Disbelief and bewilderment were the common expressions on the faces of supporters in the grandstands just 30 seconds into Sunday's British Grand Prix.

Quite different to the expressions after the race had finished just 51 laps, or one hour and 31 minutes, later - but nonetheless justifiable, with almost no-one likely to have predicted what happened at the first few corners of the opening lap at Silverstone.

Remarkably and rather unbelievably, the two Williams cars had flown through the Mercedes pair - who sat in first and second on the grid respectively - like they weren't there, taking advantage of their poor start to storm into an impressive lead.

No-one could quite believe it. How had this happened? We'd seen one Mercedes struggle from the starting grid in Austria, as Lewis Hamilton was usurped by his team-mate Nico Rosberg, but for both of them to suffer from wheelspin at the start here was near unthinkable.

Sensational start at Silverstone

Such was the frenzy, many did not realise until later in the first lap that their beloved Lewis Hamilton had overtaken Valtteri Bottas to move up into second at the fourth corner, as they continued to ponder just what went wrong for him from the start.

Early on, there was a lot to take in for the 140,000 spectators who had lined up since the early hours of the morning. Running on caffeine and calories thanks to the one thousand and one food vans around the circuit, they weren't exactly left hungry for excitement as the race exploded into life from the get-go.

Another Brit, Jenson Button, was unfortunately forced to retire as a relatively low-key collision on the eye rendered his engine useless after Fernando Alonso - his McLaren team-mate clearly clipped a weak spot to write the latest chapter in a miserable season so far for 35-year-old Button.

The safety car was soon out, but not before Lotus duo Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado clattered into each other at the same section of track - leaving just 16 cars left, with Felipe Nasr's gearbox problem having forced him out beforehand.

First lap crashes galore, and plenty more

The safety car briefly settled an eventful start, but it soon became equally as frantic after the race restarted on lap four, as 17-year-old Max Verstappen crashed out later in the same lap.

Hamilton, eager to make up for lost ground, set his sights on first-placed Felipe Massa and attempted to overtake him around Club corner, only to push too hard and relinquish his place to Bottas.

The Finn was absolutely flying around the Northamptonshire circuit, but was told not to try overtaking team-mate Massa despite going faster than the Brazilian.

In hindsight, Williams got their decision well wrong - as that proved his only real opportunity to do so, and the first round of pit-stops then started their undoing and Mercedes' rise.

Up to now, there was real tension amongst the stands - as the home fans began to fear that Williams may have returned to form on the day many of them had hoped to see Hamilton romp to a fifth win of the season and the 38th of his career.

But the inter-Williams battle allowed the Silver Arrows to close in, and on lap 19, Hamilton came in to try and undercut the two ahead of him, which he did to perfection.

Thanks to excellent work from the Mercedes pit crew, Hamilton was in and out in a flash, before coming out in front of Massa and Rosberg as they pitted in the next lap and came out the pit lane side-by-side.

Pit stop timing perfection for Hamilton and Mercedes

Hamilton taking the lead drew deafening cheers from the crowd, particularly down the pit straight - as a wall of noise roared the pole-sitter on, and there were passes and retirements galore elsewhere as the race refused to settle.

Bottas' quick pit stop saw him emerge in front of Rosberg, whilst Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz were forced to box as Hamilton steadily extended his lead.

All the while, British fans lauded him at every corner of the track - celebrating what looked likely to be a comfortable win by lap 32, as he led by six seconds.

But in typical style, dark clouds began to gather - adding even more drama and excitement as the race moved towards its conclusion.

Typical British weather closes in to add more drama

With just 13 cars left on the grid, everything was poised for an excellent finale and with less than 20 laps to go, the drizzle began to fall.

For now, it fell in only specific areas of the track - meaning Rosberg, who was pushing all out to overtake Massa and go second, continued to close in on his teammate - cutting out two seconds in the first sector alone in one lap.

But his charge was halted as the rain began to fall. It left those in the cars with quite the predicament, whilst those in the stands quickly donned their waterproof coats and opened their umbrellas.

This was crunch time and Hamilton was ready. 'Hammertime' was lovingly emblazoned across all the Union Jack flags and merchandise, and as Rosberg alarmingly continued to close the gap between himself and his team-mate, this was it.

On lap 44, with rain forthcoming, Hamilton pitted to change to intermediate tyres. It was an inspired decision. No longer than 15 seconds after he sped out of the pits and around the first corner, rain began to deluge down the pit straight.

Strangely, unlike the other regular rainfalls up and down the country, it was met with a thundering euphoria - as the British supporters realised what it meant for their subject of affection.

The out lap proved just how right Mercedes and Hamilton got it, as he relished in the rain to close in on Rosberg and fly past him as the German realised his wrongdoing and pitted to switch to inters too.

Behind him, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel - despite having endured a testing afternoon so far - had similarly switched to the more versatile tyres on the same lap as Hamilton, allowing him to take advantage of Williams' ever-slowing laps and thrust himself into third.

Vettel was still some way behind Rosberg, but he was able to open up a healthy lead over Massa and Bottas - who were left to rue their car's slower pace in rainier conditions.

With as little as six laps remaining, the pair held fourth and fifth respectively, with Daniil Kvyat hot on Bottas' tail - but all Hamilton had to do was maintain his composure, which he did, to join Nigel Mansell and Jim Clark as those privileged few to have won at least three British Grand Prix races.

Things ended with Hamilton an emphatic 10 seconds ahead of Rosberg, who will no doubt have been glad to grab second after such a tricky battle with the Williams cars, but slightly disappointed at his decision not to switch onto intermediates at the same time as his team-mate.

For the race winner, who now opens up a 17-point lead ahead of Rosberg as the reigning World champion continues to lead at the top of the Drivers' Championship, it was a drive almost suggestive of Nigel Mansell's thrilling 1986 victory on the same circuit.

All in all, even though Mercedes ended with yet another one-two - their sixth from the nine races so far this season, it was far from a smooth ride. Exactly the opposite, in fact - but that was what helped it become a race destined to go down as a classic in the history books.

Their success, and more notably Lewis Hamilton's triumph, was largely down to their impeccable pit stop timing - something the Briton will have relished after having suffered from team decisions beforehand, such as the ill-judged stop at the Monaco Grand Prix, which cost him a win, leaving him winless in his current hometown since 2008.

A man of the people, Hamilton thanks his fans

But it was not just Hamilton's victory on home turf that got supporters on their feet, as Williams provided a real challenge to frontrunners Mercedes, McLaren Honda's Fernando Alonso got his first points of the season on the board and the gloriously unpredictable British weather switched from bright and sunny to pouring rain and back again in a matter of minutes to add welcome extra elements to a race which had already proved a spectacle.

It was a race that had virtually everything, including stunning overtakes, shocking crashes and a little bit of fortune. Most of all, it truly was a reminder just why the sport is so globally popular, providing the perfect example of just how enthralling the sport can be.

After weeks where F1 has been criticised for tediousness and a lack of competition amongst other things, the 2015 British Grand Prix gave the perfect response to the sport's doubters. Formula One is as fun as ever.

All pictures courtesy of Getty Images.

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About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.