The scene was set for a enthralling British Grand Prix at Silverstone with championship leader Nico Rosberg in pole and nearest rival and teammate Lewis Hamilton back in sixth after a qualifying nightmare.
Rosberg looked set to extend his lead in the standings, but he suffered a gearbox problem that allowed Hamilton to record a comfortable victory after a perfect afternoon at his home GP.
Read how it all unfolded in our lap-by-lap updates below.
Allo allo! The 2014 F1 season is at its ninth race at the superb Silverstone track. Just under half an hour until it's lights out!
Let's remind ourselves what happened in qualifying first...
It was a session that was dominated by changeable conditions. The rain came and went, and came and went, leading to some big casualties in the early stages. Both Ferraris and Williams were knocked out in Q1, with the two Marussias both getting into Q2.
In the top 10 shootout it was all Hamilton until the final seconds when strange things started happening on track. Drivers weren't going fast in the first two sectors but then picking up heaps of time in the final sector where the track was dry. Hamilton gave up on his lap as he thought no-one would beat his initial time, only to see five cars go quicker than him in the dying seconds.
Rosberg and Hamilton are now matched on four poles apiece this season and the former is heavy favourite to extend his 29-point lead in the Championship.
A big well done to Jenson Button. The Englishman slightly made up for Hamilton's slump by getting third place on the grid. McLaren haven't had a great season and Button has just told BBC Sport that he went to bed a happy boy last night.
The big names always come out at the F1 and here's two massive celebrities in the Williams garage.
BBC Sport's David Coulthard also just interviewed TV celeb Amanda Holden and the first thing she asked is whether he had a hangover today before realising that she was live on air. Sounds like there was a big party last night!
THE GRID
Here's how all 22 cars line up at the start of the race, off in 10 minutes:
1 Rosberg 2 Vettel 3 Button 4 Hulkenberg 5 Magnussen 6 Hamilton 7 Perez 8 Ricciardo 9 Kvyat 10 Vergne 11 Grosjean 12 Bianchi 13 Sutil 14 Bottas 15 Massa 16 Alonso 17 Chilton 18 Raikkonen 19 Gutierrez 20 Maldonado 21 Ericsson 22 Kobayashi
Can Hamilton realistically win today's race? He has been second-best to his teammate of late and starting five places behind isn't a good omen. The 2008 world champion was absolutely devastated when interviewed after yesterday's qualifying. Hopefully he has now forgotten all about his error and is purely focused on the race. He needs a good start, that's for sure!
WEATHER WATCH: Although yesterday's qualifying was dominated by the drizzle, it's sunny in Silverstone today. The drivers are thought to only need one or two stops today.
Plenty will be cheering for Button today, especially as he has used this weekend to highlight the memory of his father, who sadly passed away earlier this year. Pink has been Button's colour of choice and you can't miss him with his bright helmet!
FORMATION LAP: Rosberg leads out the other 21 cars as they start a single circuit of the track to warm up their tyres. Everyone on the grid is starting on the medium compound tyres apart from the Ferraris of Alonso and Raikkonen, who opt for the hard compound. Looks like they're going to try to one-stop.
If I had to make a prediction, I'd say that Rosberg is going to win. He's been the most consistent driver this year and has the big advantage of starting from first place. Really hoping that Button gets away smoothly and maybe overtakes Vettel.
There is a 30% chance of rain during today's race! Many teams will be hoping that it does so they have a better chance.
GO GO GO!
Great start for Rosberg, he holds the lead into turn one as BUTTON passes Vettel for second place.
Vettel is now down in fifth after a bump from Hamilton, who is up two places to fourth.
CRASH! Big crash between Raikkonen and Massa!
RED FLAG! RACE SUSPENDED ON LAP 1!
The cars are back at the start-finish line in the order that they were when the red flag was signalled. That's great news for Hamilton as he now has the chance to jump further ahead from the new start. The reason for the red flag was because there was too much debris scattered over the track following Raikkonen and Massa's crash.
The crash came after Raikkonen was forced wide off the track and then wildly spun and lost control when rejoining the circuit. The drivers around him actually did really well to ensure that it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Ferrari confirm on their Twitter account that Raikkonen is in the medical car being checked out.
MASSA OUT! The Williams driver valiantly tried to make it back to the pits, but his car was far too damaged to continue.
The race will restart under the safety car, but it won't be anytime soon as the whole barrier that Raikkonen bashed into needs to be repaired.
At least Brazil are still in the World Cup Felipe!
When we do eventually get back underway there will be huge pressure on the two McLarens of Button and Magnussen to hold off the charge of Hamilton from fourth.
"A weekend to forget" says Massa to BBC Sport. Not the way the Brazilian wanted his 200th Grand Prix to go. He also nicely wishes Raikkonen well after the Finn's big hit.
