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Formula 1

Hamilton triumphs, Rosberg penalised in British Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg’s lead in the Formula One championship got cut to just one point following his demotion from runner-up to third place in the British Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton (left) celebrates after winning the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton (left) celebrates after winning the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday. REUTERS/Andrew Boyers
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The Mercedes driver was penalised 10 seconds by race stewards for a breach of the rules related to radio communication over a gearbox issue.

As a result, Red Bull's teenage driver Max Verstappen who had finished third three seconds behind Rosberg, jumped up to second place behind race winner Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton became the first driver to win three British GPs in a row. This was also his fourth win in the last five races of the season which has brought him on par with Rosberg.

Pre-race rain

Hamilton started on pole in tricky conditions at Silverstone. A pre-race downpour had meant that the cars started behind a safety car.

Hamilton and Rosberg maintained the top two positions till lap 15 before Verstappen, who scored a sensational win in Spain, swooped past Rosberg to take second place.

Gearbox problem

However, Rosberg reclaimed his place on lap 38 of the 52-lap race and reeled off fastest laps in his chase of Hamilton. However, with just five laps to go, the championship leader reported a gearbox problem which resulted in him losing three seconds on that lap. It was at this time that Rosberg received instructions on radio.

This allowed Verstappen to close the gap on him.

However, Rosberg held on to his second place and finished two seconds ahead of the Dutch driver.

Late twist puts Rosberg third

But there was a late twist to the result, as the sport’s governing body, FIA, issued three a statement three hours after the race stating that while some of the instructions from Mercedes were allowable, others were not.

This resulted in Rosberg getting a 10-second penalty leading to demotion to third place.

Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo took fourth with Kimi Raikkonen fifth for Ferrari.

Rosberg leads Hamilton in the championship standings by one point followed by Raikkonen, Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel.
 

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