Poor start from Nico Rosberg saw him drop behind Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen
Hamilton took lead from his Mercedes team-mate at turn one and never looked in trouble in Hockenheim
Rosberg was given five second penalty for forcing Verstappen off the circuit in his efforts to overtake him
German Grand Prix win means Hamilton leads championship by 19 points heading into summer break
By Joe Downes For Mailonline
Lewis Hamilton took full advantage of Nico Rosberg’s miserable afternoon to win the German Grand Prix and extend his championship lead to 19 points.
Lewis Hamilton took full advantage of Nico Rosberg’s miserable afternoon to win the German Grand Prix and extend his championship lead to 19 points.
Hamilton capitalised on his team-mate’s poor start from pole position to claim his sixth victory in seven races.
If the Briton enjoyed a straightforward afternoon, Rosberg’s home race went from bad to worse. He was handed a five-second penalty for forcing Max Verstappen off the road midway through the race.
JOE DOWNES AT HOCKENHEIM: Lewis Hamilton took full advantage of Nico Rosberg's miserable afternoon to win the German Grand Prix and extend his championship lead to 19 points. Hamilton capitalised on his team-mate's poor start from pole position to claim his sixth victory in seven races. If the Briton enjoyed a straightforward afternoon, Rosberg's home race went from bad to worse. He was handed a five-second penalty for forcing Max Verstappen off the road midway through the race.
Lewis Hamilton celebrates on the podium in front of Daniel Ricciardo after winning the German Grand Prix
Hamilton celebrates winning his fourth consecutive race by throwing his winners' trophy into the air
Hamilton celebrates by spraying champagne along with Red Bull's Ricciardo and third placed Max Verstappen
Hamilton and Verstappen look on as Ricciardo drinks champagne from his shoe following his 100th grand prix
It meant he finished fourth, one place behind Verstappen and two behind Daniel Ricciardo who finished second to make it two Red Bulls on the podium.
Rosberg would have been dreaming of a good start at Hockenheim but the one he got was surely beyond his worst nightmares.
In Hungary last week, he was third after turn one having started on pole. It was inconceivable given the shorter run to the first corner here that a similar scenario would play out but somehow he went one worse.
Rosberg crawled off the line and was gobbled up by both Red Bulls to give Hamilton the easiest of tasks to claim the lead.
Hamilton led every lap of the race as he took his fourth consecutive win on a dream afternoon for the world champion
A 49th Grand Prix career win for Hamilton saw him open up a 19-point lead in the world championship
Hamilton extended his championship lead over Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg having cruised to victory
Verstappen started behind Ricciardo but his daredevil move around the outside at turn one gave him second.
Suddenly Rosberg was fighting to cling on to fourth, taking to the grass to fend off Sebastian Vettel who had jumped Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen at the start.
Rosberg held firm but his afternoon got worse at the first round of pit-stops. He followed Verstappen in at the end of lap 11 but lost valuable time, his stop more than a second slower than the teenager’s.
Red Bull team-mates Verstappen (left) and Ricciardo embrace after securing a double podium
Red Bull have now overtaken Ferrari for second in the constructors' championship as Sbeastian Vettel (pictured leading McLaren's Fernando Alonso) finished fifth for the Scuderia
Verstappen emerged in clear air after swiftly dispatching Jenson Button, with Rosberg out behind not one but two McLarens.
Button pitted two laps later to finally release Rosberg and in-between that Ricciardo had made his stop and extended his buffer in third. Red Bull had decided to split their strategy now, Verstappen on the supersoft tyre and Ricciardo on the softs
Engineer, Pete Bonnington, told Hamilton it was ‘hammer time’ in front, urging his man to eke everything out of his used supersoft tyres.
He pitted for a fresh set of softs at the end of lap 14 as Mercedes too split their drivers’ strategies. Once everything had shaken out a lap later, Hamilton was six seconds clear of Verstappen and 10 ahead of his team-mate. Hamilton extended his advantage ahead of the next round of stops which Rosberg sparked on lap 27.
