Stage-diving Lewis Hamilton celebrated by surfing an adoring Silverstone crowd after he claimed a record-equalling fourth victory at the British Grand Prix.
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Australian Daniel Ricciardo was fourth for Red Bull, 17.9 seconds behind his team mate, with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen fifth.
“I don’t know if you guys can be as happy as me”.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton celebrates with fans after winning the British Grand Prix.
True enough, the race started under wet conditions and with the safety vehicle out, but eventually the track eventually dried as the weather cleared up right before the start of the race.
But the Mercedes team posted a series of tweets, including one that attempts to emphasise respect from Rosberg for the man who has reduced his lead in the championship to a single point.
The German, who had a race-long battle with Verstappen, suffered a gearbox malfunction late in the 52-lap race at Silverstone.
That permits radio messages that are an “indication of a critical problem with the car” and that “any message of this sort may only be used if failure of a component or system is imminent and potentially terminal”.
The race engineer instructed Rosberg to “avoid seventh gear” and affirmed that he “need to shift through it”.
He received instructions from Mercedes to help combat the issue, but race stewards ruled the team contravened F1 regulations in doing so.
“I put the trophy down and I ran down and I could see the crowd there and I just wanted to connect with them in some way and then as I got there I was like, I wanted to go over the top. When we started the race, I was the first one who had to attack it”, said the champion.
“Having considered the matter extensively, the stewards determined that the team have some instructions to the driver that were specifically permitted under technical directive 014-16”, the stewards’ statement said.
Jenson Button was unable to build upon an excellent sixth-place finish in Austria and ended his 17th and potentially last British Grand Prix in 12th, one place ahead of disgruntled McLaren-Honda partner Fernando Alonso.
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Rosberg reeled off fastest laps, but Hamilton nursed his vehicle, and the tyres, as he retained a six seconds’ lead until, on lap 47, Rosberg reported a gearbox problem. That advice allowed Rosberg to repel Verstappen and take second place on the road.
