Dutch teenager Max Verstappen claimed he would have crashed into Nico Rosberg if he had not driven off the track to avoid him on his way to finishing third in Sunday’s German Grand Prix.
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The Briton crossed the line 6.9 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Ricciardo who was on the podium for the second race in a row on his 100th grand prix appearance.
Verstappen chased Hamilton for the Hockenheim lead initially after going around the outside of Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo for second at Turn 1 on the opening lap.
Hamilton’s success at Hockenheim on Sunday, the 49th victory of his F1 career, was attained with relative ease after passing slow-away polesitter Rosberg – who eventually finished fourth – on the run to the first corner.
Heading into the summer break, Lewis Hamilton has earned a strong lead of 19 points.
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.
His main title challenger, Rosberg, fell to fourth as he had a poor start and a five-second penalty for pushing Verstappen off the track.
Sebastian Vettel finished fifth ahead of Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen.
“So I was really optimistic and thinking that I can bring it home today so just really disappointed that everything went wrong”.
“I didn’t know until I got into the pen afterwards that I was 19 points ahead”, Hamilton said. “Lovely start, fantastically managed”, the Briton’s Mercedes team said to him over the radio on the slowing down lap.
“We do have a penalty up ahead”.
Since then, Hamilton has won five of the six grand prixs, and has turned that deficit into a healthy gap that will come in handy when the championship resumes at Spa-Francorchamps in three weeks’ time, given he is expected to take an engine penalty.
Hamilton got off to a super start, moving past Rosberg, who also saw the two Red Bulls leave him behind.
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“Explain to them I was full lock on the steering wheel and he moved under braking, that was the problem” Rosberg told his team over the radio, this was said moments after Nico Rosberg overtook Max Verstappen in a way many called “unfair”.
