An emotional and utterly-committed Lewis Hamilton produced one of the finest wins of his career on Sunday when he confirmed McLaren's renaissance with a dazzling victory in the German Grand Prix. It was the Briton's second win of the year and 16th of his career and not only revitalised McLaren, but also proved once again that runaway leader Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team are not invincible.
The 26-year-old, who started from second on the grid, took the lead from the start and delivered a well-judged race and some flamboyant passing moves, supported by excellent strategy, to resist strong challenges from his rivals. Vettel remains out in front of the title race by 77 points with 216 ahead of Webber on 139 and Hamilton, now third, on 134. Alonso is fourth on 130. In the constructors' championship, Red Bull lead with 355 points ahead of McLaren on 243 while Ferrari are third on 192.
McLaren team chief Martin Whitmarsh was delighted with Hamilton's performance, despite seeing Jenson Button, the 2009 champion, forced to retire with hydraulics problems. "What a fantastic race," he said. "You had three teams, three drivers, really battling it out. Lewis just drove a fantastic race.