5 things we learned from the German Grand Prix

01 August 2016 08:53

Lewis Hamilton will head into Formula One's summer break with a comfortable lead in the championship after his German Grand Prix victory on Sunday.

Here, Press Association Sport looks at five things we learned from the Hockenheim race.

HOT-STREAK HAMILTON ON FAST TRACK TO FOURTH TITLE

Lewis Hamilton was already on something of a hot streak heading to Germany and while he fluffed his lines in qualifying, the defending champion made no mistake on race day. With six victories in seven races - four of them in succession - Hamilton has taken 160 points from 175 available, and it could be argued that he is enjoying the most successful run of his 10-year Formula One career. Indeed the Briton became the first driver to win four races in a calendar month following his triumphs in Austria, Silverstone, Hungary and here on Sunday. With 49 career victories he is now just two shy of Alain Prost, who is behind only Michael Schumacher on the all-time list. Surely, a fourth world title will now follow, too.

NO HOME COMFORTS FOR ROSBERG

For Rosberg it was another disappointing race with the German crossing the line only fourth. Rosberg was already enduring an arduous home race when he was hit with a five-second time penalty for an illegal overtake on Max Verstappen. To make matters worse, a stopwatch error led to the German being held for three seconds longer than was required. "Even in Formula One, if you take out the instruments you don't usually use, like a stopwatch, they can fail," Mercedes boss Toto Wolff explained. "We relied on the stopwatch and it let us down."

SHOEY SATURNALIA PUTS RICCIARDO IN A SPIN

Daniel Ricciardo celebrated his 100th grand prix by drinking champagne from his shoe - an Australian tradition known as a "shoey" - but the fizz appeared to go to Ricciardo's head when he confused a Scottish journalist for an Irish one in the post-race press conference. "Top of the morning to you," Ricciardo said to the reporter, only to be informed of his geographical faux pas. While Ricciardo started laughing, his Red Bull team-mate Verstappen said: "He's had a bit too much champagne, that's the problem. I think he's drunk." Once he regained his composure, a red-faced Ricciardo said: "I was waiting to say that and I just blew it. Sorry. Viva Scotland."

THE CURIOUS CASE OF JENSON BUTTON'S WEEKEND

It was not the most straightforward weekend for Jenson Button, who was taken to hospital on Friday night with an eye complaint, while also battling a number of issues on his McLaren. But the 2009 world champion was quietly content to finish eighth after he passed the Williams of Valtteri Bottas on the penultimate lap. The British driver said: "It feels satisfying to have beaten both Williams, but eighth was as good as it was going to get. We were 20 seconds behind the car in front, and there's still quite a bit to go before we catch those guys."

FUTURE LOOKING BLEAK FOR FOUL-MOUTHED KVYAT

The future appears to be bleak for Daniil Kvyat, the Russian driver who was dropped by Red Bull earlier this season. He has scored just two points in the seven races following his demotion to Toro Rosso and he finished a lowly 15th on Sunday. Responding to a Russian report which claimed Kyvat would be dropped at the end of the season, he fumed: "First of all, Russian media has no f****** clue about anything. These are rumours. I am not in the mood to waste my f****** time for bull****."

Source: PA