WHEN: JULY 6, 2008 WHERE: SILVERSTONE WINNER: LEWIS HAMILTON (MCLAREN-MERCEDES)LAREN-MERCEDES)

Against a backdrop of the announcement that from 2010 the British Grand Prix would be moving to Donington Park, Lewis Hamilton lifted everyone’s spirits in the rain with an imperious drive in his MclarenMercedes MP4-23 to win his first British Grand Prix by nearly 70s from runnerup Nick Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber F1.08.

After qualifying fourth with team- mate Heikki Kovalainen on pole position, Lewis almost grabbed the lead from Heikki at Copse in a bold move on lap one before following in the Finn’s spray down Hangar Straight on lap five to take the lead into Stowe. After Heikki spun, Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari F2008056 tried to hunt Lewis down and they were nose to tail at the first pit stops. A better tyre choice by Mclaren-lewis than by Ferrari-kimi saw the latter fade away, leaving Lewis to reel off the laps at a pace which no one else could approach. “This will definitely go down as my finest win so far,” said Lewis after a stunning drive, and the crowd loved it. Just as thrilled was Rubens Barrichello who finished third in the recalcitrant Honda RA108 after a magical drive from 16th on the grid.