Race report from the Hockenheimring
Hamilton pulls in and is off to celebrate. What a day for him. He moved in front at the first turn and took complete control of the race. Rosberg’s rear wheels spun on the start when moving into third gear and the German driver never really recovered, though he also picked up a harsh five second penalty for an overtaking move. The Red Bulls looked good out there, too, occupying the other couple of places on the podium.
So now it’s the summer break. Hamilton leads the championship on 217 points, Rosberg is back on 198. I wonder who will be more relaxed on the beach for the next week or so? Thanks for reading. Stay on site for the report and reaction from Hockenheim. Until next time, farewell.
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“A beautiful start, brilliantly managed. Awesome race, mate, well done.” The reaction on Hamilton’s radio says it all. The Briton responds to say “fantastic race, guys. The summer break, I hope you enjoy it”.
Lewis Hamilton wins the German GP
And Hamilton wins. Again. Ricciardo is second, Verstappen is third. And Rosberg is back in fourth. Hamilton is 19 points clear of Rosberg in the championship.
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Lap 66: Hamilton has 7.2 sec, which will please him no doubt – despite sending neutrals to sleep with how straightforward it has been.
Lap 65: But now Perez fights past Verstappen too and then Alonso to climb into the final points place. A little further ahead, Button jumps past Bottas and into eighth.
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Lap 64: Perez is battling Alonso for 10th place. The latter defends well to keep the attack at bay, though, before being lapped by Verstappen … but then Alonso comes off the hairpin quickly and unlaps himself.
Lap 63: Hamilton says he has seen some rain on his visor. A couple of spits, it should be mentioned, not quite the deluge.
Lap 62: Felipe Nasr follows Felipe Massa in retiring early.
Lap 61: Hamilton’s lead is over 6 sec. Ricciardo is closing but not enough to really bother the world champion.
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Lap 59: There was a 20% chance of rain … and we are told a shower might break out in about five minutes. Some late action perhaps? Hopefully because otherwise we are rolling into a dull conclusion.
Lap 58: Focus on TV has shifted to the battle for 14th, telling you all you need to know about events towards the front of the race.
Lap 57: Back in ninth Button says there is a problem with his car.
Lap 56: All but Massa remain on the track, a gauge of how uneventful this race has been.
Lap 54: Hamilton posts a new fastest lap to go 5.8 sec clear of Ricciardo. It would be good for the championship leader to have a couple of easier laps, spare his engine for the races to come.
Lap 52: A bit of a lull but Ricciardo is closing the gap on Hamilton, who is not quite far enough clear to slow down.
Lap 50: Hamilton is overlapping the back markers.
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Lap 49: This is all a bit dull, isn’t it?
Lap 48: Hamilton is well clear of Ricciardo but the second placed driver is posting very fast lap times and well clear of Verstappen and Rosberg is tailed off in fourth.
Lap 47: And now Hamilton pits – and gets out without much trouble, with hardly any of his lead eaten into.
Lap 46: Ricciardo pits, allowing Raikkonen up to second. That makes Hamilton’s lead 28 seconds.
Lap 45: Hamilton leads Ricciardo by 11.8 sec. Looking back on Rosberg’s stop, they waited eight seconds before starting to work on his car – a large mistake that could now cost him a place on the podium.
Lap 44: Rosberg pits to take that penalty and get out with soft compounds. He will now race to the finish and have an opportunity to eat into the distance to Ricciardo … but, realistically unless there is a disaster for the leader, not Hamilton.
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Lap 43: The gap, minus the penalty, between Rosberg and Ricciardo is 7.5 sec but closing.
Lap 42: With the five second penalty, as it stands Rosberg looks set to drop back to fourth … although Verstappen appears to be struggling in that position at the moment. Hamilton, meanwhile, is out on his own and barring a disaster set to extend his championship lead.
Lap 41: Vroom.
Lap 40: Ricciardo is up into third, overtaking Verstappen. That’ll be the super soft tyres.
