It was the perfect weekend for F1 drivers championship leader, Nico Rosberg, as he cruised to victory in the German Grand Prix. Valteri Bottas continued to impress by finishing the race as runner-up, just ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton had settled for the final podium spot after fought his way from twentieth following a disastrous qualifying session a day before.
As the race began, Massa’s string of bad luck continued as he was knocked out by the McLaren of Kevin Magnussen. That collision had caused Massa’s Williams to launch into the air, leaving the Brazilian sliding upside-down off the track before the car went stationary. The safety car was launched immediately.
Hamilton meanwhile wasted no time in chasing the pack. The Briton pulled a bold move to overtake Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo, but a mistake while passing Jenson Button at the hairpin damaged his Mercedes’s front wing in the process. After overtaking Button, the surging Hamilton chased Bottas, but nothing could be done as the Williams had enough straight line speed to fend-off Hamilton’s attack.
Sebastian Vettel finished his home race in fourth, followed by Fernando Alonso, who had his best race of this season. The Spaniard locked horns with another Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo in a battle for fifth, with the Australian eventually settled in sixth. Daniil Kvyat had a dramatic and fiery exit from the race after his Torro Rosso enrupted in flames although the Russian teenager escaped unharmed.
The victory at Hockenheim has allowed Rosberg to hold a 14-point lead over Hamilton. The next race will be at Hungary this weekend before the F1 circus takes a summer break.
RESULTS
1. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1hr 33m 42.914s 67 laps
2. Valtteri Bottas Finland Williams-Mercedes +00m 20.7s
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 22.5s
4. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +00m 44.0s
5. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 52.4s
6. Daniel Ricciardo Aust Red Bull-Renault +00m 52.5s
7. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Force India-Mercedes +01m 04.1s
8. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +01m 24.7s
9. Kevin Magnussen Denmark McLaren-Mercedes +1 lap
10. Sergio Perez Mexico Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
11. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari +1 lap
12. Pastor Maldonado Ven Lotus-Renault +1 lap
13. Jean-Eric Vergne France Toro Rosso-Renault +1 lap
14. Esteban Gutierrez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap
15. Jules Bianchi France Marussia-Ferrari +1 laps
16. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Caterham-Renault +2 laps
17. Max Chilton Briton Marussia-Ferrari +2 laps
18. Marcus Ericsson Sweden Caterham-Renault +2 laps
Rtd. Adrian Sutil Germany Sauber-Ferrari 47 laps completed
Rtd. Daniil Kvyat Russia Toro Rosso-Renault 44 laps completed
Rtd. Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault 26 laps completed
Rtd. Felipe Massa Brazil Williams-Mercedes 0 laps completed
Fastest lap:
Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 19.908s Lap 53
[Image Source: AMG Mercedes Petronas, GIF source: Reddit]
