British F1 Grand Prix 2016 Results: Winner, Standings, Highlights and Reaction

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton continued his resurgence in the 2016 Formula One season at Silverstone on Sunday, as he raced to a win in the British Grand Prix.

It’s the third time in a row the British driver has sampled victory in his home grand prix, taking the chequered flag ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who were second and third, respectively.

The win here means Hamilton has reduced the gap to Rosberg to four points in the driver standings ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix in a fortnight's time.

The official Formula One Twitter feed provided the provisional race result:

Here are the overall standings following Hamilton's fourth win in the British Grand Prix:

Position	Driver	Nationality	Team	Points
1	NICO ROSBERG	GER	MERCEDES	171
2	LEWIS HAMILTON	GBR	MERCEDES	167
3	KIMI RAIKKONEN	FIN	FERRARI	106
4	DANIEL RICCIARDO	AUS	RED BULL RACING	100
5	SEBASTIAN VETTEL	GER	FERRARI	98
6	MAX VERSTAPPEN	NED	RED BULL RACING	87
7	VALTTERI BOTTAS	FIN	WILLIAMS	54
8	SERGIO PEREZ	MEX	FORCE INDIA	47
9	FELIPE MASSA	BRA	WILLIAMS	38
10	ROMAIN GROSJEAN	FRA	HAAS	28
11	NICO HULKENBERG	GER	FORCE INDIA	26
12	CARLOS SAINZ	ESP	TORO ROSSO	26
13	DANIIL KVYAT	RUS	TORO ROSSO	23
14	FERNANDO ALONSO	ESP	MCLAREN	18
15	JENSON BUTTON	GBR	MCLAREN	13
16	KEVIN MAGNUSSEN	DEN	RENAULT	6
17	PASCAL WEHRLEIN	GER	MRT	1
18	STOFFEL VANDOORNE	BEL	MCLAREN	1

Hamilton Triumphs on Home Soil

With the beginning of the race edging closer, news filtered through that the race would start behind the safety car at Silverstone due to wet weather. As F1 journalist James Allen noted, at least there were blue skies on the horizon:

After a few laps behind the safety car, the drivers start to get frustrated. “The safety car is really slow, so we can't get temperature up,” complained Hamilton on the team radio as the drivers continued to amble around, per Sky Sports F1. 

Eventually, five laps in, the safety car did retire. The four leaders all stayed out on the wet track, but there was a mad dash for the pit lane with plenty putting on the intermediate tyre.

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

When Hamilton, an expert in changing conditions, darted away again following another virtual safety car, he was quick to put some distance between himself and his team-mate. As the Mercedes Twitter feed noted, the gap was oscillating as the drivers went on the hunt for grip.

Rosberg, in particular, was finding it particularly difficult and Verstappen, in the Red Bull, was gaining ground. The 18-year-old showed why there is so much excitement surrounding him too, as he did brilliantly to dart around the outside of the German and take second place.

Meanwhile, the drivers were starting to try their hand on the dry tyres as the track conditions continued to improve. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was the first man to have a go, and while he set a brilliant lap initially, he shot himself in the foot after spinning off at Turn 1.

After some frantic stints in the pits for all the teams Renault had a moment to forget, releasing Jolyon Palmer without his right rear tyre, resulting in a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for the driver:

Although most of the track was dry after the halfway point, the drivers were finding the opening turn tough to negotiate. Hamilton and Verstappen both went off the road in that segment on the same lap, bringing the front three much closer together for a spell.

OLI SCARFF/Getty Images

It pushed Rosberg right behind Verstappen and a brilliant battle for second place was triggered between the two. The youngster has defended superbly at times this season and showed those skills for long spells with the Mercedes crawling over the back of him. But on the 38th lap, Rosberg eventually got past the Red Bull with a savvy move.

As noted by Autosport Live, once he'd jumped past the Dutchman, the Mercedes man showed what he was capable of:

The pace prompted hopes of another late battle between the two Silver Arrows after their last-lap drama in Austria. But, unfortunately for Rosberg, while he was squabbling with Verstappen, Hamilton had disappeared down the road.

Given the Brit had been able to look after his tyres in the second half of the race, there was never any danger of him being overhauled up front, especially when Rosberg had mechanical problems late on, with his car stuck in seventh gear. Verstappen was closing the gap quickly too.

ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/Getty Images

The German did manage to keep the youngster at bay before the finish line, although it was confirmed he would be under investigation because of the orders given to him by the team while he was struggling.

Here's what the three men on the podium had to say afterwards, per the F1 Twitter feed:

In all three of Hamilton’s world championship wins he’s picked up a victory at Silverstone, making this a fine omen for the year. While there may be something coincidental about that trend, it’s clear the Briton takes a great deal of confidence from winning this grand prix.

This was another emphatic sign the champion has found his groove again. The Mercedes man has long been a master at negotiating poor weather and showed that variety in his driving again here. Rosberg may still have a lead in the standings, but Hamilton, after a ropey start, is looking in excellent shape to defend his crown.