Rain was the forecast for this afternoon's British Grand Prix as the 21 drivers took to the grid ahead of the formation lap. There was rain here earlier and the circuit was damp in places however it is highly speculated that more will fall throughout the course of the afternoon. The start, rain, tyres and strategy will all play crucial roles in determining the winner of round ten here today and no one knows that better than polesitter Juan Pablo Montoya.

The Colombian is anxious to get some valuable points here today, hopefully a win, but Williams don't appear that confident. Ferrari drivers Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher, second and third on the grid respectively, have opted for the harder Bridgestone compound for the race and Montoya is on new, not scrubbed Michelin rubber. Olivier Panis just makes it to the grid in time after his BAR stalled at pit exit but everything's a go and the formation lap gets underway!

Disaster for Rubens Barrichello as his Ferrari stalls! The Brazilian is left on the grid as the other drivers begin the formation lap and he will now be forced to start from the back of the grid! What a shame for the European GP winner. Montoya leads the rest of the field back around and the Ferrari goes to the back awaiting the start of the race. And it's GO at Silverstone!

Montoya keeps the lead with Michael Schumacher in second but further down the field Allan McNish stalls his Toyota, Felipe Massa goes off at Copse and the rain begins to fall! Barrichello begins to fight his way up the field. Ralf drops back to fourth after being passed by Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard tries to get past as well but the Williams holds him off, temporarily, but look at Jenson Button go! The Renault driver is already up five places to seventh while Rubens Barrichello is also carving through the field, the Brazilian already up to tenth place. Back at the front Michael Schumacher is challenging Juan Pablo Montoya but the Colombian defends his line superbly. Michael continues to apply pressure and it's a brilliant battle with the two so close they are almost touching!

Lap six and Allan McNish has officially retired from his first ever home race. Schumacher comes up alongside Montoya but the Williams holds the lead, just! Mika Salo has a small spin as the rain gets a little heavier, but continues on a few positions worse off and Rubens Barrichello is now eighth, ten seconds off the lead! The fight for the lead continues at the front and Michael is so close to getting past the Williams. What a fantastic battle! Michael on the inside, but Montoya closes the door as Mark Webber retires his KL Minardi with a technical problem. What a bad weekend for the Faenza squad.

Felipe Massa has another spin but continues on. Sauber aren't having too good a day with Felipe last and teammate Nick Heidfeld back to 12th. Despite the rain, it's not wet enough to come in for rain tyres but it is enough to make the track slippery in places, something Massa has discovered three times already. Barrichello tries to take seventh from Button but fails and is told from the pits to calm down as the rain gets heavier.

There is chaos in the pits as cars come in for wets. Montoya and Schumacher both in as are the next six runners but McLaren is not ready and Kimi Raikkonen has to wait while David Coulthard stays out on dry tyres! Hw is leading the race but taking a huge gamble. Ralf has to wait for Montoya and loses a lot of time. David finally pits after losing masses of time in the wet conditions. Michael Schumacher on intermediates gets by Montoya for the lead with ease, the Bridgestone wets with a clear advantage here this weekend. Looking back at Friday practice, the Ferraris were seconds ahead of their Michelin shod rivals in the same conditions.

Mika Salo retires the second Toyota as the rain buckets down on the Silverstone circuit. Rubens Barrichello is now in third place and 14 seconds behind his teammate. Ralf Schumacher gets past Kimi Raikkonen for fifth place with Jarno Trulli in fourth 15 seconds further up the track. Meanwhile after staying on track when other drivers pitted, David Coulthard emerged from his eventual stop in 11th place. Barrichello is now back into second place after getting past Montoya with ease, the Michelin wet compound really off the pace here this afternoon. Further back Heinz-Harald Frentzen has his Arrows into seventh place and is less than a second behind the sixth placed Williams of Ralf Schumacher, who eventually lost the battle with Kimi Raikkonen. Just when it looked as if an Arrows would be in the top six, Frentzen is forced to retire with engine failure.

