Hamilton Denied Home Win As Raikkonen Prevails

There was no British grand prix debut win for Lewis Hamilton, who had to settle for third place and yet another podium appearance as Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen took the chequered flag.

Raikkonen, who led a Ferrari one-two in France last weekend, took the chequered flag 2.4 seconds ahead of McLaren's double world champion Fernando Alonso.

Hamilton, the astonishing 22-year-old who has attracted record crowds to Silverstone for his home debut, finished a distant third to a roar of sound from the grandstands after starting on pole position. It was the ninth podium finish in nine formula one races for Hamilton, an unprecedented feat for a rookie.

Alonso's performance, from third on the starting grid, allowed the Spaniard to cut Hamilton's overall lead to 12 points after nine races.

Raikkonen is 18 points adrift of the young Briton with Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa one point further back after finishing fifth. Poland's Robert Kubica was fourth for BMW Sauber.

The victory was Raikkonen's third of the season, more than any other driver in a year so far dominated by Ferrari and McLaren, and 12th of his career.

Massa's race was wrecked at the start with the Brazilian having to be pushed off the grid after stalling. He began the race from the pit lane. The Brazilian then made a stirring charge back through the field, and was 10th after just eight laps.

Germany's Nick Heidfeld was sixth for BMW Sauber with the Renault's Finland's Heikki Kovalainen and Italian Giancarlo Fisichella taking the last points on a bright and breezy afternoon at Silverstone.