2008 British GP: Hamilton's wet-weather masterclass at Silverstone

At the wet 2008 British GP at Silverstone Circuit, Lewis Hamilton left everyone behind in the McLaren. Hamilton won by 68.5 seconds from Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber), with Rubens Barrichello third for Honda. The race was decided at the first pit stop on lap 21. McLaren gave Hamilton fresh intermediates, while Ferrari left Kimi Räikkönen out on the old tyres. Shortly afterwards, the rain returned.

It was Hamilton's seventh Grand Prix win and the first in front of the home crowd. Autosport ranked the drive among the greatest wet-weather performances in Formula 1 history.

It had rained in the morning and there was still standing water on the track, so every driver started the race on intermediates. Heikki Kovalainen was on pole position, alongside Mark Webber in the Red Bull, with Räikkönen in the Ferrari and Hamilton behind them.

The three drivers ahead of Hamilton found little grip at the start. Hamilton even edged briefly ahead of team-mate Kovalainen at the first corner, the two touched, and Kovalainen took the lead back. Behind them, chaos reigned:

• Webber spun on the first lap and dropped to the back of the field.
• Felipe Massa also spun and lost almost all of the places.
• David Coulthard and Sebastian Vettel in the Toro Rosso collided and both ended up in the gravel. It was Coulthard's last home Grand Prix before the announced retirement, and the race was over for the Scot after just a few corners.

On lap 5 Hamilton passed Kovalainen to take the lead, giving it up only briefly at the pit stop all the way to the flag. Kovalainen later spun and fell behind Räikkönen. The Ferrari driver clawed back time second by second on the drying track and was less than a second behind Hamilton before the first stops. Räikkönen also set the fastest lap of the race along the way.

On lap 21 Hamilton and Räikkönen pitted together. McLaren refuelled and fitted new intermediates. Ferrari bet on the track continuing to dry and, after refuelling, sent Räikkönen back out on the used tyres. Hamilton rejoined just ahead of the Finn. Heidfeld led briefly on lap 22 before peeling into the pits too.

Shortly afterwards the rain returned, and Ferrari's plan backfired. According to Wikipedia, Räikkönen lost up to eight seconds a lap on the worn tyres. Kovalainen and Heidfeld went past. Grandprix.com reported that Fernando Alonso in the Renault had also stayed out without changing tyres and was “suffering badly” in the rain. On lap 30 Räikkönen made an unscheduled stop for fresh intermediates and dropped to eleventh place.

On fresh tyres, Hamilton was right at home. By the second stop on lap 38, the lead was already around 30 seconds, according to Wikipedia. Hamilton stayed on intermediates and brought the advantage home untroubled.

The story behind the winner belonged to Barrichello. As the rain intensified, Honda brought both cars in on lap 37 and fitted extreme wet tyres. In the heaviest shower, according to Wikipedia, that made Barrichello around nine seconds a lap faster than most of the field. Grandprix.com called Barrichello the “fastest car on track”.

Barrichello passed Jarno Trulli and Heidfeld, among others, and ran second for a time. However, a refuelling problem meant one more visit to the pits. Until then, Barrichello built up a big lead over Heidfeld. After the stop on lap 47 the Brazilian rejoined on intermediates in third behind the German and held the position to the finish. It was Honda's first podium of the season.

From grid position 16 to 3rd: having gained 13 places, Barrichello was the big climber of the day. Barrichello described it as a “perfect race”.

The conditions claimed many victims. Only 13 cars saw the chequered flag and seven drivers retired; apart from the two first-lap collision victims, all of them slid off the track:

• Sebastian Vettel and David Coulthard: They collided on the first lap and did not rejoin the race.
• Adrian Sutil (Force India): Spun and retired after 10 laps.
• Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India): Also slid off the track and retired after 16 laps.
• Nelson Piquet Jr. (Renault): According to Autosport, had been running fourth. Spun out in the heavy rain after 35 laps.
• Jenson Button (Honda): Spun off after 38 laps, missing the phase in which the extreme wets had their biggest advantage.
• Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber): Ran third at one stage and, according to Autosport, spun into the gravel at Abbey. The race was over after 39 laps, and with it a possible podium.

Kovalainen, Webber and Räikkönen also spun but kept going. According to Wikipedia, Massa spun five times. Nico Rosberg in the Williams hit Timo Glock in the Toyota while attempting a pass and had to pit for a new front wing.

Winners of the day:

• Hamilton: Won from grid position 4. Said after the race: “It is definitely and by far the best victory I've ever had.”
• Barrichello: Gained 13 places, more than anyone else.
• Heidfeld: Went from grid position 5 to 2nd.
• Rosberg: Started from 20th and finished ninth despite wing damage, 11 places up.
• Trulli and Kazuki Nakajima: Gained 7 places each and scored points in seventh and eighth.

Sébastien Bourdais finished eleventh, Glock twelfth.

Losers of the day:

• Ferrari: Räikkönen was only fourth, a lap down, but with the fastest lap. After the spins, Massa finished thirteenth and last, two laps down.
• Webber: Started from the front row and finished in 10th place, 8 places down.
• Kovalainen: Lost 4 places from pole position and finished fifth.
• Vettel: Lost 11 places after the first-lap crash.

Championship impact: After 9 of 18 races, the drivers' championship was wide open. Hamilton, Massa and Räikkönen were tied on 48 points each, with Hamilton leading thanks to the win after jumping three places. Kubica followed on 46 points, Heidfeld on 36. In the constructors' championship, Ferrari led with 96 points from BMW Sauber (82) and McLaren (72). You can find the full 2008 standings in our archive.

Verdict: In the summer of 2008, Hamilton proved at Silverstone to be the benchmark even in the most difficult conditions. With a three-way fight at the top of the championship, Silverstone 2008 sent a strong signal.