article: Media playback is not supported on this device Lewis Hamilton's superb victory, the climax of an afternoon of action and drama enlivened by a late downpour, showcased all that is good about F1, and 140,000 fans were treated to what was undoubtedly the race of the year so far. It was a race that, to be fair, F1 needed. The 2015 world championship had crackled a little over its previous eight events, but there had not been a moment when it had really caught fire. Not until now, anyway. Media playback is not supported on this device Hamilton's 38th career victory was undoubtedly one of his best but for it to end up that way, rather than the routine cruise it had looked like being, it needed something unusual to happen. The electric starts of both Williams drivers provided it. Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas got off the line "like missiles," as Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff put it afterwards, Massa blasting past Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg as if they were not there, and Bottas passing the German as well. Briefly, it looked as if Bottas would get Hamilton, too, but the world champion's racing instincts got him back into second place after Bottas left the door open at Turn Four. Hamilton lost the place anyway, though, when after a safety-car period to clear up the mess left by a first-lap pile-up, he just failed to pass Massa on the re-start, ran a little wide and Bottas sneaked by. In the car, Hamilton was unperturbed. "I was just chilled," he said afterwards. "I was more concerned about losing position to Nico. I was nearly there, I nearly had it, it was just a bit too much." Hamilton bided his time, knowing he had the pace to re-take the lead, as he duly did at the first pit stops thanks to an in-lap that Williams technical boss Pat Symonds described as "stunning", and an equally good first lap out of the pits. At that stage, the race looked won, but that was counting without the rain. Had Hamilton mistimed his pit stop for wet-weather tyres, he could still have lost out to Rosberg. But he made the call - and it was his alone - perfectly, just as the rain was about to come down properly. It was a victory that showcased all the qualities that Hamilton has displayed this season, during which he seems to have stepped up to another level. Hamilton might have won his second title last year, but he stumbled along the way, and it was at this stage of the season that he did so. Media playback is not supported on this device But actually achieving a goal he had been trying to fulfil for six frustrating years since his first crown seems to have helped calm him down, boosted his self-belief and allowed him to relax into his ability. Last year, Hamilton was thrown off course a few times when things did not go his way. This year, he has proved time and again his ability
summary: All season the talk has been of Formula 1 being faced with some sort of existential crisis, but the sport put on its best face for a thrill-a-minute British Grand Prix in front of the biggest Silverstone crowd for more than 20 years.