The German Grand Prix - Highlights Formula 1

Previously on Formula One: What was that? Victory for Nico Rosberg in

Austria. This is Formula One, raised ten, Hockenheim, Germany.

Welcome to a country where national pride is here. Germany is basking in

the glow of success. Welcome to the country of world champions. Quick,

powerful, and efficiently ruthless. He has scored for Germany! Words

that could easily be used to describe the Germans who triumphed

at their own home grand prix. And Michael Schumacher wins the German

Grand Prix. We love you. Schumacher wins his third Grand Prix of the

2001 season. Sebastien Vettel wins in Germany, the first time he has

won his home grand prix. You would have to go back 75 years to find a

German driver in a German car who won their home Grand Prix. At

Silverstone Lewis showed just what an advantage a home crowd could be.

Hamilton is going to win the British Grand Prix. Could it be the turn of

Nico Rosberg's Mercedes and Germany's expands?

Germany really does expect, but there are 18 other drivers on the

great who would love to rain on the German parade. It has been

threatening, will it make a difference? We already had wet

weather forecasts for this morning. It can only add to the excitement.

It is more difficult for the drivers, but we want to be

entertained. There was a lot of love for Michael Schumacher for the

German fans, but they do not seem to have taken Nico Rosberg or Sebastien

Vettel in the same way. Michael came from a more humble background and

was more a man of the people. Nico Rosberg is based in Monaco and they

have not had time to embrace Sebastien Vettel as a young man.

Let's have a look back to yesterday's qualifying session. It

was a day of mixed fortunes. Mercury nudged 35 degrees, proving a

real test of men and it was the Mercedes who cracked first.

Hamilton's session came to a painful end.

RADIO: Are you OK? It was a good day for Kevin Magnussen and the Dane

maximise everything at his ex-postal. Valterri Bottas lined up

just ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa, but neither of these drivers

had an answer to Nico Rosberg who cruised to his fifth pole position

of the year. We are starting with the card that we have and the way

that Lewis is driving, it is still possible he will come through at

some point. This is the grid. Nico Rosberg is on pole for the first

time in his home grand prix. With the five place grid penalty,

Lewis goes to 20th place. Let's have a look at that moment that destroyed

his qualifying session. He is coming down to turn nine. The break

actually disintegrates. At this point he is losing control of the

vehicle. He is trying to minimise the damage. No run off in this

corner and it goes straight into the wall. He was very lucky he was able

to walk away from that. Shaken but not stirred as they say. What is it

like to experience that? We do experience brake failure at some

point in your career. As you are breaking on one axle it rotates the

car and you minimise the point of impact. It is a risk of the game.

Coming from 20th, what has he got to do? He has got the quickest car in

the field. He has a good chance of making the podium. Mercedes ran

loads of simulations last night and their prediction gives him a chance

of third or fourth. Would it be better with race interruptions

weather? Yes, a safety car or a weather change all of those things

enable him to be able to react. And all important points for the

championship. This is how the championship currently sits.

The scrap for a third is a tight one. Williams have the Prancing

Horse right in their sights. Third is where Williams want to be before

the summer break. They will need to get the strategy perfect today.

Let's catch up with Tom Clarkson who has got the latest information from

the pit lane. This time yesterday I would have said this was a

sure-fire, three stop race. But the cloud cover has brought the track

temperature down. That will make the tyre life a lot easier. But two

questions remain. Were any make one stop work? Doubtful. Will Mercedes

consider putting Lewis Hamilton on a three-stop strategy? He has got a

much faster option tyre at his disposal.

Plenty to think about in changeable conditions. David is catching up

with some drivers. Solid but unspectacular qualifying.

Will you be able to move forward this afternoon will you have another

battle with Fernando Alonso? I hope I am currently facing the right way,

so will try to focus what happens at the front. We are hearing anything

from two or three stops. Do you have a fixed plan? Of course we have a

bit of a plan, but it will be between two and three. Today is

cooler and windier and there might be rain in the air. But we have not

yet decided. You are top Ferrari driver, how do you see this and

folding? Looking at the sky some forecasts say rain in one hour, so

that could change the race. Great qualifying yesterday, you are a man

of the moment, are you feeling charged? Yes, feeling great, we have

a chance for anything today. You are the fastest man in the middle

sector, so that gives you the chance to take the fight to Mercedes. I

think so, it is our strength here and it should help with overtaking.

We might have a small chance in the first lap already. How did the car

feel on the way to the grid? The rain has caused a bit of a change

with grip on the circuit. It will take a bit of time for the tyres to

come up to temperature. What do you want? Wet or dry? I am not fast. If

it rains, it could spice it up a little bit. I am standing right at

the back of the grid. The front of the great is the second set of red

lights. There may be 67 laps, but that man has everything to do. Pete

your fingers crossed. David and Ben are in the commentary box. The

Germans Grand Prix, 2014, here we go.

# When I made you in the summer... # .

Exactly a week ago Germany won the World Cup, cheered on by Nico

Rosberg. Now he has the chance to win the German Grand Prix in a

German car and he has the chance to do that to become the first man to

do it since 1950. Kimi Raikkonen has chosen the harder, soft tyre, and so

has Lewis Hamilton. From all the way back in 20th place Hamilton has gone

for the harder compound tyre. Four points between Nico Rosberg and

Hamilton. Tom, that is interesting to see both Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis

Hamilton starting on the harder of the two camp compounds of tyre.

