Race 10: German Grand Prix — July 20

Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg coasted to his first home German Grand Prix win at Hockenheim to extend his lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton in the Formula One championship. From pole position, cheered on by home fans, Rosberg ganed a 14-point lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton, who charged up to finish third from 20th on the grid. Finishing 20 seconds behind on second spot was Williams’ Valtteri Bottas.

Sebastian Vettel finished fourth for Red Bull Racing, while Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso won an enthralling battle with Daniel Ricciardo in the second Red Bull to take fifth place. The dramatic race was marred by an opening lap collision with McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen and Felipe Massa of Williams. The Brazilian’s car was flipped upside down as the pair slid into the gravel trap at turn one.

Race 11: Hungarian Grand Prix — July 27

Rain, crashes and safety cars made for a stunning Hungarian Grand Prix and Daniel Ricciardo clinched victory for the second time this season.

Ricciardo came first ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in a race which saw Lewis Hamilton hanging on to third by the skin of his teeth ahead of his charging Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg. Hamilton had ignored team orders to let championship leader Rosberg go by. It was Alonso who had led in the closing stages but Ricciardo passed Hamilton and Alonso in the final four laps. Hamilton, who made it to the podium from a seemingly hopeless position following his fire in qualifying, then was only 11 points adrift from his teammate with eight races to run.

Race 12: Belgian Grand Prix — August 24

Daniel Ricciardo made it two wins from two, with a comprehensive victory at the Belgium Grand Prix following the triumph at Hungary.

The Australian only managed to take the lead when the fight between the two world championship contenders Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton literally came together for the first time this season on lap two. Hamilton suffered a puncture following a collision with Rosberg and was forced to retire later. Rosberg required a change of wing but was far less severely damaged. He finishing second behind Daniel Ricciardo and extending his lead in the drivers’ standings to 29 points. Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas was third. It was Red Bull’s 50th victory in Formula One and Ricciardo was hailed with cheers while Rosberg was booed by the crowd at the end of the race.