Dreamland. Lewis Hamilton had promised to bring his ‘positive energy’ to the German Grand Prix, but a win seemed unlikely given he was 14th on the grid. But after the rain came out to play, and leader Sebastian Vettel crashed out, the Mercedes star found himself in the lead, and - after a post-race investigation - with victory in his pocket…

Ferrari's pole-sitter Vettel looked comfortable in the lead and was en route to his first Formula 1 win in front of his home fans in Hockenheim, but things were turned on their head when rainfall arrived in the latter stages of the race.

That led to a costly error from Vettel, who crashed into the barriers and out of the race, and when the sister Silver Arrow of Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen both pitted under the resultant Safety Car, Hamilton was in top spot.

And the world champion, who missed out on a win in front of his home fans last time out, held on to claim a triumph described as a 'miracle' by his team, and the Briton was understandly in buoyant mood.

“I feel all the rain has come down and kind of washed away the negativity,” said Hamilton. “That’s why I said at the end that ‘love conquers all’ (on the radio after the race). It’s just a glorious day. It couldn’t have been a better day for me. A real dream and one I will always remember.