Besides being crowned football world champions in Brazil, Germany saw another great sporting achievement, this time in Formula 1. It was the first time a German driver, Nico Rosberg, won the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim driving an all-German F1 Mercedes car. Moreover, Rosberg also celebrated his marriage with a long-term contract signed with Mercedes.

Three weeks ago his British team mate Lewis Hamilton, racing at his home grand prix in Silverstone, had further bad luck in qualifying. A mistimed corner made him start from the back end of the grid.

Notwithstanding, he drove majestically and won after Rosberg retired with gearbox problems. Hamilton shone with some superb driving and a mega-superior car. This was the 25th time I went to Silverstone.

Williams again made the headlines. Felipe Massa, like Hamilton, seems to be having bad luck as he suffered yet two frightful shunts in both the British and the Germany grand prix.

At Silverstone, due to the wet conditions, both Williams and Ferrari were eliminated in qualifier 1, leaving all four drivers at the very end of the grid.

At the start of the race, just a few corners into lap one, we witnessed a horrific crash as Mika Raikkonen destroyed his Ferrari, which swayed from one side of the track to the other with Massa narrowly missing a direct impact, which could have well had catastropic implications.

However Massa’s race was over too.

Having qualified third on the grid in Germany, Massa started well, nearly overtaking team mate Valterri Bottas who occupied position two on the grid.

However Massa was again at the wrong place at the wrong time when Kevin Magnusson’s McLaren clipped the Brazilian’s car, overturning it.

Despite all this, Williams seem to be returning to their formal glory. It had been ages since we saw a Williams car being so competitive, with young Finn Valtteri Bottas gaining points and a place on the podium.

In Hungary next weekend, the electronic system which controls the ride height of the car will be felt.

The system has been around for quite some time. Its functionality used to be mechanical but now this has become a complex electronic system which governs the ride height of an F1 car to stabilise the car when braking or else riding a curb.

The system was abolished in Germany so now in Hungary, the cars will have less stability especially when taking rapid change of directions.

One last comment. I wonder why the safety car was not deployed when Adrian Sutil’s Sauber was stranded on the exit of the last corner and why the marshals were instructed to cross the track at such a dangerous spot. This decision definitely favoured Rosberg.

German Grand Prix

Team by team analysis of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix

Mercedes (Nico Rosberg 1, Lewis Hamilton 3)

Fourth win of the season for Rosberg, who started on pole and moves 14 points clear of Hamilton. He becomes the first winner for a Mercedes team in Germany for 60 years. Hamilton started 20th, made 15 overtaking moves and set the fastest lap. Mercedes have now won nine of 10 races.

Red Bull (Sebastian Vettel 4, Daniel Ricciardo 6)

Vettel started sixth and benefitted from Magnussen and Massa colliding ahead of him at the start. He had another good battle with Alonso. Ricciardo was less fortunate, dropping from fifth to 15th before fighting back.

Williams (Valtteri Bottas 2, Felipe Massa retired)

Bottas, starting on the front row, chalked up his third successive podium and his team’s 300th in total. Massa had lined up third on the grid but a collision with Magnussen flipped his car over and out at the start. The Brazilian blamed the Dane but stewards decided it was a racing incident. Williams still leapfrogged ahead of Ferrari.

Ferrari (Fernando Alonso 5, Kimi Raikkonen 11)

Alonso, who started seventh, said it was probably his best race so far this season. Not so for Raikkonen, whose car was damaged after twice being sandwiched between others. Alonso maintained his record of scoring in every race this year and continued Ferrari’s record run of 77 successive races, dating back to 2010, with at least one car in the points.

Force India (Nico Hulkenberg 7, Sergio Perez 10)

Hulkenberg has also scored in every race this season. He reported some engine problems. Both felt the drop in temperatures had not helped.

McLaren (Jenson Button 8, Kevin Magnussen 9)

Magnussen dropped to last at the end of the first lap after his collision but recovered well. Button, who was sixth after lap one, and Hamilton had a coming together on lap 30 that the Mercedes driver apologised for. McLaren said Button’s second pitstop was done in a team record of 2.15 seconds stationary.