Lap 39: Hamilton now leads Rosberg by 7 sec.
Lap 38: Verstappen leads Ricciardo by 1.1 sec in third – but will Red Bull ask him to move aside for his team-mate?
Lap 37: Massa is told to retire, the first to depart the race.
Lap 36: Hamilton is told to go on plan B now – a third stop, it seems, now Rosberg has to take a five second penalty on his next trip to the pits. It’s a Mercedes 1-2 on the track now, with Hamilton leading by five seconds (not including the penalty).
Lap 35: There are groans in the stands upon learning of Rosberg’s penalty. Meanwhile, Hamilton pits and he has not lost the lead – but he too has moved to supersoft. Rosberg remains on softs.
Lap 34: Ricciardo is gone to supersoft tyres and nobody has any idea why.
Lap 33: Rosberg has been given a five second penalty for that move on Verstappen. Is that harsh? It seemed like a fair attack, no?
Lap 32: Raikkonen now pits, allowing Rosberg into third. The German is 25.213sec behind his Mercedes team-mate Hamilton, though.
Lap 31: Hamilton leads Ricciardo by 11sec. Raikkonen is in third and Rosberg is on his tail.
Lap 30: That move from Rosberg is being investigated – did he force another driver off the track?
Lap 29: Hamilton’s lead is now almost 11sec. Rosberg is back in sixth and told to push Verstappen in fifth … and the Mercedes gets past the Red Bull with a clinical attack on the hairpin, forcing Verstappen off the track momentarily.
Lap 28: Rosberg pits for a second time and changes to soft tyres. Is this now plan C?
Lap 27: Massa has a long stop to fix whatever was costing him time.
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Lap 26: Hamilton’s lead is 8.3sec, gaining a second on Verstappen here.
Lap 25: All but Verstappen and Rosberg from the top 10 are using soft tyres.
Lap 24: Gutierrez will pit at the end of this lap. Hamilton’s lead continues to grow marginally with each lap. He and Ricciardo may opt for two stops. Rosberg appears to be going for three and remains in fourth. Is it too early to write him off?
Lap 23: Alonso shows his experience to get past Gutierrez and jump into 10th. Gutierrez is the only driver yet to pit.
Lap 22: Tasty puns part three from Iain Brown: “I’m pretty sure one of the red-tops went with ‘Ignited Colours of Benetton’ the day after the Verstappen incident. Or have I missed a meeting?” Fair play to that sub.
Lap 21: Sainz takes advantage of Massa and then Grosjean gets past him on the next corner. Massa is now 16th. What a disaster for the Brazilian.
Lap 20: Verstappen is 1.2sec ahead of Ricciardo but has lost another second on Hamilton.
Lap 19: Alonso is now closing on Gutierrez after zipping past Sainz while Magnussen overtakes Massa, who is still struggling, on the same hairpin.
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Lap 18: Hamilton’s lead over Verstappen is a shade over 6 sec. Button gets past Guttierez after the hairpin.
Lap 17: We’re now been shown the Battle For Ninth – where Gutierrez is being chased by Button.
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Lap 16: Rosberg is told over the radio to revert to plan B. It was evident from the first turn that plan A has failed … it could mean a three-stop strategy for the man who started on pole.
Lap 15: Hamilton is told over the radio it’s hammer time … before pitting at the end of the lap. It’s a good stop and he is back out and still in the lead. Rosberg sets a new fastest lap – 1:20.21 – and has moved back to fourth.
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Lap 14: Raikkonen is the next to say his rear tyres are struggling, while Vettel pits and changes to soft.
Lap 13: Ricciardo stops and still comes out ahead of Rosberg, who is immediately back up to seventh.
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Lap 12: That has moved Rosberg back to 10th.
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Lap 11: Hamilton, who we have barely seen really, has set a new fastest lap – 1:20.58 – and leads by five seconds. Rosberg and Verstappen pit, changing to supersoft tyres, but the latter’s stop is quicker.
Lap 10: But then Sainz and Massa have to pit and the latter overtakes the former, coming out ahead of Palmer.
