"It's mesmerising to see so many people so cheerful," said Hamilton. "Just seeing how positive everyone was, the constant love that's shown.

"I really feel like we did it together. It is a long journey we have been on, and there is real love there."

It was Hamilton's fourth win in his home race and third in succession.

And it brought him level with 1992 world champion Nigel Mansell as the most successful driver at Silverstone.

The Mercedes driver, who led every lap from pole position, described it as "a perfect weekend".

And it got even better for him three and a half hours after the race when stewards penalised his team-mate Nico Rosberg 10 seconds because Mercedes had broken rules on how much help a driver can be given over the radio.

That dropped Rosberg to third place and cut the German's championship lead over Hamilton to just one point.

"I am really happy because it is so easy to come into this weekend with the wrong energy," he said. "But to come in feeling fresh, powerful, strong and confident and deliver is what I plan to do every weekend.

"This has been the best week of the year, without doubt."

The win was Hamilton's fourth in the past five races, which has enabled him to make up nearly all the ground he lost with a difficult start to the season in which he had to start two of the first four races from down the grid as a result of technical problems.

"I feel like I would have won in China and Russia if I didn't have the problems I had," Hamilton said.

"But I would definitely say through that rough patch I was going through in terms of reliability, it is hard to handle when you want to win the world championship as much as I do.

"But I really feel that since that low after Barcelona [where Hamilton and Rosberg crashed out on the first lap], I was able to cultivate a very positive and strong mental attitude, and that's what I have today.

"That's how I've won as many races as I have and it's something I plan to continue."

(BBC)