Faultless Hamilton secures record-equalling Silverstone win

Lewis Hamilton silenced his critics and boosted his Formula 1 title hopes with a record-equalling fifth British Grand Prix victory at Silverstone.

Hamilton had come under fire in the build-up to the race following his decision to skip an F1 event in Trafalgar Square but responded in perfect fashion by finishing clear of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

It was the three-time world champion’s fourth consecutive triumph at Silverstone and saw him move level with Jim Clark and Alain Prost in terms of wins at the British Grand Prix.

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Hamilton now trails Sebastian Vettel by just one point in the overall standings after a late puncture saw the Ferrari driver limp home in seventh place.

"Forget the fact that Hamilton indulged himself with a two-day blow-out in Mykonos before coming here," says Oliver Brown of the Daily Telegraph. "From now on, for all that Mercedes care, he can slope off to Disneyland, the Maldives, or the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. So long as he keeps producing performances of this calibre, with a lights-to-flag victory to defy the chaos in his rear-view mirrors, he will have his team’s unconditional trust."

Hamilton may not be everyone’s cup of tea but nobody can question his ability behind the wheel.

As well as matching the success of Prost and Clark at the British Grand Prix his pole position at Silverstone puts him just one behind the great Michael Schumacher and two clear of Ayrton Senna with 67.

This latest success was never in doubt as the 32-year-old produced a faultless drive from start to finish to the delight of the 139,000 adoring fans at Silverstone.

As Hamilton serenely negotiated his way to a 57th career win it was left to his rivals to battle it out for the minor placings.

Bottas started ninth on the grid but gradually worked his way through the field before overtaking Vettel on Hangar Straight to take third and was then elevated to second when Kimi Raikkonen punctured.

Raikkonen managed to hang on for a podium place but a bad day for his Ferrari team-mate Vettel got worse on the penultimate lap as he suffered the same fate to lose vital championship points.

"The crowd cheered Vettel's demise as the German toured the 3.6-mile circuit with bits of rubber falling off his destroyed tyre," says The Independent. "Vettel made it to the pits for repairs but dropped to seventh to make Hamilton's emphatic afternoon all that much sweeter."