A dominant Max Verstappen set the practice pace in the first running of the weekend at the British Grand Prix.

The double world champion, a winner at seven of the opening nine rounds of a one-sided campaign, finished nearly half-a-second clear of Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.

Lewis Hamilton managed only 12th in front of his home supporters, two places ahead of fellow Briton George Russell in the other Mercedes.

Alex Albon was an impressive third for Williams with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso fourth. Charles Leclerc finished fifth for Ferrari.

Verstappen has already established a commanding 81-point lead in his pursuit of a hat-trick of world championships.

The Dutch driver cruised to the chequered flag a week ago at Red Bull’s home race in Austria, and he will head into the remainder of the weekend as the driver to beat following an emphatic start at a sun-cooked Silverstone.

Verstappen pulled on the speediest soft tyres with a dozen minutes to go and crossed the line 0.448 seconds ahead of Perez in the other Red Bull.

Hamilton has won seven of the last 10 races staged at Silverstone, but the seven-time world champion will have to upset the odds to add to his tally on Sunday.

The 38-year-old finished a distant 1.1 sec adrift of Verstappen and was on the radio complaining about the bouncing in his upgraded Mercedes machine.

Russell was also on the intercom to bemoan his unruly Mercedes, ending the one-hour running a tenth back from Hamilton.

However, neither Hamilton nor Russell posted a lap on the fastest soft compound.

Nyck de Vries is under pressure to keep his seat with AlphaTauri and the rookie Dutchman was the only driver to fall off the road in practice.

De Vries spun into the gravel at Turn 7 but was able to keep his car going through the sand trap before returning to his garage.

Despite the threat of action from Just Stop Oil protesters, the first running passed off without incident.

However, F1 bosses, Silverstone and Northamptonshire Police remain on high alert that a protest could yet disrupt the three days of running, with 480,000 people anticipated to pass through the gates this weekend.

Lewis Hamilton has defended the casting of Brad Pitt as a Formula One driver with the Hollywood actor to start filming for his new blockbuster at the British Grand Prix on Friday.

Pitt will race an adapted Formula Two machine between practice sessions at a sold-out Silverstone for the movie which Hamilton is helping to produce.

It is understood that the 59-year-old American will play the role of a veteran driver returning to the grid after a 30-year absence.

The plot line has raised eyebrows, given Pitt’s age, but Hamilton said: “Brad looks like he’s ageing backwards. He looks great for his age.

“Of course that was a big topic at the beginning when we were discussing the first story. But he’s super-fit.

“He is such an iconic actor. He’s always done such an incredible job. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have Brad Pitt in Formula One. It’s incredible.”

Pitt has been getting up to speed in Formula Two machinery for two months – first at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France and then here at Silverstone.

While Pitt will be alone on track at Silverstone in a modified car prepared by Hamilton’s Mercedes team, it is believed that the assistance of computer generated imagery will make him look as though he is racing this season’s grid.

A garage has been set up in the paddock to replicate a fictional “11th team”, called Apex GP. They will also have a presence on the grid ahead of Sunday’s race, but will be withdrawn before the event gets under way.

“There are nerves because it is something we’ve been working on for so long,” added Hamilton.

“We want everyone to love it and to really feel that we encapsulate what the essence of this sport is all about.

“I don’t know if this would have been possible 10 years ago when the old management was in place. They wouldn’t have perhaps seen this as an important step in terms of the sport’s growth.

“But we’ve already seen the great work and impact of the Netflix show, and this will take it to new heights beyond that.”

Apple has bought the rights to the movie with a reported budget of 140 million US dollars (£125 million).

Joseph Kosinski, the man behind Top Gun: Maverick, will direct the film, while Jerry Bruckheimer – who also worked on the Tom Cruise blockbuster – is listed as a producer.

Filming will continue at a number of races over the remainder of the season.

Max Verstappen believes next season’s Formula One calendar is too long and hinted it will be a factor in whether he stays in the sport beyond 2028 – but George Russell thinks the Red Bull driver simply wants more money.

