13:03 Lights. One, two, three, four, five ... GO!

13:02 Hamilton leads the field on to the grid and team-mate Nico Rosberg is already pointing across the track towards him. Will be a long time to form the grid here...

13:01 Hamilton is told to back the grid up because it is spreading out quite a lot and he obliges by slowing right down at Becketts

13:01 The top nine all on mediums, but Button in 10th and Vergne in 12th are on hards. So is Hulkenberg and a few drivers at the back - Gutierrez, Pic, di Resta and van der Garde

13:00 We're away on the formation lap...

12:58 Di Resta's penalty means Ricciardo starts fifth, what a great time to be right behind the Red Bulls. Keep en eye on di Resta too - he'll be trying to come through from the back

12:57 Another thing to look out for is Kimi Raikkonen and the Lotus DRD. It might not have helped him much in qualifying, but I suspect it will have a bigger impact in the race when he will get the benefit on every lap, while other drivers are slower in a straight line unless they can activate their DRS

12:55 All the pre-race build-up seems to concern whether Mercedes can hold off the Red Bulls, and recent form would suggest not. I think I'd rather be in a Red Bull than a Mercedes right now, but Hamilton's lap was special yesterday and who knows what he might be able to do in the race

12:53 Piyush emails in to ask: "Is the penalty on Di Resta a result of negligence on Di Resta's part or the management's?" It appears it was di Resta who was underweight himself for some reason, so it's just a slight oversight that results in a costly penalty

12:50 So rude of me to forget - if you want to get in touch with us here today you can do so in one of two ways. Either email using the link above or Tweet us @ESPNF1

12:48 The temperatures are rising and that could help the likes of Ferrari and Lotus today. Probably not great news for Mercedes, either

12:45 I must admit I had to double check the ruling here but even though di Resta was excluded from qualifying, van der Garde's penalty was handed out after the grid was confirmed so he drops back

12:42 We have a Brit on pole in Lewis Hamilton - which went down very well yesterday - but there was bad news for Paul di Resta who qualified fifth and was then excluded from qualifying for being 1.5kg underweight. Di Resta has just gained one position though as Giedo van der Garde needed a new gearbox and has dropped five places to the back of the grid again

12:38 And those temperatures are 21C air temp and 29C track, so hardly scorching but it feels that way to England even in June!

12:35 It's a beautiful sunny day at Silverstone and Max Chilton sums things up perfectly: "You can tell we're in Britain, it's just over 20 degrees and already people are taking their tops off!"

12:30 Hello and welcome to ESPNF1's live coverage of the British Grand Prix. The pit lane is open and the circuit is abuzz with the sound of V8s as the drivers head to the grid.

Lap 1

Vettel gets straight up to second and Webber with a shocking start. Sutil is fourth and Massa up to fifth. Raikkonen sixth too. Webber is down in 15th and Alonso back to 10th.

Alonso dives up the inside of Button in to Stowe and takes ninth.

Lap 2

Hamilton leads by 0.8s. Grosjean goes wide at Turn 3 and Alonso is close behind. Grosjean defends well - but Alonso gets him on the exit at Woodcote! Webber has front wing damage. Button is lining up Grosjean already

Lap 3

Hamilton with a good lap and he's 1.2s clear so out of DRS range. Rosberg similarly back from Vettel and Sutil is 1.5s back in fourth. Webber on the charge and he passes Hulkenberg in to Brooklands for 12th. Replays show Webber had a poor start and then turned in on Grosjean to damage his front wing.

Lap 4

Hamilton's lead up to 1.5s and Vettel edges away from Rosberg. Webber with a quick first sector and he's already all over the back of Perez for P11

Lap 5

Hamilton is pushing on and is 1.9s clear. Rosberg responds to edge back towards Vettel and Sutil is dropping back quickly.

Alonso attacks Ricciardo in to Stowe but good defending from the Toro Rosso. Di Resta passes Maldonado but it's only up to 16th.

