosso rookie Carlos Sainz Jr., who had been running in the points, ground to a halt at the exit of the final corner, signalling a Virtual Safety Car.
Just as the phase came to an end, rain fell for the first time, prompting a handful of cars, including Kimi Räikkönen, to pit for Intermediate tyres.
The front-runners battled the damp conditions for as long as they could, but eventually had to take on Intermediates when the rain intensified once more.
Hamilton emerged from this phase in the lead, ahead of Rosberg and Vettel, while Williams pair Massa and Bottas fell down the order after pitting later than their rivals.
While rainfall remained a threat, Hamilton kept his composure to reach the chequered flag first, 10 seconds clear of Rosberg, and a further four ahead of Vettel.
Massa and Bottas had to settle for fourth and fifth, while Daniil Kvyat led Red Bull's charge in sixth after team-mate Daniel Ricciardo retired with an engine electrical issue.
Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio Pérez recorded a double points finish in the revised Force India, the duo split by Räikkönen, who stopped for more Intermediates after his initial set wore out.
Alonso completed the top 10 positions, scoring his first point of the season.
Sauber's Marcus Ericsson followed in 11th, while Manor Marussia's Roberto Merhi and Will Stevens were the final finishers, Stevens dropping behind after losing his front wing late on.
Aside from the aforementioned retirements, Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen also failed to make the finish, spinning out of the race following the early Safety Car period.
Race results - 2015 British Formula 1 Grand Prix
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:31:27.729 | |
| 2. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +10.956 | |
| 3. | S. Vettel | Ferrari | +25.443 | +14.487 |
| 4. | F. Massa | Williams | +36.839 | +11.396 |
| 5. | V. Bottas | Williams | +1:03.194 | +26.355 |
| 6. | D. Kvyat | Red Bull | +1:03.955 | +0.761 |
| 7. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | +1:18.744 | +14.789 |
| 8. | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | +1 Lap | |
| 9. | S. Perez | Force India | +1 Lap | |
| 10. | F. Alonso | McLaren | +1 Lap | |
| 11. | M. Ericsson | Sauber | +1 Lap | |
| 12. | R. Merhi | Manor | +3 Laps | |
| 13. | W. Stevens | Manor | +3 Laps | |
| Did not finish | ||||
| 14. | C. Sainz Jr. | Toro Rosso | +21 Laps | |
| 15. | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | +31 Laps | |
| 16. | M. Verstappen | Toro Rosso | +48 Laps | |
| 17. | P. Maldonado | Lotus | +51 Laps | |
| 18. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | +52 Laps | |
| 19. | J. Button | McLaren | +52 Laps |
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