The Dutchman is powering towards a third successive drivers’ title – holding an 81-point lead heading into this weekend’s British Grand Prix – but has again suggested that ongoing disgruntlement with elements of the sport might cause him to walk away at the end of his current contract.

The 2024 Formula One calendar was released on Wednesday and it will feature a record 24 races – starting on March 2 and ending on December 8.

Verstappen says that is too many and, having already hit out at the increase in the number of sprint races and the new car regulations for 2026 this season, says he will need certain conditions if he is to extend his stay in the sport.

“It is too many (races) for me but we just have to deal with it,” Verstappen, whose Red Bull deal expires in 2028, said.

“I think it (the calendar) is a bit more logical the way that it is planned at least, I guess that is better for everyone.

“But more things will have to come together for me to make my mind up over whether I stay longer (than 2028) or not. But I think that these things are definitely not helping for sure.”

Mercedes driver Russell believes talk of retirement is a tactic from Verstappen but admitted that the lengthening calendar and the commitments on the drivers is an issue.

“I think he is whingeing because he wants more money!” Russell said.

“He is the highest paid on this grid and rightly so for what he is achieving but I think it is all a big tactic of his, this threat of retirement.

“I hope he doesn’t – I hope he stays for as long as I stay because I want to fight against the best drivers in the world.

“I think we are in a great place at the moment with the sport.

“It is challenging, we can’t just keep adding more commitments and races, there has to be a point where if you add something then something has to be taken off.

“We are adding more races and more commitments and we are working overtime and I’m pretty sure that’s the case at Red Bull.

“If we didn’t have any other commitments I’m pretty sure we’d be happy to race every weekend.

“I am doing what I love. Almost the more the merrier to a certain extent. We are the most privileged people in the world to be Formula One drivers. There are a lot of things that come with it.

“I would happily take more races but less commitment outside of the race weekend.”

Lewis Hamilton has said he would welcome a protest from Just Stop Oil campaigners at this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

The climate activists targeted Wimbledon on Wednesday and have caused disruption at the Lord’s Ashes Test, the Premiership rugby final and the World Snooker Championship so far this year.

Asked ahead of Sunday’s race, if he would support a protest which did not involve people invading the track, Hamilton said: “Yes. I support peaceful protests.”

Five people invaded last year’s British Grand Prix after they stormed the Wellington Straight – the fastest point of the Northamptonshire track – before sitting down during the opening lap.

The contest had already been suspended following Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu’s high-speed crash, but a number of cars sped by the group before they were dragged away by marshals. The protesters were handed suspended jail sentences in March.

Silverstone has worked alongside Northamptonshire Police to beef up security ahead of this year’s event, with a record 480,000 people expected to attend over the weekend, and 150,000 fans in place for the race.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton added: “We are hoping we have learnt from the experience (of last year).

“We have 100 more marshals this weekend which will be supportive to make sure it doesn’t happen.

“From my perspective, and my teams’ perspective, we are focused on sustainability and we believe in what people (the protesters) are fighting for and we are making those changes as a sport.

“But safety is key. We don’t want to put them in harm’s way and we don’t want to put anyone else in harm’s way. If there was to be one (a protest) we hope it is not on track.”

Earlier this week, McLaren driver Lando Norris told Just Stop Oil campaigners that they would be “stupid and selfish” to put lives in danger by protesting

But Williams’ London-born Alex Albon believes an attack is likely. “There is a high chance of something happening this week,” he said.

“It is a concern because a pitch invasion is one thing but with cars and moving parts it gets a bit more dangerous to some extent.”

Max Verstappen is in the form of his career, but Williams team principal James Vowles is confident other teams are closing in on Red Bull.

Verstappen is well clear in the drivers' championship, having won seven races already in 2023. 

Red Bull, with their other driver Sergio Perez occupying second place, are also the runaway leaders in the constructors' championship.

Vowles, though, does think the gap is gradually beginning to close.

Asked how teams can stop the Verstappen-Red Bull juggernaut, he told Stats Perform: "It's a meritocracy. They've done the best job with the same finances available, not the same equipment, the same finances available as everyone else. 