Lap 6

Raikkonen isn't happy on the team radio - not sure why. Hamilton really looks strong at the moment as he opens up a 2.1s lead. Can he sustain the pace though? Grosjean is closing in on Alonso after the Ferrari failed to pass Ricciardo.

Button is 11th behind Perez now. He has a very casual chat with the team on the radio about the tyres and the replay shows Perez cruising past Button on the Hangar straight

Lap 7

The gap has been pegged at 2.1s at the front, while Rosberg is 1.6s behind Vettel. Webber passes Button in to Stowe and Webber is 11th now - DRS helped him there

Lap 8

PUNCTURE FOR HAMILTON! Oh no, he was two seconds clear and he's miles from home, he's got the puncture so early in the lap too so has to crawl all the way back to the pits. What a sickener.

Lap 9

Vettel leads by 2.2s as Hamilton heads back out on hard tyres. He rejoins in last and that's ruined his race. The left rear tyre just let go for Hamilton on the Wellington straight.

So Vettel now sitting pretty as Grosjean pits. ANOTHER PUNCTURE! It's Massa's left rear now and he's gone off at high speed at Aintree

Lap 10

Massa, like Hamilton, has to crawl back to the pits from a long way out. That's his race ruined too. Alonso takes the opportunity to pit as does Webber - a new front wing for Webber

Lap 11

Vettel has a 3.1s lead and is sitting pretty. It wouldn't surprise me if every team was concerned about the left rear failures though... Massa only just makes it to the pits now.

DRS is disabled as we have debris all over the track on the Wellington straight.

Lap 12

Raikkonen and Ricciardo pit - slow one for Toro Rosso - 7.6s. Button pits too. Red Bull warns Webber to be careful of his left rear on the kerbs at Turn 4 - that's where the damage is happening.

Alonso passes Raikkonen for eighth after Kimi's stop, while Alonso then cruises past Grosjean for seventh on the Hangar Straight too

Lap 13

A quick stop for Rosberg and out he goes again. Vettel easing away at the front and it's all just coming together for him so far.

Alonso passes Vergne in to Brooklands and he's up to fifth place. Vettel is called in to the pits as Raikkonen attacks Grosjean but doesn't get through

Lap 14

Fantastic stop from Vettel and he's easily out in the lead. Rosberg can see him but I fear can't do much about it already. Vergne holding up Grosjean and Raikkonen having yet to pit.

Radio messages going out everywhere telling drivers to stay off the kerbs at turns four and five. Grosjean gets the message "Kimi is faster than you"

PUNCTURE! Vergne's left rear! He was approaching Stowe and it just gave up. Luckily for him it was close to the pit lane but this is getting dangerous...

Lap 15

Vergne had not pit, admittedly, but still. Raikkonen got a face full of debris behind Vergne but he's OK. There's rubbish all over the circuit now and a lot of concern I would expect

Lap 16

Safety car deployed with all the debris over the track. Vettel is told he had left rear damage too but got away with it in his first stint so to stay off the kerbs.

We're waiting for the safety car to pick up Vettel. He's a long way away from it at present.

Lap 17

Webber complaining on the radio about his poor start. Newey and Horner looking very concerned on the pit wall too. Webber's radio tells him "Vettel's still running but his tyres have cuts, we found cuts on his left rear"

Lap 18

Massa pits for a second time and was given a set of tyres with lower tyre pressures. Smedley thinks many teams pushing the limits with their pressures. Hamilton's 14th now in the safety car train, so maybe he can recover some points.

Joao emails in: "shouldn't the race be stopped, with all these tyres blowing out?" It looks like it might require teams to run lower pressures and shorter stints.

Lap 19

Newey has an image of the cut tyre on his pit wall and is inspecting it.

Ian emails in to say: "Hi, Great ad for Pirelli - not!"

Pirelli did want to change the steel belt for a kevlar one which it felt would prevent delaminations earlier in the year but Lotus and Force India said no as they felt they understand these tyres. Pirelli needs all the teams to agree to be allowed to change.

