German Grand Prix
July 24, 2011
Lewis Hamilton won the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring on Sunday, giving the McLaren team its third victory of the Formula One season.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso finished second, followed by Red Bull's Mark Webber.
The Briton started from second behind Webber, but took the lead after passing Webber going into the opening corner.
Hamilton, Webber and Alonso traded the lead throughout the race, but Hamilton managed to defend his lead at the final pit stop to claim victory.
He thanked his mechanics after the race, saying: "That was amazing, thank you guys so much for pushing so hard, the car was so nice to drive. If we keep pushing this is the kind of result we get."
Champion struggles at home
Hamilton moves into third place in the F1 standings with 134 points, behind Red Bull teammates Webber with 139 and defending world champion Sebastian Vettel, who took fourth, with 216.
Vettel, starting off the front row for the first time this year, slipped behind Ferrari's resurgent Felipe Massa only to retake fourth late on when both pitted at the same time in dramatic fashion and Ferrari reacted more slowly.
Vettel's run of 11 successive podium finishes ended but the 24-year-old saw his overall lead trimmed by just three points over team mate Webber to 77 with nine races left.
Lower down the field, McLaren's Jenson Button retired with a hydraulics problem when in sixth place. Michael Schumacher's miserable time continued as he spun on a corner under no pressure to leave Mercedes fans shaking their heads although he recovered to finish eighth.
Author: Andrew Bowen (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Ben Knight