Lewis Hamilton romped to a record sixth British Grand Prix triumph after leapfrogging Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas during a Safety Car period - but it was all action behind them in a thrilling encounter.
Bottas had kept Hamilton at bay, the pair involved in an enthralling cat-and-mouse tussle, until Antonio Giovinazzi's Alfo Romeo got beached on the gravel on Lap 21 and a Safety Car was introduced.
The Finn had already made his pit stop but Hamilton had yet to make his - and he pounced on the opportunity, much to the delight of the 140,000 Silverstone spectators cheering their home hero on, with rap star Stormzy waving him over the line.
The five-time world champion returned to the action ahead of his Silver Arrows partner and from that moment on he cruised to a victory that secured him yet more Formula One history.
Bottas, having started on pole position, had to settle for second for another Mercedes one-two as Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, perhaps fortunately, completed the podium.
Leclerc was arguably the star of the show after a sensational wheel-to-wheel battle with his fellow rising star Max Verstappen.
The pair, both 21, arrived at Silverstone on the back of their controversial incident in Austria, which saw Verstappen claim victory after a debatable late-race manoeuvre on Leclerc.
And at the mecca of British motorsport, they gave fans a thrilling display of wheel-to-wheel racing, battle on various laps before Ferrari's decision to pull Leclerc in for a second stop under the Safety Car gave Verstappen the advantage.
"How the hell did we lose the position," said Leclerc.
The Ferrari starlet then went about regaining that position and the exciting talents even banged wheels as Verstappen got his elbows out in a desperate bid to retain that position.
But it was Leclerc's Ferrari team-mate Vettel who was involved in the race-changing incident when the pair were fighting for third place during the latter stages of the race.
Verstappen had got ahead of Vettel and then appeared to slam on the brakes as he approached a corner, with his German rival smashing into the back of the Red Bull star.
The pair both went flying into he gravel before returning to the action but it ruined both of their races as Leclerc lucked in and moved into third place.
Vettel was ultimately handed a 10-second penalty for the incident, with the stewards deeming the collision his fault to cap off a miserable afternoon for the four-time world champion.
