In the closing laps of the race Rosberg reported gearbox problems to Mercedes, who gave him instructions including “avoid seventh gear” to help him get to the end of the race.
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“It’s never plain, smooth sailing – that’s why the British GP is the best”. “On a day like this, Lewis Hamilton is unstoppable”. And in eighth was Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz.
Championship leader Rosberg finished behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton on Sunday, holding off Max Verstappen’s Red Bull despite experiencing gearbox problems in the latter stages.
When racing got underway for real, the precocious Verstappen completed an audacious passing move on Rosberg, but lost his advantage during a subsequent round of pit stops as drivers changed to slicker tires. “Avoid seventh gear”, the team told him before he recovered to secure his podium finish.
He added: “I really feel like I’ve grown with them over the years and obviously, naturally, when you have success that speeds up the bond, that connection you have.they really do make a huge difference”. Sixth-placed Toro Rosso now have 41 points.
Hamilton is now just one point behind his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg after a superb lights-to-flag victory in front of a record Silverstone crowd.
“Apart from standing there on the podium holding the trophy up and the bottle, there’s no real way of connecting with the people”, Hamilton said.
Hamilton led from start to finish in a race which began behind the safety auto following a deluge of rain at the Northamptonshire circuit. Verstappen with a win, a second and a third is on 98.
However, tonight the team issued a statement confirming that it has withdrawn the appeal.
After more than three hours of deliberations, stewards ruled some of the messages over the radio to Rosberg to combat the glitch did contravene 2016’s tightened regulations on how much teams can assist drivers in the vehicle.
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Those fans took Hamilton to heart in rare fashion on Sunday: not only did the victor crowd surf during his celebrations, but the faithful fans also booed Hamilton’s arch-rival Rosberg – apparently in retaliation for the booing aimed at Hamilton after the recent race in Austria.
