Hamilton’s win had, at least provisionally, given him a luxurious 53-points lead over his nearest championship rival and Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in the drivers’ title race.

Hamilton is closing in on a third title after moving 53 points clear of Nico Rosberg whose troubled weekend came to an end when his engine went up in smoke with only two laps left.

According to the FIA checks, Hamilton’s tyre was 0.3 PSI below the prescribed minimum while his team-mate Nico Rosberg’s was 1.1 PSI too low.

Hamilton’s victory was in doubt for a couple of hours after it emerged one of his tyres was below the minimum recommended pressure before the race.

The German, who had already deferred to an old, less powerful engine after a failure with his new-specification power unit in Saturday’s morning practice session, was on course to finish third.

Vettel had earlier said he did not welcome the tyres controversy and the way in which claims were made to take the result away from Hamilton. A team representative was summoned to the stewards, with fears he could face a penalty that might wipe out his advantage over Vettel, and possibly more.

During his post-race press conference, Hamilton added: “Not really no. I wasn’t aware of it”.

On the other hand, Williams drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa, both recently confirmed for next season by the Mercedes-powered team, were fourth and fifth ahead of the Lotus of Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

In the end, following an anxious wait, Hamilton could indeed afford to smile as he celebrated his 40th career F1 win in his 50th start for Mercedes.

He enjoyed a commanding cruise to the top step of a podium, standing high above a throng of Ferrari fans who had hoped to acclaim one of their own as victor but had to make do with Sebastian Vettel finishing runner-up.

“I don’t know what to say about it, it’s not my job”. The final cause was that the left rear tire was just.3 percent deflated, which is against F.I.A. rules.

“We measure them (the tyre pressures) with Pirelli“, Wolff said on British television BBC.

A pre-qualifying problem had forced him to start the race with an engine that had previously been used in five races, while Hamilton had a fresh one with upgrades for the fastest circuit on the calendar. “I was going to have a good go at Vettel because finally I had the brakes cooling-off to be able to attack”.