Pirelli says you can get 20 plus laps out of those tyres. But the

conditions today are so different to what we have seen this weekend. The

track temperature is down by 20 degrees. They are going to have to

see whether there is any graining on the front tyres and make the

decision as this race unfolds. Romain Grosjean is the third person

to start on the softer of the compound tyres. The best finish he

has had in Hockenheim was a third-place finish. He has yet to

win at this circuit, one of the few tracks that Sebastien Vettel has not

won on. Outqualified by Daniel Ricciardo, but sits next to him on

the grid. He feels happier with the car, but he felt he did not get the

final run. There is support for Sebastien Vettel in the stand. Great

effort by Kevin Madison. His best finish is a second place in

Australia and he has only had a couple of seventh place finishes, so

it would be good for him to get into a place today. But it will not be

easy. Rosberg leads the field as they come onto the grid. Bottas and

Massa, then Ricciardo and Vettel, they come onto the grid. Bottas and

Massa, then Ricciardo Hulkenberg and Paris.

Marcus Ericsson starting from the pit lane. Ericsson is likely to have

a very lonely afternoon of running. That Williams is positioned over to

the left. The lights are coming on, we are ready to go racing. Lights

out, away we go! And Rosberg gets off the line very well. But look at

Magnussen on the inside, trying to take third! Oh, he has hit Massa!

Massa is over! Bottas is in second place. Vettel has had a very good

start, Alonso as well. A safety car has been called, no surprise,

David, and Felipe Massa in another big accident. Let's wait and see,

hopefully he is he went right over. Thankfully the car did not go onto

the gravel. I would suggest that he is absolutely fine, but that looked

to me like an error of judgment from Kevin Magnussen. We will wait to see

the replay, but he positioned his car on the inside, and then he half

committed, which you cannot do. That did not allow Massa the opportunity

to know whether the car was there or not. And they have

to know whether the car was there or not. And they interlocked wheels.

Felipe Massa, what does he have to do at the moment? That first lap at

Silverstone, when he crashed into Kimi Raikkonen. He had the accident

in Canada as well. He had an accident on his own in free practice

at still the stone. He has taken some big hits recently. You have got

to feel for Williams as well. -- at Silverstone. Williams were looking

at such a solid performance here. Can you see any damage? Apart from

the markings having been robbed of slightly. Amazingly, there is no

damage to the McLaren. You can see Magnussen gets a cracking start on

the inside right. Bottas backs out of it, and of course Massa is

committed to the corner, unaware of the fact that Magnussen was

initially inside Bottas. It is a racing incident, at least.

Otherwise, Magnussen finding himself on a very shallow line. You can see

there is a slow-moving Marussia at the back as well. Just enough

contact and momentum, as the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo has to take

avoiding action, which has dropped him down to 15th. He starts to cut

across to the corner, and the contact was made so late, and his

world has been turned upside down. This is from Kevin's point of view.

Gets a great start, and he then bails out of this, and Massa comes

across. Well, I am prepared to see this as just two guys doing their

own thing. But Kevin, I have to say, you have got to be prepared for

people coming on the racing line, if you are on that shallow line. But

there is no way Massa could have known he was there.

RADIO: Felipe, are you OK? It looked very spectacular, of

course, but those roll hoops are designed to take that kind of

impact, and they are rigorously tested by the FIA. Yes, it was a

relatively gentle going upside down, if there is such a thing. Well, the

safety car is coming in this lap, it is a relatively short safety car

period. It is quite rare that the safety car needs to come out here at

Hockenheim, we have not seen it for a few years. As at Silverstone, Nico

Rosberg goes on a charge quickly, catching out his pursuers. Fernando

Alonso is up to fourth. Hulkenberg is in fifth, followed by Sergio

Perez. Hamilton is currently in 17th position. He got through that first

lap OK and is now trying to pick his way through the order. He gets past

his fellow Brit Max Chilton, and already, Lewis Hamilton is on his

way. And Hulkenberg, under attack from

Jenson Button, Button, who also had a good first lap. Certainly, Jenson

Button has probably been the biggest winner out of that. If you look at

Daniel Ricciardo, the loser, losing out in that incident between Bottas

and Massa. Temperatures at the moment will be down on what would be

an optimal running condition, following the restart after the

safety car. RADIO: Strategically, we have still

got a good chance in this race, we are ten seconds behind the queue.

Ericsson is on track, having started from the pit lane.

Jenson Button always goes well here ad hoc and time, -- here at

Hockenheim, but he was not happy with the setup in qualifying

yesterday. But let's look at Hamilton, making a move up the

inside of Maldonado. And that is pretty straightforward. Yes, the

speed advantage. Jenson Button, trying to use the

brand-new set of options which he had access to. We know Hulkenberg is

a tough customer when it comes to getting past him. Yes, I remember

that great race he had in Korea when he was at Sauber, withstanding all

the pressure. Good racing there. Yes, he was fair, he gave Jenson

space. This was Hamilton, this was earlier...

That was Romain Grosjean getting past by Ricciardo, who had lost out

massively in that early incident. Grosjean thinks, I am not fighting

this battle, on you go, mate. Hamilton did not get a clean run

through turn two. Sutil decided at the last moment

that Hamilton was not coming through there. Well, he managed to just get

into the apex. Former friends, of course, Hamilton and Sutil, although

that friendship ended a couple of years ago. And watch what happens as

Hamilton comes down, slightly out of the rear view of Sutil, I guess.