Still we wait for the OK to resume the race. Repairing the guardrail is taking longer than expected.
An update on Raikkonen: Ferrari believe that nothing is broken but they are slightly concerned about his right ankle.
TOP 10! Here's how the rest of the Top 10 will get away under the safety car once we are ready to go racing again: 1 Rosberg 2 Button 3 Magnussen 4 Hamilton 5 Vettel 6 Hulkenberg 7 Ricciardo 8 Kvyat 9 Bottas 10 Chilton
Chilton is going to fall to the back of the grid though as he has just been handed a drive-through penalty! The Englishman illegally came into the pits under the red flag.
It's now over half an hour since the big Raikkonen crash. The drivers remain out of their cars and we're still unsure when we'll be back underway at Silverstone.
The interesting thing about this extended delay is that as every minute goes by, the chance of rain towards the end of the race increases. Should be a cracker once we're back underway.
Ferrari tweet that the first thing Raikkonen said on the radio after the crash was "Is Felipe alright?" Astounding show of sportsmanship after a big shunt.
The FIA release an update that merely tells us that the next update will come at 1.55pm.
RACE WILL RESUME AT 2.05pm: We'll be back underway at Silverstone in just over 10 minutes. Remember, it will be under the safety car and in the positions that they were at the time of the flag.
Wowee. Former world champion Niki Lauda is having a right go on BBC Sport! The German has just said that Formula 1 is "over-regulated" as they have spent almost an hour repairing a small part of barrier that has "zero chance" of being hit again. Strong words.
It really is a super Sunday of sport in Britain and if you want to follow the men's final at Wimbledon between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic too, open this link in a new tab.
OK, we're just about ready to get back going at sunny Silverstone.
GO GO GO! The safety car pulls in and releases the cars. Rosberg leads from the McLarens of Button and Magnussen.
Great stuff from Rosberg as he catches Button out slightly and opens up a gap of over a second already.
Hamilton will be desperate to overtake the McLarens as soon as possible and try to close the gap to Rosberg.
Error from Magnussen as he tries to out-brake Hamilton but goes wide and allows the home favourite through. Next up for Lewis, fellow Englishman Jenson Button.
Great stuff from Bottas as he climbs up to seventh. Considering he started near the back, Williams will be over the moon as their other driver, Massa, is out.
HAMILTON doesn't waste any time getting past Button, cruising down the inside of the McLaren.
Although he's up to second after starting sixth, Hamilton is around five seconds behind Rosberg, who has expertly pulled away at the front.
TOP 10 UPDATE: 1 Rosberg 2 Hamilton 3 Button 4 Magnussen 5 Vettel 6 Bottas 7 Hulkenberg 8 Ricciardo 9 Alonso 10 Kvyat
ALONSO with a fabulous pass around the outside of Ricciardo for eighth place. He's already moved up eight places from 16th where he started.
Hamilton is pushing, but he can't cut the gap to less than five seconds. He'll be hoping to reduce the deficit at the first pit-stop phase.
Another great pass from Alonso as he goes past Hulkenberg. However, the Spaniard is under investigation for the previous move on Ricciardo.
"Nico braking later in turn 15" Hamilton is told on the radio. His engineers are trying to relay any relevant information to give him an edge.
OUT! Sauber's Gutierrez sees his race come to an end as he makes heavy contact with Maldonado.
The yellow flags are waving and Vettel takes a risk by coming into the pits early. Perhaps he was expecting a safety car after the Gutierrez-Maldonado incident.
Caterham's Ericsson is forced to retire with an apparent suspension problem. He bounces his way back to the pits, throwing up sparks as he goes.
PENALTY FOR ALONSO! Devastating for the Spaniard as he is given a five-second stop-go penalty for starting the race over the line in his grid spot. Careless!
Hamilton has now reduced the gap to around four seconds after Rosberg was told that he was using a little too much fuel.
BOTTAS really has impressed in the early stages. He's now up to fourth and it makes you wonder what Williams might have been capable of if they hadn't fluffed qualifying yesterday.
Alonso is up to fifth place, but he will soon plunge down the field when he serves his five-second penalty in the pits.
As Hamilton sets the fastest lap with a 1:38:554, Bottas whizzes around the outside of Button and into the third place. What a race he's having!
Hamilton is told that he is the fastest man on track and he's now within three seconds of Rosberg, who is told to "push now" ahead of the first pit stop.
As he is in front, Rosberg will have the advantage of stopping first. Can he extend his lead, or will Hamilton close the gap in this crucial phase?
Rosberg ducks into the pit lane and it's a swift stop from the Mercedes pit boys. Hamilton needs a mighty lap now.
