British Grand Prix voted best race of 2013

In a poll amongst the F1 broadcaster's 316,500+ Twitter followers, the Silverstone event secured 38% of the overall vote, with Hungary and Brazil finishing second and third, acquiring 30% and 13% of the vote respectively.

Mercedes AMG Petronas driver Nico Rosberg won the Grand Prix in front of one of the biggest crowds of the F1 season, finishing ahead of Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber. However, the action-packed race is possibly best remembered for a number of dramatic tyre blow-outs, Sebastian Vettel's late retirement and a thrilling end to the race.

Having secured Pole Position in Qualifying, British driver Lewis Hamilton went on to establish a two-second lead over Vettel during the opening laps of the race, however, on lap seven he was the first driver to experience a tyre blow, forcing him to nurse his car back to the Pits. Felipe Massa, Jean-Eric Vergne and Sergio Perez all went on to experience similar blow-outs around Silverstone's high speed Grand Prix Circuit, which resulted in several Safety Car sessions and – after a technical issue forced Vettel to retire – an exciting, unpredictable finale.

With Rosberg leading the race, it was Webber and the recovering Hamilton who made the most of safety car sessions and tyre stops. Webber picked off Raikkonen and Alonso in the closing stages and was within a second of Rosberg by the final lap, eventually finishing just seven tenths of a second behind the race winner. Meanwhile, Hamilton superbly battled his way back to fourth by the end of the race, overtaking Raikkonen on the penultimate lap and finishing just 0.632 seconds behind third-placed Alonso, just missing out on a sensational podium finish.

Richard Phillips, Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits Limited, said: “The British Grand Prix was back to its very best this year. There was a real festival atmosphere; the sun shone, we had huge crowds here on Friday, Saturday and Sunday – 294,000 over all three days and 120,000 on the Sunday, which was our third biggest attendance of all time – and the race itself was full of drama, keeping us all on the edge of our seats. I don't think the event could have gone any better. We're already looking forward to next year's event and another fantastic British Grand Prix.”

Tickets for the 2014 FORMULA 1® British Grand Prix are on sale 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Visit www.silverstone.co.uk for more information or call 0844 3728 300.