Lewis Hamilton wins German GP at Hockenheim

Rosberg had appeared to master the Hockenheimring all weekend, dominating practice and qualifying on pole position, but he was unable to repeat his home victory of two years ago.

An awful start left the German behind Hamilton and the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, with a five-second penalty for forcing the Dutch teenager off the road hitting Rosberg's attempts at a revival further as the podium eluded him.

Ricciardo won the battle of the Red Bulls for second place, with a late charge towards Hamilton just falling short.

His early exploits allowed Hamilton to nurse his engine to the line, possibly allowing the Brit to eke another race out of his current power unit before he takes on a sixth of the season – and a 10-place grid penalty.

Though the double-defending champion has urged caution due to this issue, victories in six of the last seven races have put him firmly in the boxseat as Rosberg fails to build on his stunning start to 2016.

ROSBERG RUNS OUT OF LUCK

Rosberg's recovery after dropping to fourth before turn one on the first lap looked good as Ricciardo abandoned an apparent two-stop strategy, but a slow pitstop put the German behind Verstappen and scrambling to take his place on-track.

With superior power, Rosberg sensed his chance into turn six and dived down the inside of Verstappen, who was pushed wide and was unable to pull off a late move on the outside.

It seemed a gutsy, but fair move – the sort that Rosberg is not associated with – but the stewards took a dim view, wrecking his race and potentially his championship.

RED BULL LEAVE FERRARI FOR DUST

There can be no doubt about it; Red Bull are now the closest rivals to Mercedes by miles and their two-three finish put the Milton Keynes squad into second place in the constructors' standings.

The departure of technical director James Allison has hit Ferrari hard this week and Sebastian Vettel was in no mood for niceties.

Much has been said about the scrapping of F1's radio ban, but it allowed us an intriguing look into Vettel's mind as he rejected an order to pit on lap 44.

A similar call from the four-time champion helped him earn second place in Baku not long ago. This time it was in order to hang on to fifth.

HAT-TRICK ON FOR HAMILTON

The impending penalty will undoubtedly affect Hamilton's campaign, but his sky-high confidence may be too much to surmount.

Spa, one of F1's best tracks for overtaking, is next up and Hamilton could easily work his way through the field to negate any damage if need be, with Brazil a similar event late in the campaign.

FERNANDO IS FASTER THAN YOU

There was plenty of poignancy on lap six as the McLaren of Fernando Alonso blasted past Felipe Massa's Williams at turns six and seven, the same part of track the Brazilian was told to let his then-Ferrari team-mate pass him in a controversial 2010 race.

Massa was struggling for pace after an early collision with Jolyon Palmer and retired on lap 38 after a miserable outing, while Alonso finished 11th after McLaren's strategy left them short late in the race.

IN THE POINTS

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)2. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) +6.996secs3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +13.143s4. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) +15.845s5. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) +32.570s6. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) +37.023s7. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) +70.049s8. Jenson Button (McLaren) +1 Lap9. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) +1 Lap10. Sergio Perez (Force India) +1 Lap

TITLE STANDINGS

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 2172. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 198 (-19)3. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 133 (-84)4. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 122 (-95)5. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 120 (-97)

1. Mercedes 4152. Red Bull 256 (-159)3. Ferrari 242 (-173)4. Williams 96 (-319)5. Force India 81 (-334)

NEXT UP

Some sweet relief for those behind the scenes as F1 breaks for four weeks. Another iconic venue will greet the teams back into action as they head to Spa for the Belgian Grand Prix.