Just saw him in time. RADIO: You are free to use overtake,

you have 25km/h, with DRS. The Mercedes power unit in the Force

India, versus the Renault power unit. Oh, no, they have touched! It

is one thing being brave enough to put it on the outside, but you then

need to leave enough space for the car on the inside.

He has only got himself to blame for that one. Yes, I do not think Perez

could RADIO: Do you have any damage? I do not

think so. Eriksen has made his stop and go pit

stop. The only car which is not running is that of Massa, as a

result of the accident. It is all getting pretty physical in

the midfield at the moment, but Ricciardo just staying in front.

Hamilton is up into the top ten. It shows the performance difference.

Hamilton, all over the back of that Red Bull, on a tyre with less

performance. Yes, it is astonishing. RADIO: Some cars in front are

starting to pick. We could be in with a good shout of some points.

So, we have got Perez and Raikkonen, chased by Ricciardo Ann Hamilton.

Hamilton could get a whole bunch of them in one go, if he times it

right. He has got a really good run going through turn two. Here is the

opportunity for Hamilton to eat up the opposition.

Ricciardo goes round the outside! Ann Hamilton just could not get on

the power, because of the Ferrari in front of him. Great move down the

inside there, catching Raikkonen sleeping. Daniel Ricciardo is a real

race. He is, he has pulled off a couple of great moves this year.

Those are the kind of skills we are used to seeing from a former world

champion, in Raikkonen. He has finally woken up, back into this

race, fantastic events there against Hamilton. -- fantastic defence.

Alonso makes his pit stop. He has gone on to the harder tyre. We

wondered whether some people might go for a second stint on the

super-soft, but Ferrari going for the harder tyre straightaway.

Hamilton now closing right up to Raikkonen. Yes, Daniel Ricciardo

made a mistake there. Hamilton has hit Raikkonen, but

has got through into the first part of the corner! My goodness, how did

they get away with that? I do not know! I closed my eyes! But when you

have got drivers of that quality, somehow they are able to avoid the

big accident. Hamilton got past both in one go, but that was a huge

gamble. Yes, there was a bit of bodywork came off one of the cars.

So, Raikkonen comes out of the slipstream, Hamilton gets the double

toe. Hamilton locked up because he knew the Force India was going to

turn in on him. If that piece of bodywork on the

front wing does anything, then that will affect his performance. It is

busy in the pits, Ricciardo has come in as well. That might compromise

just how far Hamilton can get on those prime tyres.

That puts Hamilton into fifth place now, with pit stops being made

around him. As Felipe Massa trudges back to the Williams of paternity

very. At least he has not had to go off to the medical centre this time.

-- to the Williams hospitality area. TOM CLARKSON: The teams were warned

about raining before the start of this race, and I have had a look at

the tyres which came off Fernando Alonso's car, and that front left

was showing a lot of greening. A quick word on Jenson Button, I saw

his pit stop, 5.9 seconds, and there was some confusion with Jean-Eric

Vergne coming down the fast lane, and the mechanics stopped him,

before then letting him go, as the other driver came fast, so that was

an unnecessary delay. Turn 3. Vettel had the DRS as well.

Vettel is going for the insight. Kimi Raikkonen gets the apex.

Another bit of bodywork has fallen off the car. He will have a naked

Ferrari in the end! It is a long time since we have seen two

Ferraris take it other on. Sebastien Vettel allowed Alonso to close up a

little bit. Nico Rosberg has managed to go further than those around him.

Bottas has come in on the same lap. Just one Williams left in this race

and two Mercedes. Hamilton is in third position with these pit stops

being made. A pretty good stop for a Valterri Bottas. 3.2, not their

best, but pretty effective. The front right endplate has broken off

Kimi Raikkonen's car. That will affect his performance. He gets

contact them both. He must have felt a pinball. That is incredible. His

front wing endplate is completely broken. Will they look at a nose

change when he comes into the pits? Let's see what Jenson Button was

doing. His team-mate was on the outside as well. He keeps out of the

way. RADIO: Lewis, it is not critical. You will be target -2.

Hamilton does not fight Valterri Bottas. There is no drama. Hamilton

knows he has got to race at his own pace. That suggests to me they are

targeting a two-stop race. The lower temperatures may indicate Williams

can hang on into a two-stop themselves. The track temperature is

so different to Friday. This is Hulkenberg going past Kimi

Raikkonen. Kimi Raikkonen getting to overlap 20 and he is going out on

the super soft tyre. That is a wounded Ferrari if the front right

endplate is missing and the top flap. That was a massive slide.

Maldonado is trying to take full advantage of that in the Lotus. The

loss of momentum from caveat. They are being chased by Gutierrez.

Maldonado plonks his car on the apex. Daniil Kvyat has been a fairly

safe pair of hands. Perez is having a good go at getting past. Lotus are

struggling a bit this weekend. Yesterday they announced Pastor

Maldonado will definitely be with the team next season. This is Sergio

Perez. This is except, turn eight. They powered through ten and he has

to lift out of it. Clean racing, wheel-to-wheel. RADIO: We will be

going plus one, same tyre. That moves Raikkonen up in ninth

position. Magnussen must have been slow of Turn 3 and Raikkonen with

the benefit of the DRS flap open. Hamilton comes in, his first pit

stop. He started on the harder compound tyre and allowed him to go

much deeper into the Grand Prix. A great overhead view of the pit stop

and the choreography works to perfection. His lock-up was between

two white lines, almost as if he had come in a little bit faster than he

would have liked and he slowed the car down. You have markers in the

pit lane that average out the spin it goes at. Maybe we can look at

that later. He has gone back out on the harder tyre. He will have to put

the super soft on at the end of the Grand Prix, but he has done 27 laps

on his first set. Alonso has closed the gap even further. Sebastien

Vettel, I should say. He is not going to give up on this one. RADIO:

There is a problem with the power. Scenario 11. Romain Grosjean has

pulled off the track. If you have a problem with the power and you have

a strategy of scenario 11, it shows you how many problems they are

having. Another failure to add to the list. RADIO: Stand-by, we are

looking for a radio fault. It will be the fourth non-finish of the

season for Romain Grosjean. He scored six podium finishes in 2013.