Toro Rosso (Jean-Eric Vergne 13, Daniil Kvyat retired)

Vergne served a five second stop and go penalty during his second pitstop for going off track while trying to pass Grosjean’s Lotus. Kvyat made contact with Perez early on, spinning off, and later stopped with his car in flames.

Lotus (Pastor Maldonado 12, Romain Grosjean retired)

Maldonado equalled his best finish of the season after starting 19th. Grosjean retired with a cooling issue and resulting loss of power.

Marussia (Jules Bianchi 15, Max Chilton 17)

A lonely race for Bianchi. Chilton’s race was compromised by a delay at his first stop.

Sauber (Esteban Gutierrez 14, Adrian Sutil retired)

Gutierrez started 16th after a three place penalty carried over from the last race. Sutil spun and stalled on track after the last corner on lap 48. Still no points for the Swiss team.

Caterham (Kamui Kobayashi 16, Marcus Ericsson 18)

Ericsson was hit by a double penalty before the race for breaking parc ferme rules, having to start from the pitlane and then serve a 10 second stop and go penalty. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Tony Goodson)

British Grand Prix

Team by team analysis of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix

Mercedes (Lewis Hamilton 1, Nico Rosberg retired)

Hamilton took advantage of Rosberg’s mechanical failure to win at home for the first time since his championship season in 2008. He had fought his way up to second after a qualifying blunder meant he started only in sixth place. Championship leader Rosberg was on course for victory but had to retire with gearbox trouble just over halfway through the race, failing to finish for the first time this season.

Red Bull (Daniel Ricciardo 3, Sebastian Vettel 5)

Ricciardo maintained his fine form this season to deny Briton Jenson Button a place on the podium. World champion Vettel came out on top on in a memorable duel with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso but they were scrapping over fifth place.

Ferrari (Fernando Alonso 6, Kimi Raikkonen retired)

Alonso made up lost ground after starting back in 16th spot on the grid and held off Vettel for several laps before ceding fifth place. Raikkonen crashed into the barriers on the first round of the race and had to be treated for an ankle injury.

Williams (Valtteri Bottas 2, Felipe Massa retired)

Contrasting fortunes for the two Williams drivers. Bottas worked his way up from 14th spot on the grid for his second successive podium finish. Massa, racing in his 200th grand prix, dropped out on the first lap and could not make the re-start after getting caught up in the aftermath of the Raikkonen crash. Williams move up to fourth, three points behind Ferrari.

Force India (Nico Hulkenberg 8, Sergio Perez 11)

Hulkenberg started in fourth spot on the grid but lost a couple of places early on and was never in contention for a place on the podium. Perez’s race was also compromised by a bump on the opening lap which saw him drop to the back of the field.

McLaren (Jenson Button 4, Kevin Magnussen 7)

A better weekend for former champion Button who responded to criticism of his performance from boss Ron Dennis and narrowly missed out on his first podium finish in Britain. Magnussen finished seventh for the second race in a row.

Toro Rosso (Daniil Kvyat 9, Jean-Eric Vergne 10)

The team was pleased to get both drivers in the points for the first time since the season opener in Australia in March. Their finishing places matched where they started on the grid.

Lotus (Romain Grosjean 12, Pastor Maldonado 17)

Grosjean finished the race strongly but could not make it into the top 10. Maldonado had a spectacular collision with Sauber driver Esteban Gutierrez and suffered exhaust problems at the end of the race.

Marussia (Jules Bianchi 14, Max Chilton 16)

Bianchi did not have the pace to crack the top 10 after starting in 12th place. Chilton suffered damage to a wing as a result of the Raikkonen crash and was also penalised for heading into the pits as the race was being halted.

Sauber (Adrian Sutil 13, Esteban Gutierrez retired)

Gutierrez, who had a 10 place grid penalty from Austria, was blamed for the collision with Maldonado and will now have a three-place grid penalty in Germany. Sutil slipped down the field in the second half of the race, leaving the Swiss team still without a point this season.

Caterham (Kamui Kobayashi 15, Marcus Ericsson retired)

New owners, same old story. Ericsson was forced to retire early in the race with suspension damage, while Kobayashi finished among the backmarkers. (Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Alan Baldwin)