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Faulty stopwatch adds to Rosberg’s Germany woes

Daniel Ricciardo was second, ahead of Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen, the first time these two Red Bull drivers shared the podium.

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Hamilton’s victory helped him stretch his championship lead to 19 points heading into the summer break.

Rosberg bogged down at the start, dropping to fourth as Verstappen went round the outside of Ricciardo through Turn 1 to take second behind clear leader Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton has increased his lead of the world championship to 19 points with victory in the German GP.

Rosberg won the first four races of 2016, besting pole-sitter Hamilton off the line in Australia and Bahrain as the reigning drivers’ champion was let down by his launch.

Ricciardo, on his 100th grand prix appearance, took second and Verstappen third while Ferrari duo Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen finished fifth and sixth respectively.

Ricciardo’s younger teammate, Verstappen – who finished third in Germany – is sixth on 120 points.

“That is two weeks in a row I’ve been on the podium and it is great to have the race back here in Germany”, Daniel Ricciardo said.

McLaren’s Jenson Button outwitted Williams’ Valtteri Bottas on the penultimate lap to claim an eighth-placed finish, while Sergio Perez of Force India claimed the final point on offer.

“A first double podium for Red Bull in over a year, so it’s an awesome way to close out the first part of the season”. “Attractive start, fantastically managed”, the Briton’s Mercedes team said to him over the radio on the slowing down lap.

“So a big thank-you again and a big thank-you to all the fans that have come out today”, Hamilton added.

The 31-year-old English driver heads into the holiday break with 217 points before racing resumes toward the end of August at the Belgian circuit of Spa-Francorchamps.

The speed at which Hamilton has caught and overhauled Rosberg has been remarkable.

“I didn’t know he (Wolff) would say that”.

A stopwatch malfunction meant Nico Rosberg was stationary for three seconds longer than necessary while serving his five-second penalty at the German Grand Prix. More importantly, he now holds a significant advantage over Rosberg in the standings with nine races left in the season.

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“It went from eleven to seven quite quickly and then I had to get back on it, but generally I was looking after the engine up front and never felt like I was under threat”.

Rosberg takes pole at Hockenheim