Lewis Hamilton wins at home in wet-to-dry British GP

Silverstone, Northamptonshire, UK Sunday 10 July 2016. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid, leads Nico Rosberg, Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid. World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Photographic ref: Digital Image _V2I0159

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton won the British GP at Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England, on Sunday.

It was his second consecutive win and fourth this season. It was also his third straight, and fourth overall, win at Silverstone in front of his home fans. Additionally, he has now reduced the point gap to his teammate, and championship leader, Nico Rosberg to just four points.

The race began under the Safety Car after a heavy rain shower passed over the track just 15 minutes before the start.

Hamilton led the field behind the Safety Car for the first five laps until it pulled off into the pits. Pit stops for the field began almost immediately as cars came in for intermediate tires.

However, Pascal Wehrlein soon spun out bringing out a Virtual Safety Car, which played into the hands of those who hadn't stopped yet. Once the round of stops was over, the order was shaken up a bit, with Hamilton leading Rosberg and then Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez - who had started in 10th position.

Red Bull Racing's Verstappen soon made an incredible pass on Rosberg around the outside of Becketts for second position. The field then came in for a second round of stops for dry tires.

Several spins took place as the field reemerged back on the track on the slicks, but the only real casualty was Manor's Rio Haryanto, who spun off into the wall.

While Hamilton was checking out up front, Verstappen and Rosberg's battle for second continued, with Rosberg unable to make the move for second until lap 38 of the 52-lap race.

Rosberg started to close in on Hamilton, but a gearbox issues with just seven laps to go slowed him down. While he was able to salvage a second-place finish, he was placed under investigation for communication with his team regarding the gearbox problem.

Throughout the race, standing water continued to threaten the drivers who put a wheel off the racing line, which made passing difficult. This did not play well into the hands of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who started in 11th position after a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. Vettel also had five seconds added to his time at the end of the race for running another driver off course.

Rosberg and Verstappen rounded out the podium behind Hamilton.