What a difference season it is going to be. RADIO: Move the chassis

switch backwards and forwards to move out of two. Look how much is

going on. Hamilton is trying to go on the outside of Daniel Ricciardo.

This is seventh place. He is on a pretty fresh set of tyres. Hamilton

makes easier work of it this time as he goes past the Red Bull of Daniel

Ricciardo. He was doing over 200 miles an hour and fiddling with

loads of switches. The multitasking is astonishing. This is how Hamilton

went through. We go back on board with Hamilton. There is a bit of

contact again. That is with Button. Lewis Hamilton needs to be a bit

wary. He has lost a flap. If you believe all the pieces are there

because they do something, that will affect his performance. He needs to

be thinking about the long game. It is a compromise race already. Just

get some solid points. He came from a long way back. That is why Button

was not expecting it. Jenson Button did not do anything to compromise.

He left as much space as he could. The former team-mates with a bit of

a misunderstanding. There is damage to the front wing of Lewis

Hamilton's car. The flap is bent over the front wheel. We know his

standard pit stops are under 20 seconds. If they have to change that

front wing, that would make it longer. This is the fuel use. That

was straightforward, he gets past Jenson Button. A misunderstanding

between them. That brings Hamilton into sixth place, but how wounded is

that car? You presume designers put things on them because it makes a

difference. This was the successful pass. A little apology from Lewis, a

sporting gesture. Jenson Button in on Lap 32. He did 17 laps on that

last set of tyres and he goes back onto the soft tyres. Has he run the

super soft tyre? Yes, at the start of the Grand Prix. There is a great

camera that runs down the pit lane and as the car stops, the camera

rolls on and you can see how fast they service these cars. Four new

wheels and tyres. A perfect example of teamwork. LEWIS HAMILTON: Is

there anything we can do? Lewis, we are going to look at the strategy

and we are going to calculate something and see what we can do for

you. His last lap was faster than anyone else is doing. With the best

will in the world, if you are changing a nose, it is a lot more

involved pitch up and that could cost you ten seconds static time if

it works well. Lewis Hamilton trying to get past Niko Hulkenberg.

Hamilton should not take too long to find his way past the Force India. I

have said that in the past, but Niko Hulkenberg has made it hard work.

Niko Hulkenberg has done 18 laps on his tyres. He is catching up. This

should be straightforward. Lewis Hamilton gets past the Force India

and that brings him into fifth position. We saw earlier on a very

dramatic first corner when Felipe Massa was flipped over in an instant

with Kevin Magnussen. He is talking to Jenny.

That looked like a very scary accident. Are you OK? Yes, I am OK.

Definitely the accident was a little bit more scary watching than being

inside. I saw everything the other way around. But I am fine. I did not

have any impact, anything strong, so I am fine. The only thing is I am

disappointed about what has happened. Another car finished my

race like that, another car pushed me out. With the car it is very

competitive and fast, so I am disappointed. Magnussen collided

with you. How much were you aware of each other? Definitely I was in

front. I was doing the corner in front of him. If somebody has to

watch, it has to be the car behind. Honestly, I did not see the

accident, but normally the car behind should break. You cannot have

three cars in this place at the same corner. I also had my team-mate

side-by-side on this corner. He has done 13 laps on those super-soft

tyres and it is enough, says Kimi Raikkonen. Will we see Sebastien

Vettel respond? I can see the Red Bull crew getting ready. I think he

will respond to the pit stop. This will be fun. I wonder how quickly

Alonso can get round this lap. He has fresh tyres. Alonso is coming

through the last corner now. Sebastien Vettel should get out in

front. Very interesting, different tyres. A big difference in speed.

Alonso coming through in the background. He is bearing down on

the Red Bull of Sebastien Vettel. He has got to get the feel for the car

straightaway. Sebastien Vettel has gone wide. Fernando Alonso on the

attack. We saw that at Silverstone. He has gone past Sebastien Vettel,

but he locks up a little bit. But Sebastien Vettel will not give up

easily. Remember the great battle we saw at Silverstone. But he made a

mistake at ten two. He made it easier for Alonso to get past.

We could be in for another fantastic battle between these two.

He got himself in a position to be within that one second limit am so

he could use the DRS. As Daniel Ricciardo makes his pit stop. He is

out, I think he might have been on the super-softs, yes, he is. Let's

just see where he comes back out. He is back out in eighth

Look at the difference in drive that the Ferrari gets. That red is so

slow on acceleration. Nico Hulkenberg's tyres are very

old, compared to those around him. He has done 23 laps on those.

We are approaching two thirds distance.

RADIO: Lewis, we think we will try and add as much balance as we can

with the wing that you have - it will lose us time if we change the

wing. Kind of what we thought, David.

They have the theory that -- the theory that on the inside part of

the wing, you put the load on that side. But all of the load goes down

through the central pillars. So, however you put the load on, it is

going directly into the tyres. There might be an aerodynamic change, on

one side, running low to the ground.

might be an aerodynamic change, on one side, running So maybe the

offset might actually give them something. I am sure it would not be

something they have tried in the wind tunnel.