Hamilton took the lead off the start line as Rosberg (right) faltered from pole position at Hockenheim
A terrible start from Rosberg (right) saw him drop behind Hamilton (front), Ricciardo and Verstappen at turn one
As Hamilton took full control, Rosberg would become stuck behind the Red Bulls in the first phase of the race
The grandstands were packed at Hockenheim as the German Grand Prix returned following a one-year absence
It was a cleaner one this time and Rosberg was urged to ‘push hard’ on his out-lap in an attempt to undercut the Red Bulls.
To prevent that, Verstappen responded, matching Rosberg’s pit-stop time to emerge just ahead.
Rosberg was on his tail until the tight turn six hairpin when he threw his Mercedes up the inside.
In a move similar to the one he tried on Hamilton in Austria when they collided, Rosberg drove straight on at the corner, leaving it as late as possible to turn in, forcing Verstappen off the road.
‘He forced me off the track!’, barked Verstappen over team radio. The stewards agreed, investigating the incident before slapping Rosberg with a five-second time penalty four laps later.
Rosberg dived down the inside of Verstappen heading into the hairpin as he attempted to pass the Red Bull driver
Rosberg missed the apex of the corner and appeared to force Verstappen off the road in a desperation to pass
Rosberg managed to hold position coming out of the corner but was then hit with a controversial five-second time penalty
‘I was full lock on the steering wheel,’ argued Rosberg, who was now up against it on the slower soft tyre.
Hamilton went in for more supersofts and led his team-mate by just shy of six seconds when he came back out.
With Rosberg’s penalty looming at his next stop, Red Bull had a decision to make. Their strategy call had meant Ricciardo was now in fourth, behind Verstappen, but on the quicker tyre.
Sensing the chance to capitalise on Rosberg’s misery, Verstappen let his team-mate past and Ricciardo charged after the Mercedes.
He was within touching distance when Rosberg pitted on lap 44, taking his penalty and a new set of soft tyres to get him to the end of the race.
Verstappen came in a lap later for the quicker supersoft tyre and Ricciardo followed suit on lap 46.
Hamilton (front) strolled to an easy win at Hockenheim having never once relinquished his race lead
Despite the race being Rosberg's home grand prix, fans came out to support Hamilton in Hockenheim
There was more joy for the Brits as Jenson Button made a late move to snatch eighth for McLaren-Honda
But Alonso would miss out on the points for the Woking outfit in a race threatened by rain in the latter stages
With plenty in hand, Hamilton too opted for the more durable soft tyres and re-entered the action more than 10 seconds clear of Ricciardo and 18 ahead of Rosberg.
A scruffy couple of laps and the Red Bulls’ faster rubber saw Ricciardo cut that to six seconds three laps later before Hamilton responded on lap 53, regaining a second. From then on it was as you were, with a late threat of rain failing to materialise.
Vettel’s frustrations continued, the German ignoring a Ferrari order to pit, before finishing fifth, one place clear of team-mate Raikkonen.
Button was another former world champion none too happy with an order to come in late on, telling his McLaren team: ‘This could be tricky guys, this could destroy both [him and team-mate Fernando Alonso] of our races.’ Button was right, finishing eighth, the Spaniard down in 12th.
Jolyon Palmer’s wait for the first points of his Formula One career goes on. The Briton started 14th but damage sustained in a collision with Williams’ Felipe Massa on lap one forced him to pit and relegated him to the back of the field.
Massa eventually retired and Palmer was last again after coming in at the end of lap 26 for a new front wing before finishing 19th.
It is a further blow for the rookie who was perfectly-placed to break his duck at last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix when he spun off from 10th towards the end of the race.
Grid Girls pose during the drivers' paradeprior to the German Formula One Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring
Michale Schumacher's son, Mick (left) arrives at the circuit with German compatriot and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg
