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German GP

2016 Formula 1 German GP

Germany
Jul 28, 2016 to Jul 31, 2016
, DE
Live text
Formula 1 German GP

German Grand Prix- Race

Live Text

So that's it for us today, with Lewis Hamilton's second win overall at Hockenheim and his first with Mercedes.

Even with Mercedes being class of the field, this is sure to go down in the history books as one of the easier wins for the reigning champion, as Rosberg did much of the work for him with a slow start.

Here's our report - and we'll see you after the (very welcome) summer break.
Constructor's standings:

Pos.TeamsPoints
1 Mercedes 415
2 Red Bull Racing 256
3 Ferrari 242
4 Williams 96
5 Force India 81
6 Toro Rosso 45
7 McLaren 42
8 Haas F1 Team 28
9 Renault F1 Team 6
10 Manor Racing 1
11 Sauber 0
Hamilton looks well chuffed with his race, the Red Bull duo that join him in the pre-podium room are slightly more reserved.

And here's the standings after today's race. Hamilton now leading by 19 points. 

Pos.DriversPoints
1 Lewis Hamilton 217
2 Nico Rosberg 198
3 Daniel Ricciardo 133
4 Kimi Raikkonen 122
5 Sebastian Vettel 120
6 Max Verstappen 115
7 Valtteri Bottas 58
8 Sergio Perez 48
9 Felipe Massa 38
10 Nico Hulkenberg 33
11 Carlos Sainz Jr. 30
12 Romain Grosjean 28
13 Fernando Alonso 24
14 Daniil Kvyat 23
15 Jenson Button 17
16 Kevin Magnussen 6
17 Pascal Wehrlein 1
18 Stoffel Vandoorne 1
19 Esteban Gutierrez 0
20 Jolyon Palmer 0
21 Marcus Ericsson 0
22 Felipe Nasr 0
23 Rio Haryanto 0
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"Have a well-deserved summer break, I hope you enjoy it," is Hamilton's message to his team.

He'll certainly enjoy it.

Quote
"Cheers, boys, nice, good stuff. The supersoft was very well balanced, cheers," Daniel Ricciardo tells his team after finishing P2.
Final results: 

1. Lewis Hamilton  
2. Daniel Ricciardo +6.996
3. Max Verstappen +13.413
4. Nico Rosberg +15.845
5. Sebastian Vettel +32.570
6. Kimi Raikkonen +37.023
7. Nico Hulkenberg +70.049
8. Jenson Button +1L
9. Valtteri Bottas +1L
10. Sergio Perez +1L
11. Esteban Gutierrez +1L
12. Fernando Alonso +1L
13. Romain Grosjean +1L
14. Carlos Sainz +1L
15. Daniil Kvyat +1L
16. Kevin Magnussen +1L
17. Pascal Wehrlein +2L
18. Marcus Ericsson +2L
19. Jolyon Palmer +2L
20. Rio Haryanto +2L
Button is P8, ahead of Bottas and Perez.

Alonso ended up P12 in the end, having been passed by Gutierrez as well. His final lap was a 1m28s.
Rosberg has to do with fourth place, ahead of Vettel, Raikkonen and Hulkenberg.
The two Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen complete the podium.
Chequered Flag
Lewis Hamilton wins the 2016 German Grand Prix.
Final lap.
And that's the pass made for P8. Bottas is hanging on for dear life.
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"Bottas has 31 laps on the prime tyres," Button is told.

"Okay, good!" he says.
Bottas' most recent lap was a 1m26s! That's absolutely miserable - and he now has Button to worry about for P7.
Alonso is picking a fight with Verstappen, nearly locking up into the Dutchman in two corners.

And that has allowed Perez to pass the McLaren driver. Very strange.
Raindrops now visible on the TV cameras. Too little, much too late.
Three laps left: 

1. Lewis Hamilton 
2. Daniel Ricciardo +6.572
3. Max Verstappen +10.068
4. Nico Rosberg +15.556
5. Sebastian Vettel +26.506
6. Kimi Raikkonen +37.574
7. Nico Hulkenberg +68.476
8. Valtteri Bottas +76.566
9. Jenson Button +1L
10. Fernando Alonso +1L
11. Sergio Perez +1L
12. Esteban Gutierrez +1L
13. Romain Grosjean +1L
14. Carlos Sainz +1L
15. Daniil Kvyat +1L
16. Kevin Magnussen +1L
17. Pascal Wehrlein +1L
18. Marcus Ericsson +2L
19. Jolyon Palmer +2L
20. Rio Haryanto +2L
Four laps to go, Bottas, Button and Alonso look to have run out of tyres - but the pace is consistent out front.
And Ricciardo is now having to make his way past the Perez - Alonso battle.
Perez, on softs, is now within a second of Alonso, on supersofts, for P10.

