Lewis Hamilton took advantage under a safety car to win an entertaining British Grand Prix at Silverstone, giving the Mercedes driver his sixth career win at his home race.
His teammate Valtteri Bottas took second, despite starting from pole position, while Charles Leclerc completed the podium.
Both Haas cars needed an early pitstop after coming together on the opening lap, leaving both with rear punctures, with the damage forcing Kevin Magnussen to retire just eight laps into the race, with Grosjean following two laps later.
The Mercedes duo remained close in the opening few laps, with Hamilton briefly getting ahead after wheel-to-wheel action with his teammate, but Bottas got the run on the reigning champion to move back in front a few turns later.
The battle for third saw Verstappen pressuring Leclerc, before Vettel closed up on the back on their battle. That allowed Gasly to catch the trio, and find a way around the outside of the Ferrari to jump up to fifth.
The Frenchman was the first of the front runners to pit, forcing Leclerc and Verstappen to come in on the next lap. Red Bull’s stop for Verstappen was quicker, getting him out ahead of the Monegasque driver, but Leclerc was able to overtake on the outlap.
Bottas pitted from the lead and took another set of mediums, committing him to a two-stop strategy, shortly before Antonio Giovinazzi spun and beached his Alfa Romeo on the gravel, bringing out the safety car.
Hamilton, Verstappen, Vettel and Leclerc all stopped under the safety car, giving Hamilton the lead of the race while potentially not needing another pitstop, while Vettel was promoted to third.
Once the stricken Alfa was removed and the racing resumed, the midfield was bunched up, with the Renaults, McLarens and Sergio Perez all scrapping for the final few points positions. Perez and Nico Hulkenberg collided, with the German running over the Racing Point’s front wing, dropping Perez to the back of the field, while Hulkenberg also lost a couple of places.
The Mercedes cars opened up a lead at the front, while Vettel and Verstappen battled for third, and Leclerc battled with Gasly to move back up to fifth following his second pitstop.
Verstappen moved ahead of Vettel for the final spot on the podium, but the four-time champion went into the back of the Red Bull driver looking for an immediate response, spinning both cars. Verstappen managed to get back on track quickly, rejoining just behind his teammate, but front wing damage meant Vettel needed another pitstop, shuffling the Ferrari to the back of the pack, before the stewards handed him a 10-second time penalty.
Bottas was able to open up a big enough lead to hold on to second after his second pitstop, but the need to come into the pitlane for a second time prevented him from challenging for the race win.
Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo had a closely-fought contest for the best of the rest, with the Spaniard just holding on to take sixth place, while Hulkenberg passed Alexander Albon on the final lap to take the last points position.
Hamilton also pushed on the final lap to set to secure the extra point for the fastest lap of the race, setting a new racing lap record at the track.
Provisional classification:
1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
4. Pierre Gasly (Red Bull)
5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
6. Carlos Sainz (McLaren)
7. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault)
8. Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo)
9. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso)
10. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
11. Lando Norris (McLaren)
12. Alexander Albon (Toro Rosso)
13. Lance Stroll (Racing Point)
14. George Russell (Williams)
15. Robert Kubica (Williams)
16. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)*
17. Sergio Perez (Racing Point)
DNF:
Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)
Romain Grosjean (Haas)
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
*Vettel crossed the line 15th but drops behind Kubica due to a 10-second time penalty.
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