"He's on fire at the moment. There's just every race where you think he might struggle. He still pulls one out of the bag and does well. 

"I think what you are seeing is people catching up. That's the slight difference. There is a closing of the gap relative to what happened before. It's just going to take time for that to fully kick in."

Before taking charge of Williams, Vowles was the motorsport strategy director at Mercedes, who have endured a difficult time since the start of the 2022 season.

"I think Mercedes lost a year's worth of development simply because the direction they went down was quite different to really the rest of the field," he said.

"And sometimes you have to believe in what you're doing at one point, which is what they've done now, you have to realise that is the wrong direction.

"But that year hasn't been undone. You can't just undo it in the space of one week.

"So what you'll see from this is that now we're going to slowly start, I'm sure, to learn what the package is and how to develop it because they are an incredible organisation and will get back to the front, but it's going to take them I think from here another six months, 12 months to be able to do that."

Asked if F1 was becoming too predictable, Vowles replied: "I think there always is a risk of that. That's like any sport, when you can predict the result, it's less interesting.

"The only thing is I'd go back and say, actually, Austria was one of the most interesting races we've had so far this year, so the gems are still there and this won't last forever.

"[Verstappen] will come back towards everyone else and it just takes a little bit more time than we're expecting. But he will do."

Lewis Hamilton's Formula One legacy "will live forever" says Logan Sargeant, who does not anticipate the seven-time world champion will bow out just yet.

After a disappointing 2022 season, Hamilton is once again well behind two-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen in the F1 standings.

While Verstappen has seven race wins to his name already this year, Hamilton has zero, and has only managed three podium placings.

The Mercedes driver sits fourth in the drivers' championship, and there has been speculation that this year might be his last in F1.

Williams driver Sargeant, however, feels Hamilton will stay on, though the American is sure that legendary status has been secured for the Briton.

"I personally think he's going to stay," Sargeant told Stats Perform.

"I think he wants to keep going. I could be wrong.

"His legacy will live forever, he's one of the best ever do it, if not the best, and he's a driver I looked up to through my junior career.

"I'll always have a massive amount of respect for him. His legacy will live forever."

Sargeant, though, does not feel Hamilton or anyone else will be able to compete with Verstappen for this year's title.

He said: "This year, I don't think so. Maybe next year, but it seems like they [Red Bull] have got this year well under control.

"Max is obviously driving amazingly, so I don't think anyone's going to be able to beat them this year unless they have a problem."

Sargeant is experiencing his first season in F1, and conceded it is taking some getting used to.

"It's extremely difficult, as you can imagine, being against 19 of the other best drivers in the world," he said.

"It's so tight from eighth to 20th, and if you put one foot wrong, that can be the difference between getting top 10 or 20th, so that's the biggest challenge just making sure you're at your best every single day, and I feel like it's coming.

"I'm just getting more and more comfortable with it, so the goal is to eventually get to a point where I can extract everything that car has throughout a weekend. That's where I want to get to."

Formula One bosses have announced the longest calendar in the sport’s history with a record-breaking 24 races scheduled for next season.

The campaign will open on a Saturday in Bahrain on March 2 and end more than 10 months later in Abu Dhabi on December 8.

The British Grand Prix will take place at Silverstone on July 7, avoiding a clash with the men’s Wimbledon final, and the concluding day of golf’s Open Championship at Royal Troon.

The Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai is also pencilled in for its first F1 race since 2019.

F1 races traditionally take place on a Sunday, but next year’s schedule kicks off with back-to-back Saturday night races, first in Bahrain and then in Saudi Arabia, to accommodate Ramadan.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “There is huge interest and continued demand for Formula One, and I believe this calendar strikes the right balance between traditional races and new and existing venues.

“Our journey to a more sustainable calendar will continue in the coming years as we further streamline operations as part of our Net Zero 2030 commitment.

“We have plenty of racing to look forward to in 2023, including the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, and our fans can look forward to more excitement next season.”