Lap 20

Vettel does appear to be lucky - the picture on Newey's pit wall shows a cut on the inside of the tyre when he pit. A failure looked imminent for him too.

Track sweepers are still out clearing up the track so we're remaining behind the safety car for at least another lap.

Lap 21

Safety car in this lap.

Alonso is up to fourth and Raikkonen fifth, so they will be hoping to put pressure on Vettel from here. Rosberg might have the pace to challenge Vettel now the gap has been closed too.

Vettel bunches the field up on the Hangar Straight... and drops the hammer through Stowe.

Lap 22

DRS is disabled and Vettel already has a one-second lead starting the lap. Perez passes Webber for eighth, but Webber takes P8 around the outside of Brooklands with a good move.

Alonso really needs to clear Sutil soon. The warning is "stay off the exit kerbs at high speed" but on board with Alonso he isn't doing so!

Lap 23

Vettel 1.3s clear already, while Rosberg has dropped Sutil by over two seconds. Hamilton hasn't made any progress yet as he's stuck behind Gutierrez - half a look at Woodcote but the door is shut on him.

Aryo says: "I really think the race should be stopped. 3 tyre blow up... Come on Pirelli, This is a joke"

Lap 24

Vettel with a fastest lap but Rosberg is less than 0.1s slower. Sutil has no response as DRS is enabled - that might help Alonso get through more quickly.

Yitzchok asks: "Was the cut on Vettels old tyre that he had just changed or is it on the current tyre he is running on??" - It was his old set that he took off at his first stop.

Hamilton passes Gutierrez in to Copse with a good move. He's on the charge.

Lap 25

Vettel with a great lap and he extends his lead to 1.9s. Ricciardo is holding off Webber for seventh right now - he wants that seat.

Rosberg told his left rear temperature is under control. Bottas overtakes Vergne for 16th at Brooklands and then Massa passes Vergne at Copse.

Alonso is making no impression on Sutil right now...

Lap 26

Vettel told to extend the gap to Rosberg "progressively" - he's just gone another 0.1s quicker than the Mercedes which is obviously very quick on low fuel. Hulkenberg has just pit to release Hamilton up to 12th behind di Resta.

We're at the half way point of the race and the safety car has bunched the field up.

Lap 27

Vettel's lead is now 2.5s and he's just so quick in the first sector. Rosberg will be hoping to keep the Red Bull in his sights and start to close the gap later in the race. We haven't seen many drivers willing to make a move for a while now, perhaps wary of pushing the tyres so hard.

Lap 28

And as I say that, Ricciardo dives up the inside of Grosjean in to Brooklands with a good move for P6. Perez is close behind Webber too, but Button has dropped off a bit and asks for option tyres at his next stop.

There's debris on the track at Stowe - unsure which car it's come from for now.

Lap 29

Replays show there was an explosion of debris from Gutierrez's car but it was out of shot so don't know what caused it. Webber passes Grosjean around the outside of Brooklands for P7

Lap 30

Kimi pits from P5 - he actually appeared 3rd as the pit entrance cuts the final corner

Lap 31

Alonso pits too as does Grosjean. Sutil doing a good job in third place - Raikkonen is ahead of Alonso! Hamilton is still stuck behind di Resta but up to P9 as these pit stops shake out. Alonso had to brake for Grosjean pitting - unsafe release?

Lap 32

Vettel starts another lap and has a 3.4s lead. Webber pits from what was fifth while Hamilton keeps searching for a way past di Resta. He tries in to Brooklands and they get close but di Resta defends well.

Sutil is 11 seconds behind Rosberg now, so you know how much Alonso and Raikkonen are suffering behind him.

Lap 33

Rosberg takes a tenth out of Vettel on that last lap. Alonso is the fastest man on track right now and has caught the back of Raikkonen but they're stuck behind the di Resta and Hamilton battle. Raikkonen and Alonso quickly clear Hamilton at Copse.

Lap 34

Force India stacks its drivers perfectly as both Sutil and di Resta pit. Hamilton running long on this stint as he loses out to Webber in to Brooklands. Is he going for a two-stop race now?