RADIO: Really struggling with the left front now.

Rosberg has done 24 laps now on this set of soft tyres. He did not sound

as calm as I thought he might, given that he is 16 seconds ahead of

Bottas in a faster car. But if Mercedes cannot do more than 24 laps

on the soft tyre, you wonder how some of the others we'll get into

the high 20s, low 30s, with that tyre. Tyre use is not always about

the lap time, it is about the energy which is going into the rubber. All

of those little marbles, that rubber, once upon a time, was

actually in the service of the tyres. On two lap 41, and Rosberg

leads by 15.9 seconds from Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton is up into third.

Alonso is fourth. And Bottas is in.

RADIO: This front left is not going to last. OK, Lewis, we will have to

start looking at that is interesting, he is only on 13 laps,

and that is because of the damage to the front wing, presumably. It will

not help. But the driver builds up a picture of what the tyres are giving

him, as the Grand Prix goes on. It is not a happy feeling. They will

have to work on the strategy. A nice time of the race to stop for Bottas,

on a two-stop strategy. Meanwhile, Perez dicing away with Adrian Sutil.

And again there was contact. In fairness, for Perez, who was behind,

trying to sneak up around the outside, you are putting yourself in

a vulnerable position. I do not think Sutil was doing anything

incorrect in trying to get back online.

Race leader, into the pits, for what should be his final stop. This will

give him 26 remaining to the end, which is exactly what he did on that

last set of tyres. He of course is heading for victory here in Germany,

if it all holds together. It did not hold together last time out at

Silverstone, but comfortably in command of the German Grand Prix

currently. Lewis Hamilton is currently in second place.

RADIO: Sebastian, we need a little bit more fuel. Tell me what you

want, do you want me to drive fast, or do you want me to save fuel? We

need a little bit more fuel. He is being asked to respect the beeps...

They have a radio system, they have beeps which the drivers can listen

to, and it tells them when it is time to change gear. Depending on

the engine mode they have set on the steering wheel, it could be fuel

saving mode, and presumably the beeps are all adjusted according to

that. RADIO: Lewis, box, box, box, push as

much as you can. So, it looks like another stop for Lewis Hamilton. He

has only managed 15 this set, which is due to the damage to the front

wing, we think. Super softs owing on. I guess 24 laps would be a lot

for those. 3.4 seconds, not the best, for Mercedes. So he has still

got a race on his hands, as a result of that little touch he had with

Jenson Button. He comes out just in front of the battle between Daniel

Ricciardo and Jenson Button. Daniel getting himself into position to try

to overtake. RADIO: Lewis, you will be on 13 lap

stint is, we think, we will need to manage them, but you should have

good pace. Two sprints to the end, then. Every time he comes in for a

set of tyres, if they do a slick stop... Ricciardo, making a move on

Jenson Button! Jenson Button fending him off.

Jenson finish, the last time we came to

Hockenheim. Coming up into the stadium, Sutil

defending hard, but in the end, he gets through. Sebastian Vettel

making another pit stop, this is his third. Of course he went for the

super-soft earlier, so we thought he would have to stop again. He is now

on the soft tyre, going to the end. We do not know whether Alonso will

be able to hang on. And that is Kvyat, on fire! It reminds me of vas

tap-in at Hockenheim here, many years ago, in the pits. We need a

safety car for this. That is such a shame. We did not see the start of

that, as to what has caused it, but Toro Rosso have suffered a number of

DNFs this year. It is just a question of whether they can move

that car. One of the volatile issues they have is the battery packs on

these cars. Once they get into a situation of effectively destroying

themselves, you cannot stop that process, all you can do is douse

them in water. Otherwise they will be able to just push it into the

gap. Sebastian Vettel has got some work

to do, on this three stop strategy. Valtteri Bottas, still hoping for a

second-place finish, but being chased by Alonso and Hamilton.

Another very rapid lap from Lewis Hamilton.

RADIO: Is my pay is good enough? Yes, Lewis, is good, pace is good.

We know that Lewis Hamilton has got another pit stop to come, which will

be in full or five laps' time. I do not think he will lose any time

getting past Alonso! And he sweeps past, moving into

third position for now. We think that Button is trying to

get to the end on this set of tyres. He has already done 17 laps on them

and there is a long way to go, so he will have to be very careful on that

set of tyres. Not taking any chances, not running off-line to

defend, where the debris is. Purple again for Hamilton in the middle

sector. Adrian Sutil has spun out of the

final corner. Has he stalled? It could be a problem with the

electrical charge system. That means that the electrical system in the

car is not in its secure mode, and I am not sure he will be able to start

that. It is very difficult for the there is no martial on the inside of

the track currently. So, safety car. We know that Lewis Hamilton needs a

pit stop, so he could take advantage of this.

Hamilton making his next pit stop. This is not perfect because the

super-soft tyres will have to go a little bit further. 3.5 seconds. I

wonder what is going on there? So, Hamilton is on his way, it has not

cost him too much time, and he will now race to the end of the Grand

Prix on that final set of new super-soft tyres, which he had left

after qualifying, because he never used a single set of them in

qualifying. And there is our race leader,

leading by 16.5 seconds from Valtteri Bottas. Fernando Alonso is

in third, but he will be chased once again by Lewis Hamilton, and that is

now the big question - is Lewis Hamilton going to be able to run

down Fernando Alonso in the remaining part of this Grand Prix?

