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Rosberg drops to third after radio rules breach

Lewis Hamilton said his win at Silverstone was so easy he turned down his engine for the last 15 laps.

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He told reporters: “Our performance this weekend has been outstanding”.

When asked if he was confident the communication was within the regulations, Rosberg said: “Yep”.

Hamilton controlled the rain-hit race to become the first driver to win at Silverstone on three straight occasions, and move to within just one point of Nico Rosberg after the championship leader was hit with a 10-second retrospective timed penalty.

With five laps to go Rosberg’s auto was terminal and stuck in seventh gear, but instructions over the pit radio allowed him to fix the problem and continue on for second place.

The rules bar teams from giving drivers assistance during the race, except in certain circumstances. The Stewards will be pontificating on a ruling.

Hamilton led from start to finish in a race which began behind the safety auto following a deluge of rain at the Northamptonshire circuit.

No direct congratulations for Hamilton from team-mate and rival Nico Rosberg on his Twitter feed though – he saves those for the Silverstone crowd and for Portugal’s Euro 2016 victory over France.

“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”, he said.

“I think I stopped one lap too late”.

“That wasn’t planned”, said the Mercedes driver as images of him falling back into the sea of people, smiling serenely with his body supported by raised arms, traveled around the world.

“Ever since 2007 I have felt the energy from the fans here, the best crowd in the world – the success speeds up that connection”.

However, on Lap 38 Rosberg managed to reclaim second place, and set about chasing Hamilton.

The German was penalised for a breach of team radio regulations, dropping him from second to third behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. In the constructors standing, Mercedes leads with 335 points, with Ferrari (204) at second and Red Bull (198) at third. His Force India team could not warn him about the issue.

Engineer: “Avoid seventh gear, Nico, avoid seventh gear”.

He crossed the line second but was handed a 10 second penalty for an illegal radio transmission and relegated to third.

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Sainz’s Russian team mate Daniil Kvyat took the final point.

Lewis Hamilton WINS British Grand Prix & Rosberg takes second - for now