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David Coulthard and fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton wave to the growing crowd at Silverstone before the race begins

It is Coulthard's final British Grand Prix but unfortunately the Scot crashes out early

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone and wife Slavica brave the rain and wind at the Northamptonshire circuit

The race starts in dramatic fashion as Hamilton (left) leaps from fourth to second and almost overtakes Kovalainen (right)

Red Bull's Mark Webber (centre) begins on the front row but suffers a poor start and drops back down the field

Hamilton (left) attempts to take McLaren team-mate and race leader Kovalainen on the inside

The man from Stevenage eventually breaks latest going into a corner and slips past his rival on lap five

BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld holds off Renault's Fernando Alonso and eventually finishes second

It was not a good day for pre-race championship leader Felipe Massa who finished a lowly 13th

Ferrari team-mate and current world champion Kimi Raikkonen was in the hunt early but his team's strategy did not pay off

Hamilton comes through a testing race to celebrate his first British win with an ecstatic crowd

And he becomes the first Englishman since Johnny Herbert in 1995 to win the British Grand Prix

Veteran Rubens Barrichello, 36, is delighted with his podium finish after an impressive drive in his Honda

But the day belonged to the gutsy Hamilton who is back on track in the Formula One title race