The conclusion of the German Grand Prix marked the start of Formula 1's summer break, with Lewis Hamilton leaving the Hockenheimring on a high note.
The British driver took his sixth win of the 2016 season, beating the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. Here's what some of this year's grid had to say after the race. Lewis Hamilton
"What a day! Just awesome! I wasn't expecting to be as strong as I was today. I had a great start. We have been working really hard to get off the line faster and more consistently and that hard work has clearly paid off. A big thanks also to the guys in the garage, I'm glad they get a well-earned break now as they really deserve it. I'm super happy with today - especially after yesterday.
"When I personally fail, knowing from 23 years of experience that I could definitely have done better, I really kick myself. Today, I have the opposite feeling. I delivered the way I'm supposed to. I know that I had the pace, I worked the tyres just right and I was never under threat from the guys behind.
"No mistakes this time either, so I'm very happy with that. It's awesome to go into the break on such a high. I was 43 points behind at one stage, so to keep working on the gap turn it around like that is great. Lastly, I just want to say a big thank you to the fans. So many of them have turned up here in Germany and they've been so supportive. That positive energy really drives me on, so a big thank you once again to them and I hope they have a great holiday. I'm definitely going to!"
Sebastian Vettel
"We’re usually faster in the race than we are in qualifying, but this wasn’t the case today: we were sliding around too much and this affected the tyres as well. Fifth and sixth place was the best we could do but we obviously can’t accept that, we will be working to improve and we know what to do, the stuff that’s coming up for the next races has always been part of our plan.
"The first part of the season didn’t go as we wanted, we need to work on ourselves and I, for one, had too many ups and downs which cost me some points. But we’ll keep fighting. As for today’s race, the decision to fit softs in the end was a pretty straightforward one, as we had a new set available.
"I decided to stay out for some more laps as I did not want to go too long with the last set, with hindsight it was probably a too conservative choice as we would have had a chance to put some pressure on the car ahead. The atmosphere today, with all the German and the Ferrari flags, was incredible and from this point of view it was my best home Grand Prix ever!"
"I’m very pleased with today obviously. To beat one Mercedes is nice but for both cars to beat one Mercedes and the pole-sitter was really good. In the first part of the race I was sitting in third and the pace was okay but I think I really came to life in the second half of the race and that’s when I was able to show a bit more speed and capture second place. It was the best we could do today and I’m now happy to go into the summer break with another podium in the bag.
"For me the strategy worked very well, I was comfortable on the supersofts and it worked out my pace was better in the end with that tyre. Drinking out of the shoe on the podium is an Australian thing. It’s called a “shoey”. I said if I win a race this year I’ll do it, but just in case, I thought I’ll do it next time I’m on the podium. The last few races I got a bit more out of the race weekends and it’s nice to get a bit of momentum now before the summer break. Just to stand up there on the podium is the best feeling in the world."
Valtteri Bottas
"The race was going OK until Force India managed to get in front of us with the undercut. They did a three-stop and we tried a two-stop.
"There was definitely something wrong with our tyre calculations, because there was no way to get to the end on that set of tyres. The stint was just way too long and that really cost us some points today."
Nico Hulkenberg
"Seventh was probably the best result available to us today, so it feels good to get the maximum from our race and score some important points. The team did a great job with the strategy because we went into the race believing a two-stopper was possible, but then made an early decision to switch to three stops. It was definitely the right way to go and allowed me to take seventh place in the final few laps.
"The tyre degradation was very high so most of the race was about managing the tyres. It was also quite a lonely and straightforward race because my main fight was against Bottas and we were running different strategies. So it’s a happy Nico and a happy team. We can look forward to the summer break and aim to carry this momentum forward in the second part of the season."
"We decided on a two-stop strategy before the race as all the data pointed to it being the correct thing to do, however we saw that the three-stop strategy of our rivals worked better today.
"This wasn’t immediately obvious and we were too committed to the two-stop so it’s a lesson learnt. We were too slow on the soft compound on the final stint and our degradation on the supersoft was greater than expected which undid our opportunities of finishing higher today."
Carlos Sainz Jr.
"It wasn’t the best of races… Starting from P15 because of the three position grid penalty meant it was never going to be easy, but we had a good start and the first part of the race wasn’t’ that bad. We were able to overtake quite a few cars, make a good recovery and get very close to the points positions, racing in P11.
"It even looked like another comeback was possible, but we lost quite a lot of time during our first pit-stop, and that cost us the places we had gained earlier out on track. From then onwards we were unfortunately stuck in P14, which is definitely not where we wanted to be. I’d say it’s not the perfect way to end the first half of the season but in general I’m happy with my performance so far this year."
Felipe Nasr
"It was not a good day for me. My start went well, so I was able to gain a few positions. I felt my tyres were losing grip quickly. We lost some time during the first pit stop, as my call to pit came too late. Towards the end of the race, I suddenly lost power. I had to stop the car due to a technical issue. It is a shame to finish a race this way, but this is also part of racing sometimes."
"I made a very good start and made up most of the places there. After that, it was just about looking after the tyres, which were degrading faster than we’d expected. We also had to do a fair amount of fuel-saving, too, particularly in the last 10 laps. In fact, I went off the circuit towards the end, just because I was doing so much fuel-saving that I hit the brakes and they were just stone cold. I hadn’t even been braking hard.
"At the end, I was able to pick off Valtteri, who was struggling on his tyres. It feels satisfying to have beaten both Williams, but eighth was as good as it was going to get today – we were 20 seconds behind the car in front, and there’s still quite a bit to go before we catch those guys.
"Still, we’ve made good progress: we’re consistently fighting in the points, and the team are doing a great job this year, bringing something new to pretty much every single race. I want to say thank-you and well done to the whole team for their efforts. I’m looking forward to coming back and fighting after the summer break – but, right now, I’m looking forward to a holiday."
Pascal Wehrlein
"I’m really happy. It was a very straightforward race, so there were no opportunities to improve further through the field, but we still achieved our target of finishing ahead of Sauber and we got a Renault too. So it was a good race.
"It was a very special atmosphere and you could really feel the crowd. Before the race, we stopped in the Motodrom to greet the fans and they were really great and supportive. It is something very special to see so many German flags and I think they got a good race today after so long without a German Grand Prix. I’m happy that I got a good result too."
Esteban Gutierrez
"It wasn’t an easy start. I had too much wheel spin and I was passed by quite a few cars. We were the only ones on soft tyres, which was an aggressive strategy, so we were expecting to struggle for the first stint. After that I started to hold as much as I could and then began to fight back in the second stint.
"I was pushing all the way, trying to recover as much as I could, as well as trying to handle fuel saving. We’re not satisfied where we ended up, as we didn’t get the points we were aiming for. Now we head into the summer break, which will be good for the team after four races in five weeks. We’re all going to recharge our batteries and come back stronger, fighting for points at Spa."
The British driver took his sixth win of the 2016 season, beating the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. Here's what some of this year's grid had to say after the race.
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