"Gearbox problem on the downshift" says Rosberg. Hamilton yet to come in, surprisingly.
In the battle for eighth place, Ricciardo has just nudged ahead of Hulkenberg.
With Hamilton still out on track, it appears that he will now try to beat Rosberg with a one-stop strategy. Should be a fascinating battle.
TOP 10 UPDATE: 1 Hamilton 2 Rosberg 3 Bottas 4 Button 5 Alonso 6 Magnussen 7 Vettel 8 Ricciardo 9 Hulkenberg 10 Sutil
Hamilton pits from the lead and on go the hard tyres. It's not a great stop from Mercedes and he's now almost six seconds adrift of his teammate. Far from perfect for the home favourite.
"Don't worry about the pit stop guys, let's get a good one next time." That's Hamilton's message to the team, which also indicates that he's not one-stopping.
Hamilton is FLYING on the harder tyre, going nine-tenths of a second faster than Rosberg with a fastest lap of 1:37.176.
HAMILTON TAKES THE LEAD! Rosberg with a massive problem and he might have to retire.
ROSBERG OUT! The championship leader is forced to retire and that's brilliant news for Hamilton and the masses of people supporting him at Silverstone.
Here's an image from Getty of the race restarting under the safety car earlier:
The yellow flags are still out and Bottas has just pitted from second place.
With the race now fully back underway and 20 laps to go, here's a top 10 update: 1 Hamilton 2 Vettel 3 Bottas 4 Ricciardo 5 Button 6 Alonso 7 Magnussen 8 Kvyat 9 Hulkenberg 10 Vergne
BOTTAS retakes second place from Vettel but he's so far behind Hamilton, who could do two pit stops and still be in front!
A reminder if you're just joining us: Rosberg was forced to retire on lap 30 with a gearbox issue, effectively gifting the race to Mercedes teammate Hamilton.
Although Hamilton is miles clear at the front, there's still plenty of wheel-to-wheel action further back. World champions Alonso and Vettel are having a right ding-dong battle at the moment for fifth place.
This is a fantastic tussle between the Ferrari and Red Bull. Both men are complaining to their teams about the other man, but for us neutrals it's simply awesome racing.
TOP 10 UPDATE: 1 Hamilton 2 Bottas 3 Ricciardo 4 Button 5 Alonso 6 Vettel 7 Magnussen 8 Hulkenberg 9 Kvyat 10 Vergne
A reminder that if Hamilton does convert this giant lead into victory, he will close the gap to Rosberg to just four points in the overall drivers' championship.
Hamilton comes in for his final pit stop. It's a gentle one from the team as they know that there's no rush. No need to risk any mistakes.
TEN LAPS TO GO! Hamilton continues to lead by about 20 seconds from Bottas, while in the battle for fifth Vettel and Alonso continue to do battle.
Button would love to join Hamilton on the podium, but he's around eight seconds behind third-placed Ricciardo and set to finish fourth.
Vettel continues to complain about Alonso's on-the-edge driving in front. He keeps saying "and another one" every time he thinks that Alonso is overstepping the mark and going off-track.
One thing that has been forgotten is the possibility of rain. The hour-long delay to the race earlier suggested that drizzle could affect the end, but the sun is shining brightly.
WOW! Amazing wheel-to-wheel stuff from Vettel and Alonso at top speed down the home straight. Unbelievable stuff and it's Vettel who finally gets past the Spaniard for fifth place.
FIVE LAPS TO GO! 1 Hamilton 2 Bottas 3 Ricciardo 4 Button 5 Vettel 6 Alonso 7 Magnussen 8 Hulkenberg 9 Kvyat 10 Vergne
With three laps to go, Button has now closed to within five seconds of Ricciardo, whose tyres are wearing out rapidly. Five seconds is a big gap though and Button will have to pull out all the stops to claim a podium place.
Into the penultimate lap and still Hamilton leads by a mile. Button is closing down Ricciardo, but surely he's going to run out of time. Even if he can't overtake him, it's been a great afternoon for the McLaren.
LEWIS HAMILTON WINS THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX!
The Englishman delights the throngs of people at Silverstone with a comfortably victory that sees him close to within four points of teammate Nico Rosberg in the drivers' standings.
Bottas comes home second, with Ricciardo holding on to third place. Button ended up crossing the line just eight-tenths of a second behind Ricciardo. One more lap and he might have overtaken the Red Bull!
"ENGLAND!" yells Lewis to his team after being congratulated on the victory.
Anyway, we're out of time here on this commentary. Thanks for joining SM for coverage on yet another gripping Grand Prix. Make sure you keep an eye out on the site this afternoon for plenty of reaction from Silverstone. Good afternoon!
