Fernando Alonso ended Ferrari's victory drought by charging to his team's first victory of the year in the British Grand Prix.
Championship leader Sebastian Vettel and poleman Mark Webber had to settle for the remaining podium spots in the two Red Bulls, with Vettel just holding on in a huge late battle between the pair.
The German's immediate burst of pace convinced everyone else to come in, with Webber, Alonso and Hamilton choosing lap 12 while Vettel and Massa stayed out till lap 13.
Alonso initially struggled to get temperature into his slicks and not only fell away from the Red Bulls, but lost third to a charging Hamilton into Copse.
With his team instructing him to save fuel, Hamilton backed off and lost third to Webber, who then caught Vettel and mounted a huge late effort to overtake his team-mate until ordered to 'maintain the gap' on the final lap.
Alonso also got past his Ferrari team mate Massa, while both Hamilton and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) each made up three places on the opening lap.
On lap 2, Hamilton got past Paul di Resta (Force India-Mercedes) as Massa got past Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes) and was followed through by Hamilton, up to fifth place in just two laps after starting tenth.
Leading Positions on Lap 10
1 Vettel
2 Webber +8.1
3 Alonso +9.4
4 Massa +14.2
5 Hamilton +15.0
6 Button +22.8
7 Di Resta +25.8
8 Sutil +31.0
9 Kobayashi +35.7
10 Rosberg +36.8
On lap 12, Schumacher, on fresh tyres, set a new fast lap of 1'49.012 as Hamilton got past Massa into fourth place but he then ran wide and Massa took the place back again.
Leading Positions on Lap 20
1 Vettel
2 Webber +3.6
3 Hamilton +7.3
4 Alonso +8.6
5 Button +13.7
6 Massa +17.6
7 Di Resta +31.7
8 Sutil +32.9
9 Rosberg +37.9
10 Perez +39.4
Hamilton pitted for fresh tyres and rejoined in sixth place, 5.6 sec behind Massa.
<1--more-->Leading Positions on Lap 30
1 Alonso
2 Hamilton +0.8
3 Vettel +2.7
4 Webber +4.1
5 Button +8.5
6 Massa +11.0
7 Rosberg +23.7
8 Perez +25.6
9 Heidfeld +37.9
10 Alguersuari +41.4
Vettel pitted on the next lap for fresh tyres. McLaren responded, pulling in Hamilton on the next lap and although their work was slick, Vettel flashed past as Hamilton rejoined the track from the pit lane.
Alonso now had a 13.1 sec lead over Webber who was 3.9 sec ahead of Button who was in turn followed by Massa (+23.4), Vettel (+24.4) and Hamilton (+27.4).
Third-placed Webber was also closing the gap to team mate Vettel, just one second behind on the penultimate lap. As the final lap started, Webber was challenging Vettel for second while Massa was challenging Hamilton for fourth.
2011 British F1 Grand Prix Results
Pos Driver Nat Team Time
1 Fernando Alonso ESP Ferrari
2 Sebastian Vettel GER Red Bull +16.5
3 Mark Webber AUS Red Bull +16.9
4 Lewis Hamilton GBR McLaren +28.9
5 Felipe Massa BRA Ferrari +29.0
6 Nico Rosberg GER Mercedes +60.6
7 Sergio Perez MEX Sauber +65.5
8 Nick Heidfeld GER Renault +75.5
9 Michael Schumacher GER Mercedes +77.9
10 Jaime Alguersuari ESP Toro Rosso +79.1
11 Adrian Sutil GER Force India +79.7
12 Vitaly Petrov RUS Renault +80.6
13 Rubens Barrichello BRA Williams +1 lap
14 Pastor Maldonado VEN Williams +1 lap
15 Paul di Resta GBR Force India +1 lap
16 Timo Glock GER Virgin +2 laps
17 Jerome d'Ambrosio BEL Virgin +2 laps
18 Vitantonio Liuzzi ITA Hispania +2 laps
19 Daniel Ricciardo AUS Hispania +3 laps
DNF Jenson Button GBR McLaren DNF
DNF Kamui Kobayashi JAP Sauber DNF
DNF Heikki Kovalainen FIN Lotus DNF
DNF Sébastien Buemi SUI Toro Rosso DNF
DNF Jarno Trulli ITA Lotus DNF
Hamilton was left fuming after McLaren bolted on old tyres for the final qualifying session.
2.33pm: FERNANDO ALONSO WINS THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX!
Meanwhile, Massa is all over the back of Hamilton.
Lap 47: Five laps to go at Silverstone, and it's a walk in the park for Alonso - he is 17 seconds clear of Vettel.
Lap 46: And there it is - Webber sails past Hamilton's stricken McLaren to take the final podium position. Lap 45: Vettel appears to have settled for P2 - he is 15 seconds behind Alonso now. Will Webber be able to keep Hamilton at bay? Lap 40: Jenson Button is out of of the British Grand Prix. Lap 39: So Webber comes in, but Button stays out... was that a dummy call from McLaren? Lap 38: Hamilton responds by coming in, but it isn't enough as Vettel retakes the McLaren man for P2.
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