Rosberg pits having closed the gap at the front to 3.1s. Hard tyres on the Mercedes.

Lap 35

Raikkonen, Alonso and Webber all managed to jump Sutil in the pit stop so let's see what pace they have in clear air. Sutil really lost out and is still behind Hamilton. Webber is close behind Alonso.

Lap 36

Vettel pits and it's another good stop frmo Red Bull. Rosberg isn't miles behind him now. Webber has passed Alonso using DRS in to Stowe - good move.

Di Resta clips Hulkenberg at Turn 3 and has some damage to his front wing. Rosberg is flying on this lap. Button passes Massa for 11th as Massa and Hamilton then both pit.

Lap 37

Rosberg is 2.5s behind Vettel after the stops. Di Resta passes Hamilton for 11th after the Mercedes leaves the pits. Hamilton tries to come back at him but di Resta does really well to defend,

Lap 38

Still the gap remains at 2.5s at the front - Rosberg is back in this I feel. Hamilton passes di Resta out of Turn 3 and gets the DRS . He's up in to 11th.

Rosberg is told that rear wear is not a problem but his fronts are limiting. He's closed the gap to 2.2s now.

Lap 39

Raikkonen has Webber close behind him in the battle for third. They're 13s off the lead though. Rosberg still reeling in Vettel at the front and the gap is now 1.6s.

Button with a good move on Grosjean in to Brooklands for ninth place. Grosjean is next on Hamilton's radar now.

Lap 40

Rosberg loses a lot of time in the first sector to Vettel on this lap. Ricciardo attacks Sutil towards Copse, Sutil defends the inside line but then doesn't leave a car's width on the outside and Ricciardo has to lift - he lifts a hand in annoyance too. Bit naughty.

Lap 41

Hamilton uses DRS on the Hangar Straight and passes Grosjean for 10th. He's in to the points and sets off after Button - 3.2s he must close.

VETTEL HAS A PROBLEM! HE'S OUT OF THE RACE!

Lap 42

Vettel's lost drive. Transmission failure. He's parked it right on the start line so the safety car is out and Rosberg is told to pit this lap.

The crowd celebrated that one - what a race this is! Vettel slowed in to Club corner and just had no drive. Rosberg pits from the lead. Webber is in too but Raikkonen stays out

Lap 43

Rosberg retains the lead, Raikkonen is second but hasn't pit and radios in saying "I don't know if we made the right decision not to pit". He's told it's too late ow. Webber has dropped back to fifth behind Sutil and Ricciardo with his stop.

Lap 44

Vettel's car hasn't been moved yet and lapped cars are allowed to overtake. It's only Chilton and van der Garde, while Vergne retired just before Vettel did. Webber's told he has fresh options and to give it everything to pass the cars ahead.

Now Vettel's car is clear so it should be one more lap behind the safety car.

Lap 45

Safety car in this lap. That was a late call but Rosberg backs it up. I think this race is between Rosberg, Raikkonen and Webber now... Rosberg goes for it and Raikkonen stays fairly close.

Lap 46

Alonso made a pit stop behind the safety car and is back to eighth so has to attack. Webber passes Ricciardo in to Brooklands. One down. Alonso passes Button for P7 in to Copse too. He's also on new option tyres.

ANOTHER PUNCTURE! It's Perez this time!

Lap 47

Hamilton has passed Button and is up to seventh. Perez pits but then doesn't get out of the pits.... Webber passes Sutil using DRS and he's up to third! Too much damage causes Perez to retire.

Lap 48

Alonso passes Ricciardo at Club and Hamilton comes through too! He's up to sixth. Webber all over the back of Raikkonen and Rosberg is only a second up the road! WEBBER'S THROUGH at Copse. He sets off after Rosberg... This is brilliant!

Lap 49

Sorry, missed a lap in the excitement. Alonso is through past Sutil and so is Hamilton at Turn 3. Amazing stuff. Alonso and Hamilton set off after Raikkonen.