It is the fight for third place, a final podium position, and that is

what Lewis Hamilton is aiming for. Maldonado is having quite a decent

run of it, in 12th. He is 9.4 seconds behind Alonso. He is

significantly faster. RADIO: Give me feedback on the tyre

from your end. It feels like we could make it to the end, but it

will not be easy. Just keep managing the pace until we get to the end.

Meanwhile, Ricciardo gets past Hulkenberg... Hulkenberg is not

giving up. Not quite enough. Again, that was the Mercedes power unit

coming out on top against the Renault.

steady. His tyres are shot. We will have to see another stop for Alonso.

He cannot afford a stop. That is a massive fuel saving for Alonso. Tom.

The mechanics have come to the wall of tyres for both drivers and I have

just seen they are super-soft, so I am expecting to see Alonso come in

any minute now. Is Hamilton going to get more graining at the front

because of the state of that front wheel? Hamilton is in third place.

Now he chases after Valterri Bottas to take second place. Can he really

did that? Alonso is in. He is bailing out and

did that? Alonso is in. He is stop. The way he ghosted in town

two, he is in a situation where he has run out of rubber and is low on

fuel. I think Hamilton is going to do it. They super-soft attire is

going on the Ferrari. Look where Alonso comes back out. He comes out

just behind Ricciardo. But Alonso is now on a nice, fresh set of tyres.

Let's hope he is not in fuel saving mode. If he still has to save fuel,

it will not be so easy to overtake. Ricciardo trying to get past Jenson

Button. Jenson Button may not fight it that hard if he is trying to get

to the end on that set of tyres. McLaren is on the older tyres, but

it has the straight line speed. An excellent move. That is good from

the Australian. He is showing as this year that he can really attack

and race hard as well. Great to see. On board with Alonso. He is going

after Jenson Button. That he is passed easily. Fernando Alonso takes

the sixth position. Alonso is pretty determined to get

fifth. He is behind Ricciardo. He has got the DRS and it will be easy

on these super-soft tyres. Ricciardo has two comeback. Alonso allows him

space. Will he be able to do anything in to turn eight? This is

about putting down a marker. He knows he is going to be passed by

Alonso, but he is not going to make it easy. When they have got an

parable cars, he will not give an inch. He is what you call racing.

This is adding to Ricciardo's reputation at the moment. He is

having to be taken seriously by all of the top drivers in Formula One.

How much more he can do, I am not sure, but Alonso has to rethink

this. It is great. Have I said that already? We are enjoying it. This is

where Ricciardo struggles to get the power down. But Alonso gets wide.

The last time around he passed earlier. There is sparking

underneath the car. He has picked something up on the body. He still

stays in front. But he has picked up a bunch of marbles on his tyres. Go

defensive, stayed to the left, Daniel. He is very clear in what he

is doing. He is compromised in nine. Alonso should have the inside line.

No, he does not. Ricciardo fend him off again. He only just stays on.

Hamilton is catching Bottas for a second. That is the battle between

second and third place. RADIO: Use overtake to defend. Bear in mind we

have to use this tyre to the end. We will keep you updated on the battle

between Ricciardo and Alonso. Ricciardo is still in front. You can

see the marking on the front left of Hamilton's time. Williams are very

quick in the speed trap and in that middle sector they are faster than

Mercedes in qualifying. Ricciardo fending off Alonso at the moment.

RADIO: You can use overtake to defend. He will not stop. Too much

speed. Ricciardo is coming back again, but he tucks in behind. You

can sense Alonso is loving this. Ricciardo is doing it again! Just

enough space between them and Alonso stays in front. Alonso gave him

plenty of space and used that momentum to come back again. It

looks as if it is all over for Daniel, but what a brave fight he

put up. Two laps to go. He had DRS on that straight. Can Hamilton find

his way into second position? He is trying everything to cut the

corners. Once those p a rallys open up and you get the graining, the

expression from the past was that they just fall off the cliff. --

Pirelli 's. This is really hurting Lewis Hamilton. Bottas is defending.

Nico Rosberg is 20 seconds ahead of these two. A comfortable victory on

the cards for Nico Rosberg. But who will finish second? Sebastien Vettel

seems to be heading for a fourth, Alonso fifth, Ricciardo six,

seems to be heading for a fourth, Jenson Button is aid. Sergio Perez

is intense. Sebastien Vettel is being told he needs to save more

fuel. He ought to be able to save fuel and still hold on to fourth

position, but he will miss out on the podium. The leader is already on

his final lap and Lewis Hamilton is running out of time to get past

Bottas. But remember he is driving a wounded car and that damage has had

a huge effect on whether he will finish second or third. That was an

error of judgement when he came together with Jenson Button. He

tried to adjust and make the car more balanced. But Valterri Bottas

has done enough to take an excellent second place. Hamilton, despite the

disappointment from the damage, cannot be disappointed picking up

third from the back of the grid once again. Hamilton is running out of

time. There is Nico Rosberg. We have not seen much of him because all the

action has been behind him. It has been an easy, dominant victory for

Nico Rosberg. Nico Rosberg wins the German Grand Prix for Mercedes. A

great performance. His seventh career victory, his fourth win of

the season and the first time a German driver has won in an all

German car to win the German Grand Prix says the Formula One World

Championship began. You have to go back to prewar days in 1939. That is

Williams 300 podium, scored by Valterri Bottas who fended off Lewis

Hamilton. Fourth place it will be Sebastien Vettel even if he is

saving fuel. Ricciardo has caught Alonso. I do not think there is a

chance to overtake. Alonso is really slow on his entries. Where he has

won on the last two times at Hockenheim, Alonso now has settle

for fifth. Niko Hulkenberg will finish in seventh place and Jenson

Button, eight. RADIO: Great driving, really good job. Yes! Thank you!