Button has cleared his teammate by six seconds now, Alonso is struggling.
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"Rain on the visor," reports Hamilton. Four laps to go...
And suddenly there's a fight for P7 - Bottas is in heaps of trouble, having lost a ton of time to Hulkenberg in the past few laps.

Unsurprisingly, Hulkenberg eases past the Finn.
Mechanical problem
Nasr has pulled over from P20.
We reckon there will never be a better time to remind you that Vettel's headline quote was "We are not here to finish fifth and sixth”.
Lap 60/67:

1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Daniel Ricciardo +6.154
3. Max Verstappen +9.128
4. Nico Rosberg +15.709
5. Sebastian Vettel +25.301
6. Kimi Raikkonen +35.943
7. Valtteri Bottas +61.702
8. Nico Hulkenberg +64.267
9. Jenson Button +75.762
10. Fernando Alonso +79.394
11. Sergio Perez +1L
12. Esteban Gutierrez +1L
13. Romain Grosjean +1L
14. Carlos Sainz +1L
15. Daniil Kvyat +1L
16. Kevin Magnussen +1L
17. Pascal Wehrlein +1L
18. Marcus Ericsson +1L
19. Jolyon Palmer +2L
20. Felipe Nasr +2L
21. Rio Haryanto +2L
Maybe disregard that previous Kvyat update completely - Kvyat is still being baulked by Magnussen and Sainz is now three seconds in the clear.
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"There could be a few drops of rain at Turn 1 in a few minutes," Ricciardo is informed.

Hmmm...
Some entertainment in the battle for P14 - Sainz eases past Magnussen, and Kvyat is not far back.

If the Russian clears the Dane fast enough, he could perhaps have a go at his teammate - which would be good for his current downer mood.
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Button asks how are Alonso's tyres.

"Same situation as you, Jenson," Button is informed.

"This could be tricky guys. It could destroy both our races," the Briton responds.
Rosberg's now six seconds adrift of Verstappen so, barring major tyre degradation for the Dutchman, we're unlikely to have a German on the podium here.
The closest battle in the top 10 right now is Button v. Alonso, the McLaren teammates two seconds apart in P9 and P10.

How very exciting.
Ricciardo, in clean air, is back to six seconds adrift of Hamilton. 11 laps to go.
Remember, last week, Gutierrez got a middle finger (as far as we could tell) from Hamilton for the very same reason - blue flags.

Not really something he wants to be famous for here.
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"Esteban is my favourite. I love this guy," complains Ricciardo about Gutierrez as he laps him.

"He's doing the same to everybody, it's not just you," his engineer replies.

So yeah...
Another strong lap from Hamilton and the gap is up to eight seconds.
But Hamilton is working hard to squash any kind of intrigue - he produces a brilliant 18.7 lap that time around, the best of his race, as Ricciardo starts to lose time in traffic.
15 laps left:

1. Lewis Hamilton 
2. Daniel Ricciardo +6.676
3. Max Verstappen +9.689
4. Nico Rosberg +14.693
5. Sebastian Vettel +19.965
6. Kimi Raikkonen +29.168
7. Valtteri Bottas +40.698
8. Nico Hulkenberg +53.241
9. Jenson Button +62.944
10. Fernando Alonso +67.273
11. Sergio Perez +70.208
12. Carlos Sainz +1L
13. Esteban Gutierrez +1L
14. Kevin Magnussen +1L
15. Romain Grosjean +1L
16. Daniil Kvyat +1L
17. Marcus Ericsson +1L
18. Pascal Wehrlein +1L
19. Jolyon Palmer +1L
20. Felipe Nasr +1L
21. Rio Haryanto +2L
Hamilton has done a 19.4 that time around in response - but Ricciardo did an 18.9.
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"What's Nico's pace?" asks Hamilton.

"19.3," he is told.
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