Hamilton was followed by Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari and Nick Heidfeld of BMW-Sauber. Defending F1 champion Fernando Alonso of McLaren was fourth.

Hamilton's team was penalized after it was deemed to have hindered his qualifying efforts. With six races to go, Hamilton leads Alonso 80-73 in the points standings. The next race is the Turkish GP on Aug. 26.

Hamilton was jubilant after he crossed the finish line, pumping his arms in the car during the victory lap and then on the podium, where he was the sole McLaren representative. The team was not awarded the trophy because of the penalty by the governing body.

"I learned a lot about my team. How strong they are and how they deal with all the distractions. I don't believe any other team could cope with it better," Hamilton said. "It is a tough time for the whole team."

Alonso was penalized five places from the pole position Saturday after stewards ruled McLaren had delayed Hamilton on the final pit stop in qualifying. Alonso was timed at being stationary more than 30 seconds after the tires were changed before heading out while Hamilton waited behind him in the pits.

"It's been an eventful weekend and quite emotional for all the team," Hamilton said. "With all the drama all weekend it would have been easy to lose focus."

Ferrari and McLaren have won all 11 races this season, with Alonso, Hamilton and Raikkonen having three wins apiece. Raikkonen has 60 points for third place in the standings.

McLaren and Ferrari are also embroiled in a bitter legal dispute concerning leaked information and sabotage.

McLaren leads the constructors' standings with 138 points while Ferrari has 119. McLaren stayed at 138 because any points it won would not count. McLaren is appealing that ruling although it cannot appeal Alonso's relegation on the starting grid.

Hamilton didn't give up hope while sitting in his car Saturday waiting for Alonso to leave the pits.

"It's always important to remain positive. You have to stay controlled mentally," Hamilton said.

Asked after the race about his relationship with Alonso, Hamilton said he respects the Spaniard.

"He doesn't seem to have been speaking to me since yesterday, so I don't know if he has a problem," Hamilton said.

At the start of Sunday's race, Hamilton moved away easily while Raikkonen tucked in behind. They essentially stayed that way during the rest of the race, with Heidfeld third, except for pits stops.

"It was quite a boring race just staying behind," Raikkonen said.

Hamilton went in on the 50th lap and stretched his lead to more than four seconds but immediately started losing ground. By lap 55, he was ahead of Raikkonen by just 2.2 seconds and by only a half-second by lap 57. With 13 laps remaining, that was as close as it got.

"When I was in traffic, he was getting closer and closer," Hamilton said, referring to Raikkonen. "Then when I was able to get a clear lap, I was able to maintain the gap."