Bridgestone motorsport wrap for 7th July 2008

Three on top after Hamilton wins at home

Local hero Lewis Hamilton has guided his McLaren to victory in a wet and slippery British Grand Prix at Silverstone, to make things very crowded atop the Formula One drivers' championship.

Driving on Bridgestone's wet weather Potenza tyres, the young Brit started from fourth on the grid and handled the treacherous conditions well to stay out of trouble and finish more than a minute ahead of BMW's Nick Heidfeld and the veteran Rubens Barrichello, who crossed third in the Honda.

"That was the toughest win of my career, but definitely the best," Hamilton said.

With spins threatening at every corner, Bridgestone's "wet" and "extreme wet" Potenza tyres were widely used by team strategists.

"I am very happy with the good performance we saw from both of our wet tyres today, and the data and feedback we have gained will help us develop our next generation of wet weather tyres for Formula One, and ultimately for our road tyres too," said Hirohide Hamashima, Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development.

"Congratulations to Lewis. This win came from correct tyre choice and car set-up, as well as patience in the cockpit."

The win lifts Hamilton to the top of the drivers' standings, level on 48 points with the two Ferrari drivers - Kimi Raikkonen, who finished fourth, and Felipe Massa who crossed for thirteenth after six spins.

BMW's Robert Kubica was a DNF at Silverstone, but remains a strong championship contender with 46 points.

Australia's Mark Webber had a race he'd prefer to forget. After starting from the front row he spun on the first lap and battled with the conditions all day to end up in tenth.

Ferrari leads the constructors' championship with 96 points, ahead of the BMW on 82 and McLaren in third with 72.

The Formula One teams now have three days of testing at Hockenheim ahead of the German Grand Prix on July 20 when Bridgestone's hard and medium compound Potenza tyres will be required.

British F1 result:

1  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes   1:39:09.440        

2  Nick Heidfeld           BMW Sauber           +68.5 secs          

3  Rubens Barrichello    Honda                   +82.2 secs          

4  Kimi Raikkonen        Ferrari                   +1 Lap

5  Heikki Kovalainen     McLaren-Mercedes  +1 Lap  

6  Fernando Alonso      Renault                  +1 Lap  

7  Jarno Trulli              Toyota                   +1 Lap  

8  Kazuki Nakajima      Williams-Toyota      +1 Lap