March 2 – Bahrain Grand Prix (Sakhir)
March 9 – Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (Jeddah)
March 24 – Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne)
April 7 – Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka)
April 21 – Chinese Grand Prix (Shanghai)
May 5 – Miami Grand Prix (Miami)
May 19 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (Imola)
May 26 – Monaco Grand Prix (Monte Carlo)
June 9 – Canadian Grand Prix (Montreal)
June 23 – Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona)
June 30 – Austrian Grand Prix (Spielberg)
July 7 – British Grand Prix (Silverstone)
July 21 – Hungarian Grand Prix (Hungaroring)
July 28 – Belgian Grand Prix (Spa-Francorchamps)
August 25 – Dutch Grand Prix (Zandvoort)
September 1 – Italian Grand Prix (Monza)
September 15 – Azerbaijan Grand Prix (Baku)
September 22 – Singapore Grand Prix (Marina Bay)
October 20 – United States Grand Prix (Austin)
October 27 – Mexico City Grand Prix (Mexico City)
November 3 – Brazilian Grand Prix (Interlagos)
November 23 – Las Vegas Grand Prix (Las Vegas)
December 1 – Qatar Grand Prix (Lusail)
December 8 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yas Marina)

Lewis Hamilton and Co will this week descend on Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.

Here, the PA news agency looks at five key races staged at the Northamptonshire venue.

1987

Nigel Mansell was forced to pit for a new set of tyres after reporting vibrations on his Williams. With 30 laps remaining he was the best part of half-a-minute behind his team-mate and fierce rival Nelson Piquet.

The chase appeared impossible but, spurred on by his home crowd, Mansell smashed the lap record on nine occasions before catching and passing Piquet after an exquisite move at Stowe with only two laps left.

The home crowd were euphoric and Mansell responded by leaping out of his Williams and kissing the tarmac.

1994

Michael Schumacher illegally overtook pole-sitter Damon Hill on the parade lap and was punished with a stop-and-go penalty – which he ignored.

He was issued with a black flag – which should have resulted in his instant disqualification – but Schumacher kept driving before serving his stop-and-go punishment on lap 27.

Hill went on to claim a crucial victory and was presented the winner’s trophy by Princess Diana. Schumacher finished second, but he was later disqualified and banned for two races.

1998

Schumacher was at the centre of controversy four years later after winning – while stationary in the pit-lane.

Mika Hakkinen led from the start, but as the rain fell and conditions deteriorated, the Finn lost control of his McLaren and spun.

The safety car was deployed, and while Hakkinen remained in the race, he had sustained damage to his front wing. His 40-second lead was wiped out and Schumacher looked odds-on to win.

However, Schumacher had illegally passed Alexander Wurz under a yellow flag, which resulted in a stop-and-go penalty. But the haphazard stewards only announced his punishment with two laps left.

At the end of the final lap, Schumacher entered the pits to serve his penalty, but had already crossed the start-finish line and won the race. The bizarre result stood despite McLaren’s protests.

2008

Lewis Hamilton arrived at his home race fourth in the drivers’ standings but left on top after storming to victory in one of his outstanding performances.

In torrential rain, Hamilton blitzed the field, finishing the race almost 70 seconds ahead of second-placed Nick Heidfeld and lapped the entire pack up to third. Hamilton’s championship rival Felipe Massa spun five times.

2021

Hamilton sent Max Verstappen into the wall at Copse following a devastating 180mph collision.

Verstappen was taken to hospital with concussion, while Hamilton was hit with a 10-second penalty.

Hamilton served his punishment and fought back through the field, passing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the final laps to take a remarkable, if not controversial, victory.

Lewis Hamilton will head into this weekend’s British Grand Prix with only six months remaining on his £40million-a-season Mercedes deal.

The PA news agency spoke to David Coulthard, 13-race Formula One winner and Channel 4 pundit for the broadcaster’s live coverage of Sunday’s race at Silverstone, to look at the key questions surrounding Hamilton’s next deal.

When will Hamilton’s new contract with Mercedes be announced?

