Rosberg wins in Germany

Having already won in his childhood home, the city streets of Monaco, Nico Rosberg claimed his first ever Grand Prix win on German soil on Sunday. The number six's race was a largely lonely affair out front, as he stretched his championship lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton to 14 points.

"It's a really special feeling to win at home. I sensed the atmosphere even in the car, many thanks to the fans," Rosberg said on the podium after the race. "We will celebrate a little today."

Rosberg, who extended his Mercedes contract and married long-term partner Vivian Sibold this month, had raced with a special helmet to commemorate Germany's World Cup win. Lukas Podolski was present in the Mercedes garage for the race, joking on RTL television that it was a "difficult question" to answer whether the Grand Prix or the World Cup final was more exciting.

Valtteri Bottas rolled in second for Williams, his third podium finish in successive races for the Mercedes-powered team. Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, raced through the field to finish third in a race packed with overtaking maneuvers and the odd collision.

Massa out on lap 1

Rosberg's race was made simpler by Lewis Hamilton's crash in qualifying, meaning the other dangerous Mercedes car was starting near the back of the grid. Rosberg kept the Williams of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa at bay off the line to lead into turn 1 at Hockenheim.

Behind the polesitter, Massa collided with McLaren's Kevin Magnussen fighting for third position into the first corner. The Brazilian rolled his Williams and briefly slid along the tarmac upside-down but was unhurt in the crash.

Massa's crash triggered a brief safety car phase early in the race. Once the field was released, Rosberg began establishing his cushion at the front while his teammate Hamilton began making amends for his brake failure in qualifying.

Driving the other dominant Mercedes car, Hamilton began to carve through the pack, swiftly dispatching the slower back-markers before a series of spectacular battles for the points positions. Hamilton suffered light contact with Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari and former teammate Jenson Button's McLaren, among others, but the damage to his nose cone never seemed to really hurt his lap times. Arriving behind Bottas, after failing to find a way past in the closing laps, the 2008 champion and Hockenheim winner couldn't quite complete the Mercedes 1-2.

Sebastian Vettel was the best-placed finisher without a Mercedes powerplant, bringing his Red Bull-Renault home in fourth. The local boy, who grew up in nearby Heppenheim in southwestern Germany, said on Sky TV German that it was a pity that "there was nothing but apple juice for me today," having missed the champagne on the podium by just one spot.

Fernando Alonso was next in line for Ferrari, just ahead of Vettel's teammate Daniel Ricciardo in sixth. Nico Hülkenberg picked up home points in his Force India, with Jenson Button, Kevin Magnussen and Sergio Perez rounding out the points-paying positions.

Rosberg, on 190 points, has stretched his lead over Hamilton in the drivers' standings to 14. Mercedes already have almost double the points tally of their closest challengers Red Bull in a rather one-sided constructors' championship. Sunday's race was the 10th of 19 scheduled events in the current season. The teams are to race at the Hungaroring near Budapest next Sunday, July 27.