Rosberg leads by 1.3s and puts the hammer down. Two purple sectors, he doesn't want Webber to snatch this. Alonso closing on a slow Raikkonen, while Massa attacks Sutil for fifth.

Lap 50

Fastest lap from Rosberg but the gap is only 1.4s to Webber. Raikkonen has Alonso and Hamilton closing in quickly. Webber is still pushing so hard. Raikkonen has Alonso in DRS range and through the Ferrari goes! Up to third for Alonso. Hamilton sniffing around now.

Lap 51

Fastest lap from Webber. 1.3s the gap with two laps to go. Hamilton looks at Raikkonen in to Brooklands but doesn't make a move. Hamilton quicker through the middle sector and uses DRS to pass Raikkonen for fourth. Can he challenge Alonso?

Lap 52

Webber 1.1s behind Rosberg - I don't think he can close that. Hang on, 0.4s in the first sector, he's within DRS range. Hamilton right behind Alonso too. Massa passes Sutil for P6 as Grosjean retires.

Rosberg looks like he's got it ...

NICO ROSBERG WINS THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX! What a race. He holds off Webber by 0.7s, while Hamilton is fourth just 0.6s behind Alonso. Raikkonen comes home fifth and that's a fair few points taken out of Vettel's lead after his retirement.

Button dropped like a stone late on and ends up 13th. Webber set the fastest lap on the final lap.

For all the tyre talk, there will be a Pirelli briefing after the podium so we should get some answers quickly. Ross Brawn doesn't think Rosberg would have got Vettel without the problem but does think Hamilton had the race under control before his puncture. Swings and roundabouts.

Rosberg jumps out of the car and celebrates with his team. Lots of respect between Webber and Alonso in parc ferme too. It's a great drive from Rosberg but it would have been fitting if Webber had won that one.

In the driver room before the podium Rosberg says "Wow that's crazy stuff. That's crazy stuff". Webber says he "just missed the DRS" bit at the first zone on the final lap. Alonso says he was lucky not to get a puncture.

Alonso and Webber talking about their final pit stops and Alonso climbing through the field late on.

The crowd pours out on to the circuit and the top three come out on to the podium for the anthems. We'll bring you a snippet of what they have to say after the trophies are handed out.

Piyush asks: "Why didn't Sutil changed his tyres during the safety car period?That has costed him the podium." - Sutil had already lost out and by staying out got ahead of Webber and Alonso again; it was a gamble that didn't pay off, but he wasn't going to overtake them on pace on track.

Webber throws his Pirelli cap in to the crowd as Damon Hill comes out to interview the drivers...

Rosberg: "It's a very special day and what makes it more special is that our factory is so close. This is for everybody who are my team colleagues ... this one is for all of you"

"With Lewis I feel sorry - for all the British fans it would have been fantastic. When Sebastian stopped I won't lie I wasn't disappointed with that one."

Webber: "I didn't have a clue what happened off the line ... the I think Grosjean took the front wing at the first corner, but the race got under way at the first stop. It was a clean race, good strategy - I would have liked a few more laps at Nico but he was quick and deserved the win. It's my last time here for Formula One in front of the British fans so thank you."

Alonso: "It was a good race for us ... with Sebastian's problem we're lucky to gain some points. Mixed feelings, happy for the points, we reduce the lap, but the pace we saw this weekend is not good enough. There were some other Sunday's when I lost points but was more optimistic, today we gained points but we have a lot of work to do."

Siddhesh emails in: "Talking of Deserving, Hamilton deserved a podium for his superb drive. Safe to say that Merc matched Redbull on pace today? Hamilton was very quick early on, and this will only increase the murmurs on the advantage Merc gained from their tyre test"

As Rosberg says he's really looking forward to Germany it's time for us to sign off. Thank you so much for joining us and I hope we translated some of the chaos and excitement for you! I'm prepping to fly to Germany this week so make sure you join us for the German Grand Prix next weekend. Bye for now.