In an eventful beginning to the 60-lap race in soggy conditions, Hamilton, who started fourth on the grid, burst past both Mark Webber's Red Bull and Raikkonen's Ferrari straight from the start.

Hamilton also tried to overtake pole-starter and McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen on the inside of the first bend but the Finn responded and the two McLarens almost touched as Kovalainen held the British driver off.

Also on lap one, Massa, Webber and Kazuki Nakajima went into a spin but rejoined the race. David Coulthard, in his last British GP before retirement at the end of the season, and Sebastian Vettel both slid into the same gravel area at the sharp lefthand Priory bend and were out of the race.

Seven of the 20 starters failed to finish. Kovalainen had a disappointing race after starting on pole for the first time and came home fifth ahead of Renault's double world champion Fernando Alonso.

Italian Jarno Trulli was seventh for Toyota with Kazuki Nakajima taking the final point for Williams.

Two points clear in the drivers standings at the start of the race, Massa failed to recover from his early spin and slipped to the back of the field, more than a minute behind the leader after only 13 laps. The Brazilian finally overtook Nico Rosberg on lap 17 and then Giancarlo Fisichella up into 15th but more trouble later in the race meant he was lapped twice by the leader and finished at the back.

At the front, Hamilton overtook Kovalainen on lap four with a brave maneuver going into the fast Stow righthander, powering ahead and then timing his braking just right to keep the lead and the position.

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