The Bridgestone runners are really coming to the fore here this afternoon with the BAR's of Jacques Villeneuve and Olivier Panis in seventh and twelfth respectively. Enrique Bernoldi is ninth the two Saubers pass the Michelin shod McLaren of David Coulthard with ease for tenth and eleventh, the Scot fighting hard but to no avail. Coulthard pits but the mechanics aren't ready! Eventually he returns to the track on dry tyres! The rain has stopped but the track is still very wet, too wet for dry tyres but Michelin has no other option, they are being slaughtered on wets, Bridgestone with a definite huge advantage as Kimi Raikkonen comes in for the switch as well.

David into the grass after sliding on the glassy circuit and the Scot is now in last place in front of his home fans. Eddie Irvine joins the list of growing retirements, we are now down to 16 runners on lap 27. Here comes the rain again! What a race! Trulli and Button have been in the pits again and are down in 11th and 13th. David Coulthard spins at Bridge and damages the MP4-17 slightly but continues on. Villeneuve is in the points in fifth place! Now if only he can stay there, BAR may have a chance at finally securing their first points of the season. Olivier Panis is only two places out of the top six, the two Saubers between him and his teammate.

Enrique Bernoldi retires the second Arrows, all in all a bad weekend for the Leafield squad. A spin for Rubens but the Brazilian keeps it together and continues on. Ralf is in the pits for new tyres, but no fuel as there is a fuel rig problem in the Williams pits! Jarno Trulli joins the other six drivers forced to watch this race from pitlane. Michael is in the pits followed by Barrichello. Please excuse some omissions in this report, it is almost impossible to keep up with what is happening here at Silverstone! No one can call this race boring, that's for sure!

Jacques Villeneuve is now fourth and the last driver on the lead lap! Teammate Olivier Panis is in sixth and pushing Nick Heidfeld for fifth! Ralf is back in the pits and the mechanics fit dry Michelins as a dry line appears on the Silverstone circuit. Meanwhile, Juan Pablo Montoya is still on track, on wets and in third, 32 seconds behind current leader, Michael Schumacher, but all of a sudden the Colombian clocks a time quicker than the leading Ferrari's.

Problems in the McLaren pits continue as David comes in for his fourth stop and more dry tyres. Raikkonen has also had four stops as has the Renault of Jenson Button. Coulthard is off the track again! Villeneuve, Montoya and Barrichello all pit, Villeneuve taking on dry and used tyres. Rubens and Montoya return to the track in second and third and Montoya starts to reel in the Brazilian and passes the Ferrari on the outside at Abbey! Barrichello fights back and tries to reclaim the position. Villeneuve and Panis are still fourth and fifth after their second stops with Nick Heidfeld sixth.

Michael Schumacher is in, the German putting on dry Bridgestone tyres after losing two seconds a lap to Montoya, and the Colombian is now 15 seconds behind. The battle for second between Barrichello and Montoya continues, and there is very little in it, two tenths of a second to be precise. Barrichello keeps pushing and finally reclaims the place with a brilliant move at Copse, but the two touch as Kimi Raikkonen retires his MP4-17 with engine failure.

With twelve laps left it looks like this will be another one-two for Ferrari with Michael Schumacher adding another ten points to his already massive tally. A well deserved win for the German. 13 runners remain, Pedro de la Rosa the last of the cars on track behind David Coulthard's McLaren. Montoya slows down as Williams tell him to conserve fuel. Takuma Sato's strong run comes to an end, the Japanese rookie retiring his Jordan after the Honda engines gives out. There is oil on the circuit as a consequence and the oil flags are waving.

Positions are now stable as we start the run to the chequered flag. It looks as if BAR are finally going to score their first points of the season with a double points finish, fourth for Jacques and fifth for Olivier, five points in total. Jenson Button retires from his home race while Montoya appears to be slowing. Only two laps left and Ralf has already shot past his teammate down the straight, however the second Williams is a lap behind. Final lap and Michael Schumacher crosses the line with ease to win the British Grand Prix, his 60th career victory! Rubens Barrichello is second and Juan Pablo Montoya finishes third.

Top six: Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jacques Villeneuve, Olivier Panis and Nick Heidfeld.