British Grand Prix: Vettel extends lead over Hamilton after dramatic race

Sebastian Vettel celebrates his British Grand Prix victory as Lewis Hamilton (left) looks on in Silverstone yesterday. Pic/AFP

Sebastian Vettel clinched victory in yesterday's British Grand Prix to extend his championship lead over title rival Lewis Hamilton, but the home hero limited the damage with a stunning recovery drive from dead last to second.

The Ferrari driver crossed the line 2.2 seconds ahead of his Mercedes rival at the end of a dramatic race that featured two safety cars. Kimi Raikkonen was third. Yesterday's win allows Vettel to extend his lead over Hamilton to eight points in the overall standings after ten of the 21 races. The German had gone into the weekend with a one-point advantage over Hamilton.

Vettel started second on the front-row alongside Hamilton, who had pulled out all the stops to seize an emotional pole-position in front of his home fans on Saturday. But the Briton was beaten off the line by the Ferrari and lost another position to teammate Valtteri Bottas through the opening sequence of corners.

Having fallen to third, he was then punted into a spin by Raikkonen who locked up while trying to pass him into the tight right-handed Village corner, with the incident dropping him to the very back of the field. "This is the greatest race of the year and the greatest crowd," Hamilton, putting on a brave face, said on the podium.

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