• German Grand Prix

Hamilton battles to win in Germany

Hamilton celebrated two wins in a row © Sutton Images

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• Race:
• German Grand Prix

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The German Grand Prix was another save from McLaren and Lewis Hamilton and again it was a team effort that produced the desired result.

A safety car period, caused by a sizeable accident for Timo Glock, reduced the leader's advantage but while most people made a pit stop under the race-suspension period, Hamilton did not. It was the team's decision but the driver was perplexed as to why he, unlike his rivals, wasn't pitting.

"I got on the radio and asked whether I should stop and they said that it was no problem."

The McLaren had started on a heavier fuel load and the team believed that it could still run a few more laps to rebuild the gap against the heavier cars behind. As it turned out, the safety car stayed out for longer than McLaren's boffins had expected and eight laps into the restart, Hamilton pitted.

Nick Heidfeld took the lead for BMW Sauber but needed to pit again, so Hamilton's real rivals were Felipe Massa's Ferrari and Nelson Piquet Jnr's Renault. Piquet had been gifted a result by the safety car as he had already pitted and moved up the order as everyone else dived for their garages.

Massa's defence against Hamilton was non-existent but Piquet tried harder. He couldn't withstand Hamilton's pace though, and the McLaren motored by with Piquet and Massa finishing second and third - the first time two Brazilians had been on the podium since 1991.

Hamilton's win moved him back ahead of Massa in the title race with a four-point cushion.

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