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff confirmed that 38-year-old Hamilton’s extension will not be announced at Silverstone this week, but for me, it is just a case of when they get it done. I am not aware Lewis is having a change of heart about whether he wants to go racing or not, and I don’t think Mercedes are having second doubts.

Wolff said financial terms, and the duration of the next deal, have been agreed. So, why the hold-up?

Mercedes will want a certain amount of time from Lewis for their partners. Mercedes will have sold sponsorship on obtaining access to their drivers. Some businesses will have signed up with the Silver Arrows because Lewis is there, rather than George Russell. Perhaps Lewis might be wanting to do fewer days or have fewer commitments?

What Lewis will be signing up for goes way beyond him driving at a grand prix. It is about what rights he retains in terms of his image, and what rights he sells to the team. Mercedes are buying more than just Lewis’ driving services. They are buying his promotional image and his PR image.

Could Hamilton join Ferrari, or even Red Bull?

I don’t think there is any realistic chance that Lewis will leave Mercedes unless there is a major fallout. And I can’t see that happening.

Who would the major fallout be with? Even if it was with Toto, Lewis’ relationship with Mercedes’ parent company Daimler is much longer than Toto’s emergence as team principal of Mercedes.

How much longer will Hamilton go on for?

I am sure there are quotes from drivers when they were younger, who said they could not see themselves racing into their late 30s and beyond. I am sure Lewis will have said something similar. But he’ll look at Fernando Alonso, and think ‘if Fernando, who is 42 this month, is still competitive, than why not me?’

However, the only reason for Hamilton to hang around is to try and win races and compete for championships. Scoring points will not change his life. He needs to see what Mercedes can show him that gives him the confidence he will be competitive next year, rather than having to stay around for another three seasons.

How will Hamilton handle retirement?

Lewis has had an incredible journey in life, with his achievements on the track, and his exposure off it.

He has got a very healthy view of how it is being Lewis Hamilton – the Formula One driver that goes from country to country – and Lewis Hamilton – the individual, the personality, the celebrity. But none of those personality-driven events he goes to will ever give him the adrenaline buzz he gets from racing a Formula One car.

Very few things in life will ever give him that feeling so when the time does arrive for him to retire, he has to be certain he is ready to stop.

My memories of Silverstone go back to 1995. When I first landed from Australia as an 18-year-old I wanted to go to there because it was the most famous race track in the world.

I went straight from Heathrow to the gates to have a look at it. And the sheer scale of the venue – with all the racing teams set up around it – was awesome.

I have lots of positive memories from racing there. I won at Silverstone in sportscars, in Formula Ford, in Formula Two – which was Formula 3000 back then – and I also managed a couple of victories in Formula One, too.

I always enjoyed racing there. The atmosphere of the crowd is incredible and they are bloody knowledgeable. You really feel that as a driver.

It is a phenomenal circuit and one that should never be taken off the calendar. It is the embodiment of what F1 is all about. Here are a handful of my Silverstone memories:

Lewis Hamilton’s win in the torrential rain in 2008

Bloody hell. What Lewis did that day was just magical. He tore the field apart. I was on the front row, and spun on the first lap. Everyone made a mistake that day, but Lewis didn’t.

With the sheer level of water – and because the cars were so light and nimble – you had to be on top of them to stay in charge. And Lewis’ skill and feel allowed him to take one of his biggest winning margins ever. He crossed the line 70 seconds clear of anyone else and lapped the field up to third.

It was an exceptional display, and anyone that was there witnessed a bit of history. Fifteen years on, it remains one of his best performances.

Winning my first British Grand Prix in 2010

This was one of the biggest memories of my life. There was a lot of tension going into that race because of the contradictions on the equipment I felt I was receiving compared to my Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

I had a close start with Seb in Turn 1. He then made contact with Lewis, got a puncture – which I was heartbroken about – and after that I was racing Lewis to the flag.

It was not a regulation victory – you always have to earn them and do the work – but I managed to have a clean day in front of a full house.

I said to the team over the radio: “Not bad for a number two driver.” I just thought I would let them know I wasn’t a bad driver.

