Rosberg clinches fourth victory of F1 season as Hamilton finishes third in German GP

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg clinched his fourth Grand Prix victory of this Formula One season while his teammate Lewis Hamilton came third in the German Grand Prix.

Hamilton fought his way up from 20th on the grid despite damaging his front wing in a collision at around half-distance when passing Jenson Button's McLaren and finished third behind Williams' Valtteri Bottas, who came second, and his teammate Rosberg.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel overtook Ferrari's Fernando Alonso for fourth with teammate Daniel Ricciardo sixth, The BBC reported.

Rosberg's victory on home soil has helped him extend his lead to 14 points over his fellow Mercedes driver Hamilton at the head of the championship with nine races remaining.

Hamilton said that he had great fun, adding that he did as good as he could and that it was very hard to get through the field safely.

The Briton said that he had a little collision with Jenson, adding that he really thought that the McLaren racer was opening the door for him; so he made a bad judgement there.

Bottas, after a third successive podium, said that Rosberg and Hamilton were too quick in the race but he is really happy that he managed to keep at least one of them behind Williams, adding that it was not easy and they needed all the information from the engineers.

The race in Hockenheim began with high drama as Williams' Felipe Massa and McLaren's Kevin Magnussen collided at the first corner, tipping the Brazilian's car upside down. The Williams skated into the run-off area, triggering the safety car while officials confirmed that Massa was unhurt.