Hamilton wins German F1 GP, claims 4th race in a row

Hockenheim (Germany), July 31 (IANS) Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes took advantage of a good start to win the German Formula One Grand Prix and boost his overall standings lead over his team-mate Nico Rosberg to 19 points here on Sunday.

Hamilton claimed his fourth consecutive win as he finished ahead of second-place Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen who completed the podium, reports Efe.

Hamilton's fellow Mercedes driver, Nico Rosberg, had started in pole position, but slipped back after a poor start in front of his home fans and was later penalised for performing what race officials ruled had been a dangerous maneuver that forced Verstappen off the track.

Rosberg crossed the line fourth-placed as Hamilton claimed his 49th Formula One win, the sixth victory this year.

Hamilton now joins greats like Juan Manuel Fangio, Ayrton Senna, Jackie Stewart and Fernando Alonso as a three-time German GP winner.

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.

Fernando Alonso of McLaren-Honda finished 12th while fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz crossed the line in 14th place.

Mexican Sergio Perez of Force India and Esteban Guti?rrez (Haas) were 10th and 11th after beating double world champion Alonso in toward the end of the race.

The two Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen finished fifth and sixth, with the Italian racing team losing second place in the constructors' championship to Red Bull with Mercedes leading by a margin of 159 points.

German Nico H?lkenberg finished seventh, ahead of Jenson Button (McLaren-Honda) and Finland's Valtteri Bottas (Williams).