Lewis Hamilton v Max Verstappen in 2021

The impact between Lewis and Max at Copse was big, and it was good that Max was alright.

What we saw that day, was two gladiators marking their territories. It is what makes our sport so great – two legends taking each other to the wire in front of a full house at a daunting circuit.

It was the first race back with a capacity crowd after Covid and the occasion was why that first lap was so feisty. There were 140,000 punters in, and Lewis was not going to back down.

Lewis is probably one of, if not the cleanest drivers I ever raced against, alongside Fernando Alonso. They are both absolutely extraordinary in wheel-to-wheel combat.

But it was a very optimistic move from Lewis. To this day, I don’t know how he did not retire with damage. Everything after that was a bonus and somehow the car stayed together and he got the job done and won.

Zhou Guanyu’s horror crash

Last year, Zhou had a lucky escape after he rolled on to his roof and was launched into the barrier at the first corner. For me, the Halo didn’t help. The upside-down car acted like a skateboard. It made Zhou go faster along the track.

The cars are so much heavier than they used to be. They are now 850 kilograms – up from 600 kilograms – but still do the same speeds. That means a lot of the barriers are outdated and more exposed.

On the back of the ticket it says motorsport is dangerous. Bad things have happened in the past, and unfortunately they will do in the future. The FIA must keep learning, and they know the weight of these cars is not something that’s good for the safety of the circuits.

Mark Webber will appear as pundit for Channel 4 during their live coverage of the British Grand Prix on Sunday

Lando Norris admits this has been the toughest season of his Formula One career – and he is not prepared to wait another five years before he can fight to be crowned champion of the world.

Norris heads into his home race at Silverstone off the back of his best result of 2023 – an upgraded fourth in his updated McLaren at last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.

He made his debut in 2019, scoring six podiums and taking one pole position along the way, narrowly missing out on a maiden victory at a rain-hit Russian Grand Prix two years ago.

But the 23-year-old from Glastonbury has endured a largely frustrating campaign in his under-performing McLaren. His strong finish in Spielberg marked the first time from the opening nine rounds that he has finished in the top five.

“This has been my toughest season,” Norris said in an interview with the PA news agency ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

“I have been on the rise and felt that glory and the podiums and then it drops off to the worst it has been for me. I want to win so much, but at the same time it feels so far away.

“Everyone puts in the effort, and when I am not close to fighting for points, it takes a lot out of me. I don’t get anything out of it and it hurts.

“And when I think I have been in F1 for five seasons, I feel like ‘damn’. Five years have gone by so quickly and before I know it I will have been here for 10. I don’t want to be in this position then.”

Although Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso are regarded as the top three in F1, Norris is leading the chasing group.

Norris effectively ended eight-time grand prix winner Daniel Ricciardo’s career by outperforming him during their two years together at McLaren. And Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is known to be an admirer of the young Englishman.

Sergio Perez has struggled for form in recent races, leading some to question whether there might be a vacancy alongside Verstappen at Red Bull next year.

Is Norris, who is contracted to McLaren until 2026, monitoring the situation at the grid’s all-conquering team?

“You always monitor things,” he replied. “Every driver on the grid does. And I do think sometimes, ‘What would happen if I was in this position or that position?’

“But I am not the guy who wastes time thinking about it, or wishing for something else. I have kind of got to a point where I am just very happy to keep my head down.

“When the time comes and something happens then something happens, but I don’t get carried away with any of that, as much as I daydream about things in life, like everyone does.”

Norris’ strong display at Spielberg will have lifted the mood at McLaren’s Woking headquarters.

And Norris wants to carry over his form from the Styrian Mountains by putting on a show for a crowd on Sunday that will touch 150,000 spectators – a large chunk of whom will be cheering on the popular McLaren man.

“The experience of having a home race and the support of the fans, the cheers and the shouting, is such a cool thing,” Norris added.

“In a way it makes me feel odd because I could never have ever imagined to be in that position, with people wearing my T-shirt and shouting my name. I am an introvert really, and not necessarily the best with crowds.

