One dazzling day in the English sunshine, punctuated with rain and a series of incidents, may have thrilled the crowd of 140,000 at Silverstone and a worldwide television audience, but it remains to be seen if it can silence the sport’s detractors.

“Is that it? Crisis called off now?” said Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff after the 52-lap thriller in changeable conditions had seen his drivers deliver another convincing one-two finish.

“If that’s boring, I would like some of it,” said Ferrari team chief Maurizio Arrivabene. “I’d love to be as boring as Mercedes and always be first and second.

“They deserve to be where they are, but we are working hard so that the podium looks less boring in the future….”

Two-time champion Hamilton’s win extended his lead in this year’s title race to 17 points ahead of his Mercedes team-mate German Nico Rosberg and lifted spirits in the paddock after weeks of negative publicity resulted last week in a raft of proposals to overhaul the sport.

“Sometimes these things just happen at the right moment as there was a race with all the ingredients necessary for excitement this time,” said Wolff, who praised Hamilton for his decision-making and his speed.

He also admitted to some relief after the team’s strategic blunder at the Monaco Grand Prix when they called Hamilton in unnecessarily for a pit stop that deprived him of victory.

“We cock-up together and we win together,” he explained. “When the rain hit us, he was so calm on the radio about the options. It was Lewis’s call. He made that pit call at the right time, using the right information.

“In Monaco, we had a problem in our system. Here we were concentrated, calm and focused on the priorities and that was part of getting it all right.” Although Sunday’s incident-filled drama boosted morale, it was not enough to convince Wolff that the sport was without need for any running repairs.

“We still need to ask how we can make it better so we can convince the critics that this is a great sport,” he said.

Wolff admitted that the way in which both Williams cars, driven by Brazilian Felipe Massa and Finn Valtteri Bottas, had powered past his pair to take first and second places off the grid was confirmation that Mercedes have much work still to do.

“They were very fast and we were helped by the rain,” he said, before heaping praise on Hamilton.

“If you are a double World Champion and win so many races, you are a complete racing driver,” he said.

“You can’t put him in a box and say he has only God-given talent. He has to have a view of the whole picture and that was clear here.

“This was Lewis’s home Grand Prix, there were great crowds and it was a relief from the talking down of the sport we have had. We also had the fastest ever pit stop – 2.4 seconds… including reaction time.” Looking beyond the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix later this month, Hamilton welcomed the prospect of changes in the sport starting from next month’s Belgian race – where drivers will have fewer electronic aids – and the possible introduction of a sprint race next year on Saturdays.

“I have been here for nine years now and it’s always the same,” he said. “It would be cool and I would be happy if they freshened things up a bit.”

Given his form on Sunday, Hamilton is ready to prove himself as a man for all seasons as he heads towards a likely third drivers’ world title.

The two-time champion made the most of the 44th pole position of his career to lead from the lights to the chequered flag, finishing the 70 laps contest at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve 2.2 seconds clear of the 29-year-old German.
His victory ended Rosberg’s run of two wins and confirmed his own full recovery from the disappointment of the Mercedes pit-stop fiasco in Monaco, where Hamilton was deprived of a near-certain victory in the closing laps.
It was Hamilton’s fourth win in Canada, his fourth win this year and the 37th win of his career, lifting him 17 points clear of Rosberg in the title race with 151 points to the German’s 134.
“Did I need this (after Monaco)? Yes, I think I did,” said Hamilton, adding: “I love Montreal, I love this track and love this city. And it really feels good to be back on the top step again”
Rosberg was unable to mount a serious challenge as he came home second ahead of Finns Valtteri Bottas of Williams and Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari.
Rosberg conceded defeat for the first time in three races gracefully.
“I was pushing like mad, but I couldn’t quite make it. Second place is still ok. It was just a little bit in qualifying that I lacked, for me. The race pace was good.
“There were issues, of course, with fuel and brakes, but they are the same for Lewis.”
Bottas, enjoying his first podium finish of the season, said: “We really needed this. It really boosts the confidence. We are a top team and we can fight for the podiums.”
Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel finished fifth after surging through the field from 18th on the grid in the second Ferrari.
Brazilian Felipe Massa finished sixth in the second Williams after another strong drive ahead of Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado who completed his first race of the season in seventh for Lotus.
The race proved disastrous for McLaren with both their cars driven by former champions Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button failing to finish.
On a mild and dry afternoon Hamilton oozed confidence and revelled in the pre-race ‘Hollywood’ build-up with screen stars Michael Douglas and Al Pacino in attendance.
Before the start, he thanked his Mercedes team for “all the hard work this weekend putting the car back together again,” a reference to his crash in Friday’s rain.
Knowing Mercedes had never won at this track and that pole position had led to victory only five times in the previous 14 races, Hamilton made light of all expectations and worries when the lights went out.
By lap 10, he was 3.7 seconds clear and controlling the race while, at the back, Vettel fought to find a way through from 18th in his Ferrari and Button chose to take his drive-through penalty almost immediately.
Alonso was left frustrated by McLaren’s fuel consumption problems.
Told on the radio to conserve fuel, he snapped back: “I don’t want to I don’t want to I already have big problems We look like amateur I will race and then concentrate on the fuel.”
Raikkonen spun on lap 28, gifting third to Bottas, and a lap later Hamilton pitted for new tyres. After a 2.8 seconds stop, he was out behind Rosberg who pitted in 2.6 on lap 30 and re-joined second.
The two Mercedes men were in a race of their own, but Rosberg had no intention of settling for second and closed the gap to less than two seconds. By half-distance in the 70-lap contest, Hamilton enlarged the advantage to 2.3 seconds again.
Hamilton maintained a 1.2 seconds lead on Rosberg as the pair were warned about fuel and brakes with 23 laps remaining. By lap 50, the gap was 1.6 with Bottas third, 23 seconds adrift.
The relative serenity of proceedings was interrupted when Grosjean collided with Briton Will Stevens of Manor Marussia, as he lapped him going into the chicane. The Frenchman’s car suffered a puncture while Stevens front wing was damaged.
“He hit me, he hit me!” said Grosjean, who pitted immediately. The stewards investigated and the French driver was handed a five seconds penalty. “Where does he want me to go?” said Stevens. “Off the track? He does that all the time.”
Recovering from his early difficulties, Vettel surged through the field and showing his Ferrari’s speed he flew past Maldonado for fifth behind Raikkonen with 12 laps to go, his 13th place gained in the race.
By then, the leading duo were 28 seconds clear of Bottas and set for a duel in the final laps to the flag.