Sebastian Vettel won an incident-packed British Grand Prix to pull eight points clear in the Formula One drivers' standings, as championship rival Lewis Hamilton recovered brilliantly from an opening-lap collision with Kimi Raikkonen to claim second.

During a dramatic finale that saw both Ferraris and the two Mercedes in close competition, Vettel pulled off a spectacular move to get past Valtteri Bottas on lap 47 of 52.

Vettel had conceded the lead to Bottas in the second half of the race when Mercedes opted to gamble and leave both their drivers out on older medium tyres during two safety car periods, as the other front-runners pitted for fresh softs.

Bottas ultimately lost pace in the closing laps as he slipped down to fourth, but the bold strategy worked well for Hamilton as the Briton completed a superb fightback.

Seeking a fifth successive win at Silverstone, the reigning world champion made a dismal start from pole and was passed by Vettel and Bottas before being hit by Raikkonen at turn three, resulting him in dropping rapidly to 18th.

A 10-second penalty came Raikkonen's way, yet he still took third and Hamilton fared even better having cut through the field in style following his early struggles.

Hamilton could be proud of his recovery, but Vettel will surely be the happier after extending his lead at the top of the standings with a first win at Silverstone since 2009.