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SILVERSTONE, England -- Lewis Hamilton has won the British Grand Prix for the first time, leading his rain-soaked home race from the fourth lap to take the lead in the Formula One drivers championship.
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The McLaren driver lapped all but two cars in the field Sunday and finished more than a minute ahead of Nick Heidfeld's BMW Sauber in a race at Silverstone that was full of spinouts and near misses. Honda's Rubens Barrichello was third for his first podium in four years and Honda's first of the season.
"It is by far the best victory I've ever had," Hamilton said after waving to the 90,000 fans who gave him a standing ovation after he won by 68.5 seconds.
Hamilton, dogged by penalties and a collision in his previous two races as he slipped from first to fourth in the standings, completed an almost faultless race in very difficult conditions.
Hamilton's third victory of the season gives him 48 points. He is tied with Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, but leads the championship chase based on his better finishes in the other races.
"The conditions were bad and as I was driving I thought, 'If I win this, it will be the best race I've ever done,' " Hamilton said. "On my last lap, I could see the crowd starting to rise to their feet, and I was just praying, praying, praying I could get the car round.
"It was so extreme out there. I was having big problems with my visor. I couldn't see a thing."
Massa spun at least five times in the race and finished last in 13th, failing to pick up a point. Raikkonen was fourth.
Hamilton and Massa each have three wins and finishes of second, third and fifth, but Hamilton has had better finishes in races where they weren't among the points. Raikkonen, the defending world champion who won this race last year, has two victories this season.
Robert Kubica is two points behind the leaders with 46. He dropped out after spinning his BMW Sauber off the circuit during the 39th lap.
Hamilton, starting fourth on the grid, provided an eventful beginning to the 60-lap race when he burst past both Red Bull's Mark Webber and Raikkonen at the beginning.
He also tried to overtake pole-starter and McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen on the inside of the first bend, but the Finn responded and the two McLarens almost touched.
Also on the first lap, Massa, Webber and Kazuki Nakajima went into a spin but rejoined the race. David Coulthard, in his last British GP before he retires at the end of the season, and Sebastian Vettel both slid into the same gravel area at the sharp left-hand Priory bend and were out of the race.