Lap 9: Sainz has overtaken the struggling Massa and then a turn later Magnussen also gets past.
Lap 8: Verstappen, now 3.2sec behind Hamilton, says there is a lack of grip on his rear tyres. Back towards the rear, Perez comes into the pits.
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Lap 7: Nico Rosberg’s last lap was the fastest of the race so far – 1:20.714. Massa is now being pressured by Sainz, there must be something wrong with his car after that tip with Palmer.
Lap 6: We’re still being shown the start from various angles and Verstappen’s move to get past Ricciardo was delightful, crossing from the right of the track to zoom past his team-mate on the left. Massa, meanwhile, was struck by Palmer. Both are still racing … and Alonso has just overtaken Massa. As they were at the front.
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Lap 5: Watching the start back, that Rosberg start was awful – going into third gear there was some wheel spin, costing him time and three places.
Lap 4: Verstappen is told over his radio to mind his tyres because that is what Hamilton is doing, too. The gap is a little under two seconds.
Lap 3: Massa is on his radio to say he has been hit but we have not been shown any footage.
Lap 2: Rosberg is doing his best to get past Ricciardo, who is racing his 100th grand prix today, but after getting wheel to wheel with him, is shut off by the Red Bull. Palmer is into the pits to change his tyres.
Lap 1: What a disastrous start for Rosberg. Hamilton overtakes Rosberg on the opening turn and the German is also overtaken by Verstappen and Ricciardo! Vettel sits in fifth, Raikkonen is sixth.
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Lights out. Go go go!
The German GP is underway.
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The cars are off on their formation lap. The teams head back to the pit lane. We are moments away. Contain your excitement, chums.
Weather: it is overcast and there is a 20% chance of rain during the 67 lap race. Temperature on the track is 39c, 23c in the air.
Jenson Button, starting from 12th, is asked on TV about his chances of finishing with points today. “I don’t know. Ask me after the race.” Fair.
Tasty puns pt 2 …
“Pedro Diniz suffered a pit lane fuel based mishap, leading to his car catching fire,” DJ Crowther emails. “Thankfully no one was seriously hurt. However the headline: ‘Diniz in the oven’”
Tasty puns …
@alansmith90 Gerhard Berger had a spectacular burnout in one Grand Prix leading to the photo caption "Berger in the oven".
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) July 31, 2016
Fun fact: speaking of father and son drivers, Keke Rosberg was on pole in the German GP 30 years ago.
On Sky, they are currently recalling this dramatic moment from the 1994 German GP when Jos Verstappen’s car erupted into flames in the pits. There were six minor injuries and thankfully nobody was seriously hurt.
The grid is filling up with mechanics, the drivers are sitting into their cars and emerging from the pitlane. So, bascially, we’re a half an hour from the start. Vroom!
Nico Rosberg has been speaking on Sky: “I’m feeling good. Tons of people coming in makes me happy. Hopefully I can put on a good show for them today. The start is crucial … to create a gap to the cars behind. I felt good and comfortable in the car.”
Hello. Well this is rather exciting – another front row of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. Maybe for the remainder of the season they should hold a separate race for the rest of the grid and then allow the Mercedes pair their own competition? That would be fair.
Anyway, it is Rosberg who starts from pole at his home GP and looking to overtake Hamilton in the championship after the Briton’s win in Hungary last weekend. That was Hamilton’s fifth win from the last six races, giving him a five-point lead over Rosberg. But can the German return to the top before the summer break? Let’s wait and see.
Lights out are at 1pm. In the meantime, here’s Paul Weaver’s take on yesterday’s qualifying session.
It was Rosberg’s 27th career pole, his fifth of the season and it ties the German 6-6 in his qualifying tussles with Hamilton this year. More importantly, though, for a psyche damaged after being pulverized by his Mercedes team-mate in recent weeks, Rosberg beat his great rival in a very proper sense, going throttle-toe to throttle-toe at the very end of the session.
