Vettel has the edge on Hamilton - Brawn

Sebastian Vettel will take a psychological boost from beating Lewis Hamilton at his home British Grand Prix, says F1 motorsport chief Ross Brawn. The Ferrari man will hope home advantage works better in his favour as the championship heads to the German Grand Prix next time out.

A poor start off the line and then contact with Kimi Raikkonen effectively ended Hamilton's hopes of winning his home race for a record-breaking sixth time - and fifth in a row - with Vettel going on to take victory and extend his championship lead to eight points.

"This was Sebastian's 51st Formula 1 win, putting him joint third with Alain Prost on the list of most successful drivers in F1," Brawn said.

"It cannot be seen as a turning point in the championship, given that his eight-point lead is small when there's still half a season to go, but it was definitely a significant result, both technically and psychologically, as we head toward the Ferrari man's home race in Germany.

"Hamilton's pace throughout was prodigious and who knows what would have happened if Vettel and Bottas hadn't got past him at the start. What is certain is that a race that should have seen him retake the championship lead from Vettel turned into a damage limitation exercise."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes that Ferrari have already stolen a march on Mercedes in the power stakes, and Brawn also recognises that the Scuderia's rate of development has made the title race a thriller.

"Ferrari showed that it had matched Mercedes in terms of development and in its ability to make the most of its technical package," he added.

"It augurs well for an even more exciting second part of the season, a taste of which we got in the closing laps of the race at Silverstone."