“But it gets me because there are people supporting me and spending their weekend cheering me on. I feel like I want to deliver and make sure they have a good time.”

Lewis Hamilton praised his own pit-stop calls as he completed a hat-trick of home victories by winning an entertaining British Grand Prix at a rain-hit Silverstone on this day in 2015.

The reigning world champion recovered from another poor start to seal a 38th career win and remain on course to equal his hero Ayrton Senna’s haul of three Formula One championships that season.

Home favourite Hamilton timed both of his pit-stops perfectly, firstly leap-frogging the fast-starting Williams pair of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas – who had jumped the Mercedes duo from the start – and then putting on the intermediate tyres as the heaviest of the rain came, thus placating a push from team-mate Nico Rosberg.

“The race was very very tough,” said 30-year-old Hamilton, who took top place on the podium ahead of Rosberg (second) and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel (third).

“It was very slippery off the start but it made it more exciting when I was chasing down the Williams and it was very hard to get close and overtake.

“I got close enough on the first pit-stop and I came out ahead and then the rain came and I lost temperature on the front tyres. For the first time in my F1 career I made the perfectly right choice in terms of, I’m coming in now. So I feel extremely happy about that.”

The win was Hamilton’s fifth of the season, moving him 17 points clear of Rosberg at the top of the standings, and he would go on to be crowned world champion again that year.

Since then, Hamilton has won the British Grand Prix a further five times – taking his overall tally to eight, three clear of Jim Clark and Alain Prost – and improved his number of world titles to a record-equalling seven.

McLaren boss Zak Brown has called on Formula One’s governing body to ensure the track-limits fiasco which overshadowed the Austrian Grand Prix never happens again.

Drivers were penalised throughout the weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg for crossing the white lines – with the final classification for Sunday’s race only settled five hours after the chequered flag.

Eight of the 20-strong grid were dealt post-race sanctions by the FIA, with Lewis Hamilton demoted from seventh to eighth.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz slipped two places to sixth, while Frenchman Esteban Ocon was handed an extraordinary half-a-minute’s worth of combined penalties for track-limit infringements.

Earlier in the weekend, world champion Max Verstappen accused race director Niels Wittich of making the grid’s stars look like “amateurs”. In all, more than 100 laps were deleted during Sunday’s race.

“It definitely wasn’t ideal what happened, and that’s stating the obvious,” said Brown.

“Where we need to do a better job is that we knew this was going to be a problem on Friday and yet we just kind of watched it happen.

“We need to make sure it never happens again, and that we do a proper debrief and understand how we could have prevented it in the first place or handled it differently.”

McLaren driver Lando Norris benefited from Sainz’s post-race penalty to be promoted to fourth to take his best result of a difficult season for the British team.

Brown, speaking at the reveal of a one-off livery for McLaren’s home race at Silverstone this weekend, continued: “I’ll take my hat off to the FIA for addressing the issue and I think it would have been easy to say, ‘this is going to cause a lot of noise, let’s just kind of get it right next time’.

“For them to put their hands and say there were some penalties that needed to be addressed, I thought that was a brave decision.

“But we can’t have it again. We can’t have a race and then five hours later you have that degree of change in the result.”

Lando Norris has told Just Stop Oil campaigners that they would be “stupid and selfish” to put lives in danger by protesting at the British Grand Prix.

The climate activists have already targeted the Lord’s Ashes Test, the Premiership rugby final and the World Snooker Championship so far this year.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s race, British driver Norris, 23, said: “Of course, it is a concern because is a stupid thing to do to put your life in danger with cars driving around.

“It is also a very selfish thing to do because of the consequences it could have on the person that drives the car.

“Everyone has a right to protest and I guess there are good ways of doing it and worse ways.

“I just hope people are smart enough not to do it. There are much safer ways to get just as much attention.”

Five protesters invaded last year’s British Grand Prix after they stormed the Wellington Straight – the fastest point of the Northamptonshire track – before sitting down during the opening lap.