Excellent, guys. What a week for Nico Rosberg. He gets married, his

team win the World Cup and he wins the German Grand Prix. It could not

be much better. The first time Mercedes have ever won at this

track, which is funny because it was originally built as a Mercedes test

track. The first time Mercedes have taken a win here and it is with Nico

Rosberg, there are German driver. A comfortable victory in the end by

over 20 seconds. The trophies are handed out. Nico

Rosberg achieving something his father never achieved, to win the

German Grand Prix. Valterri Bottas, second. And Lewis Hamilton

recovering from a difficult weekend to finish in third place. Not losing

too many points to his team-mate. Still fighting for the 2014 title.

Nico Rosberg has opened the gap to 14 points. Next time it is one of

Hamilton's favourite circuits in just a week's time. Hamilton will

definitely be out for revenge. Some great celebrations and

everybody wanting a piece of Nico Rosberg. We did not see much of you

out there. I was there in fact. Out of trouble and it seemed to go like

clockwork. Any problems? It was one of the easier races definitely

today. But it is OK to have them from time to time after all the

battles with Lewis Hamilton. I am very happy on home soil to win. It

is fantastic. The support from everybody was great and it was also

fantastic Lewis made it up onto the podium after the bad luck yesterday

and it was great for the team we both ended up on the podium. Only

one week between now and Budapest. What can you do in that time between

now and then to maintain the gap? Lewis is coming back at you strong.

I always expect that. With the car we have I wish the next race was

tomorrow. It is so enjoyable at the moment. It will be an ongoing battle

with Lewis for sure, even in Hungary. It is a great fight.

Hungary is a nice track and I am enjoying driving the car, it feels

good, it is to my liking. Not long, just a few days until we are all in

Hungary. Thank you for stopping by to say hello to us. Thanks a lot.

Let's hear from his team-mate. You started at 20 and gained 17

positions for third. Can you be happy with that? Absolutely. To be

starting from last I did not imagine I would be up on the podium, so I am

very grateful for the overall job. It is meant to be a noncontact

sport, but there was quite a lot of contact today. You lost a bit of

wing. Jansen has been very much a gentleman in previous races. It

looked as if he had gone wide and he cuts back across. I do not know if

he did not see me or what, but it cost us with the car. 14 points is

the gap. How do you feel about it this season? I do not have much

feeling at the moment. I have had a lot of issues with the car.

Unfortunately I lost a lot of points again today. I hope at some stage we

have a little bit less bad luck. I don't want luck, I would

have a little bit less bad luck. I have bad luck. Lewis regretting that

Jenson Button incident, but what an have bad luck. Lewis regretting that

20th to third. Montoya did that in 2005, so he can be happy with it.

But he was disappointed because he came up short. He could have got

past Bottas. There was some spectacular action for racing fans.

Yes, across the field. You can see Raikkonen coming past Ricciardo.

There was a bit of contact with the Ferrari. That is because he saw

Force India in front of him. was no malice from Jenson. And of

course, Lewis was being too cautious. Clearly there is a lot of

that front wing missing, which is what then damages the tyres, you

just do not have the same load on the front axle. You agree that lost

him a place on the podium? Potentially, yes. It certainly did

not help. Congratulations, that is the 300th

podium for Williams Grand Prix, so what did Sir frank have to say to

you? He was happy. He was asking about the car. There are still many

things to improve on the car, and he is a race, and he is always keen to

improve. But he was happy, and he said well done, and it is always

really special to hear well done from a guy like him. What about you,

you must be happy and confident now, you had a strong qualifying

yesterday, and then you maximised it in the race? Yes, again, good race

from us. And for me. So, I am really happy. Third race in a row on the

podium. We did hope that we would be a bit closer to the Mercedes, but

there was no way today to fight with them. Well, to fight with Nico. But

it is really, really nice to keep one of our cars between the two

silver ones. But it was unlucky for Sandy again, he has been really

unlucky. But we really need to start scoring more points with both cars.

