Hamilton delights home fans, Rosberg penalised SILVERSTONE,
England (Reuters) - An ecstatic
Lewis Hamilton won his home
British Grand Prix for the third year in a row on Sunday and his
Mercedes team mate
Nico Rosberg's overall lead was slashed to a single
point.
The triple
Formula One world champion, who turned crowd-surfer after the podium celebrations, basked in the adulation of a 130,000-strong crowd as he took the winner's trophy at
Silverstone for the fourth time in his career.
The
Briton's
47th victory added to his momentum in a championship that Rosberg started off dominating with four wins in a row but has since turned in
Hamilton's favour.
"I'm catching him, so let's keep going," he told reporters. "
I remember the first time that I got to stand up there with it (the trophy) in 2008 and the feeling today is just as great, if not actually greater."
Rosberg finished as runner-up but, four hours after the race had ended, was handed a 10-second penalty and demoted to third place behind
Red Bull's
Dutch teenager
Max Verstappen for a breach of radio regulations.
Mercedes, who had advised Rosberg to avoid seventh gear because his car's gearbox was failing, said they intended to appeal.
The German had suffered a gearbox problem five laps from the end and crossed the line 6.9 seconds behind Hamilton, with Verstappen a further 1.3 back.
The rules bar teams from giving drivers assistance during the race, except in certain circumstances. The stewards ruled that some of the instructions relayed to Rosberg were permitted but others were not.
In a race that began behind the safety car after heavy rain, before starting properly at the end of the fifth lap, Hamilton led from pole to become the first driver to win three times in a row at Silverstone.
There were a few anxious moments when the slippery surface caught him out but he was never threatened by any of his rivals.
"I don't know if you guys can be as happy as me. I'm really happy," Hamilton told the crowd that stood and cheered him all the way round the final lap with the sun shining at last.
The Briton got even closer to the fans, who flooded on to the track after the finish.
"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, travelled around the world.
"I could see the crowd there and I just wanted to connect with them in some way."
- published: 11 Jul 2016
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