The contest had already been suspended following Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu’s high-speed crash, but a number of cars sped by the group before they were dragged away by marshals. The protesters were handed suspended jail sentences in March.

Silverstone has worked alongside Northamptonshire Police to beef up security ahead of this year’s event, with a record 480,000 people expected to attend over the weekend, and more than 140,000 fans in place for the race.

Speaking to the PA news agency earlier on Monday, Silverstone managing director Stuart Pringle said: “The fundamental difference here is that you are not putting your life in danger when you run on the pitch at Lord’s.

“You are not putting your life in danger when you sit on a snooker table or protest at a flower show.

“A motor racing track is not the place to go. It is extraordinarily dangerous and people will be putting lives at risk if they go there, and any sensible, right-thinking person can extrapolate what the ultimate risk here is.

“My strong, strong message is: ‘Do not put your life in danger. This is not the place to go and sit on a floor’. It is absolute madness if someone climbs on to a live racing track.

“We have no specific intelligence, but we will plan for the worst and hope for the best.”

Lewis Hamilton is gearing up for his home race following a disappointing Austrian Grand Prix where he finished seventh and was then demoted to eighth after a post-race penalty for exceeding track limits.

Hamilton was also dealt a public rebuke by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. The Austrian told Hamilton to “just drive the car” following a number of complaints by his driver over the radio.

“There are days when I can say I’m truly proud of myself, and days like today when frustration takes over,” said Hamilton on his Instagram account.

“In a race it can feel like you’re hanging off a cliff and losing the strength to hold on.

“It’s confusing for us to have such strong performances one day and then be nowhere the next.

“But when you really care about what you’re doing, you brush it off and keep fighting. Heads down for Silverstone.”

The boss of Silverstone has warned Just Stop Oil campaigners that they will be putting lives at risk if they protest at the British Grand Prix.

The climate activists have already targeted the Lord’s Ashes Test, the Premiership rugby final and the World Snooker Championship so far this year.

Speaking to the PA news agency ahead of Sunday’s race, Silverstone managing director Stuart Pringle said: “The fundamental difference here is that you are not putting your life in danger when you run on the pitch at Lord’s.

“You are not putting your life in danger when you sit on a snooker table or protest at a flower show.

“A motor racing track is not the place to go. It is extraordinarily dangerous and people will be putting lives at risk if they go there, and any sensible, right-thinking person can extrapolate what the ultimate risk here is.

“My strong, strong message is: ‘Do not put your life in danger. This is not the place to go and sit on a floor’. It is absolute madness if someone climbs on to a live racing track.”

Five protesters invaded last year’s British Grand Prix after they stormed the Wellington Straight – the fastest point of the Northamptonshire track – before sitting down during the opening lap.

The contest had already been suspended following Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu’s high-speed crash, but a number of cars sped by the group before they were dragged away by marshals. The protesters were handed suspended jail sentences in March.

Silverstone has worked alongside Northamptonshire Police to beef up security ahead of this year’s event, with a record 480,000 people expected to attend over the weekend, and more than 140,000 fans in place for the race.

Pringle added: “We have no specific intelligence, but we will plan for the worst and hope for the best. If somebody is minded to invade a flower show then they are probably minded to invade a motor race because we have many more global viewers.

“But there are plans in place. We will have a much more visible police presence around the event and we hope that fans help us to try and spot people who are planning to disturb people’s fun.”

Lewis Hamilton is gearing up for his home race following a disappointing Austrian Grand Prix where he finished seventh and was then demoted to eighth after a post-race penalty for exceeding track limits.

Hamilton was also dealt a public rebuke by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. The Austrian told Hamilton to “just drive the car” following a number of complaints by his driver over the radio.

“There are days when I can say I’m truly proud of myself, and days like today when frustration takes over,” said Hamilton on his Instagram account.

“In a race it can feel like you’re hanging off a cliff and losing the strength to hold on.

“It’s confusing for us to have such strong performances one day and then be nowhere the next.

“But when you really care about what you’re doing, you brush it off and keep fighting. Heads down for Silverstone.”