But talking about getting ahead of the Mercedes, how did you do it,

because the last ten laps were really close? They were. I saw him

in the mirror, and he was on the super-soft, and I knew that if I

could keep him behind for a few laps, normally the tyres will start

to overheat. I also saw in the mirror that he had some graining on

the front left. So I knew that all of the right-hand corners were going

to be my callers. So I knew that it was important to get a good exits

from turn one and turn two. That was going to be the key, and

from turn one and turn two. That was to do it. At that point, when I got

the message from the engineers, and when I saw him in the mirror, I

could not go flat out, because there were still so many laps to go. I

knew that I needed to save the tyres for the end of the race. I was not

really worried, because I knew I had a bit more pace when he got right

behind me. But I have to say, in the last four laps, there was no more

pace left, that was it. Congratulations, I am sure you are

looking forward to Budapest. We are, it could be a bit more difficult for

us, but with some updates, hopefully they will help. It was at a rhythmic

race for Valtteri, you wanted Williams to be ahead of Ferrari by

the summer break, and you have done it one week early? We have. That was

the aim, to beat Ferrari and get their P3, and we achieved that. He

drove a seamless race, he was fantastic, he keeps proving it. He

is certainly on a great run, but someone who is not having a good run

is Felipe, taken out on the first lap for the third time this year, no

fault of his own. I presume your heart was in your mouth when you saw

this at the start? It always is, at the first corner, you just want your

car to get through that first corner. I cannot believe this has

happened to Felipe again. He has had the most unbelievable bad luck. He

is fine, but I said, do we need to try and get some kind of spiritual

assistance in?! He said, I have done it before, it does not help! But he

picks himself up and brushes himself off, and I just hope that in

Hungary, his fortunes turn around. He had the scenes, he does a

fantastic job, we just need to get him doing that on the race track for

us. Three podiums in a row now, can we safely say that Williams are

back, after more than 11 years? Yes, consistency is important for us, we

do not want flash in the pan success. The team has made that step

forward, but we are not winning yet, and that is what we have got to aim

for now. Thank you and well done today.

A feisty Daniel Ricciardo today, what a spicy race that was, and made

more difficult for you by having to avoid that accident at the start?

Yes, we did not trawl the short straw quite as much as Felipe, but

we did lose out from that. We just had to recover, it was what it was,

wrong place, wrong time, that is racing. From then on, I just said to

the guys on the radio, let's make an amazing recovery, and take something

away from today. There was definitely fire in this early

today. I could sense that Alonso was relishing the battle that you took

to him. Did you think you were going to get in his slipstream again after

he got past? Yes, I was not going to make it easy. I knew he was on fresh

tyres, but I figured if I could hold him off just long enough, maybe his

tyres would start to go. Yes, it was fun, I had a really good time.

Meanwhile, the battle continued, and this was a great pass down the

inside, he gave you just enough space. Yes, I do not know how much

the TV court, but this was going on for five laps or something. We were

with you all the way! It was good fun, obviously, Alonso has got a lot

of respect in the paddock for being a hard race, so no one better to

test yourself against. Have you had a chance to talk about it after the

race? Not yet. I am going to give him a bit of a smile just to let him

know that I really enjoyed that. I have not seen him yet! It is

enthralling watching, so, from your point of view, tell us exactly what

you are feeling when you are in a contest like that? I don't know, you

have got a lot of adrenaline going through you, and you are kind of

angry at the same time, you are not going to take this away from me,

kind of thing. It was just good fun. It certainly was the race OF

the race. And you certainly entertained us today, even if you

have not won the Grand Prix. That was the plan! Thank you for

entertaining us! Moving forward to next weekend, have you thought about

that yet? A little bit. It is only a couple of days, so it is important

that we learn quickly from this weekend and put everything we can

into next weekend. It is a high downforce circuit, everybody says,

similar to Monaco, without the barriers. It should favour as a bit

more, but Williams are really strong at the moment. Hopefully we can get

on the podium. Thanks for chatting with us today. Next, we can hear

from your team-mate. Is it nice to be able to be a bit more aggressive

in front of your home fans? Well, I would have loved to be more

aggressive today, but we did not have the pace that we were hoping

for. I did not see much of the Mercedes, to be honest, they were

gone fairly quickly. We kind of stuck to the Williams in the first

couple of laps, but then we struggled more with the tyres.

Valtteri disappeared, and we did not see him, either. So we were fairly

isolated, racing for third and fourth. After the first stop, I saw

Lewis in front of me, and it was clear that he was getting passed

most of the field very quickly. So, let's confirm today's race results.

Nico Rosberg on the top step of the podium. Valtteri Bottas, defensive

driving gave him that second place. And Lewis Hamilton came from the

back of the grid to third place. So, the Drivers' Championship looks like

this... In terms of the Constructors'

Championship, Williams have jumped ahead of Ferrari. Alan McNish is

back with us now. Thoughts from today, it was exciting, wasn't it?

It was fantastically exciting. Lewis Hamilton coming through from 20th to

third. When he damaged his front wing, he lost about 3.5% of

aerodynamic Alencon the front, which put a lot more load on the tyres,

and it put a lot of graining onto the tyres. So he could not really

battled well every Bottas at the end. That I have to say, Bottas did

drive superbly. It must be frustrating for Fernando to know

that he hits the best he can, the sweetest spot, with that car every

single race, but he is just not on the podium? That is what makes his

performance and so remarkable. He does not throw the towel in just

because he has not got a winning car. I get the sense he really

enjoyed that battle with Daniel Ricciardo, and it really entertained

us. How do you feel about the Championship now, moving on to

Hungary? Lewis, a bit fed up about the Jenson thing, but he has got a

few days to sort himself out? I do not think that is a particular

problem. Going into the British Grand Prix, the difference was 29

points. So it is better than that. In qualifying, he could not do

anything about that. He is very fast at Hungary, he has had a lot of

success there, it is his style of circuit, and I am sure he will be

back on it. The fact is, he came from the back of the grey to get

onto the podium. Yes, he did seem a bit deflated, given what he did, but

he knows that every time he gets close to Nico, something happens. He

wants to go into the summer break leading the Championship, and to do

that, he knows that Nico Rosberg will have to have some kind of

reliability issue in the next race. I think Williams will be strong or

through the rest of the season. They are looking very good. Not long to

go until the next race, which is next weekend. And we will have all

the highlights for you on BBC Two and on BBC One. But, the germination

kept its pride intact following the World Cup. Nico Rosberg managed to

get married, watch his country win the World Cup and win his home Grand

Prix, all within one week. Good night!

COMMENTATOR: Nico Rosberg wins the German Grand Prix for Mercedes!