Live Commentary: German Grand Prix - as it happened

Good afternoon, it's around half an hour until the German Grand Prix gets underway at the Nurburgring, with Lewis Hamilton starting from pole position for the second race in a row.

There's been one change to the grid order overnight, as Caterham's Charles Pic had to change his gearbox, incurring a five-place penalty. As the Frenchman qualified 19th, that drops him to the back of the grid.

There was a bit of scare for Hamilton's mechanics earlier, as they discovered a problem with the fuel pump on the pole sitter's Mercedes. However, the team was able to change the part in time, and the 2008 world champion has just headed out of his garage for the grid.

Hamilton put in an impressive performance in qualifying yesterday to snatch pole from Sebastian Vettel. However, his teammate, Nico Rosberg, will start from 11th, having been knocked out of Q2 yesterday with his race engineer believing that he had done enough to make the top 10.

Vettel will be keen to try to oust Hamilton from the front this afternoon. The current world champion has never won his home Grand Prix, or any race in the month of July. Last year, he finished second at the Hockenheimring, but was demoted to fifth after the race for an illegal overtake on Jenson Button on the final lap.

There were several tyre failures at Silverstone last weekend, but a change to the structure of the Pirelli tyres has seen no problems so far at this event. There will be a split in the tyre strategies in the top 10, with the front six cars all starting on the soft tyres, the Ferraris on the mediums, and Button and Hulkenberg with a free choice having not set a lap time in Q3.

Theoretically, there could be a change at the top of the standings for the drivers' championship this afternoon. Should Vettel fail to finish the race again, a win for Fernando Alonso would allow him to overtake the current leader. However, the Spaniard starts from eighth, so will need some luck if he's to take victory this afternoon.

It looks like there could be another mechanical concern for Hamilton, as his front right brake has started smoking while sat on the grid. The mechanics are working furiously around the car as they try to fix the problem before the race gets underway in just over 10 minutes time.

There should be no need for wet tyres this afternoon. It's a scorcher at the Nurburgring, with temperatures of around 25C with next to no cloud coverage, which should mean high track temperatures. Such conditions have suited Lotus over the last two seasons, so they could force their way onto the podium, with Kimi Raikkonen starting from fourth, and Romain Grosjean just one place behind.

The drivers will have two chances to use DRS around the Nurburgring this afternoon, with two detection points set up for the two longest straights at the 3.2-mile circuit, which should mean plenty of overtaking.

The teams are starting to take the tyre blankets off, with the drivers due to set off for the formation lap shortly. Hamilton is in his car, so it looks like his car is ready to race, despite a couple of late scares.

FORMATION LAP! Lewis Hamilton moves off the grid, leading the 22 cars around the track for the formation lap.

LIGHTS OUT! Both Red Bulls get past Hamilton before the first corner. Webber is initially in front of Vettel, but the world champion moves back ahead after his teammate's tyres lock up.

Further down, Felipe Massa has already passed Daniel Ricciardo for sixth place, and Nico Rosberg has dropped down to 12th. Valterri Bottas runs wide from 17th place.

Sergio Perez has had a brilliant start from 13th, as he edges past his McLaren teammate on the first corner of the second lap. The Mexican is already looking for a way past Fernando Alonso.

With DRS now enabled, Hamilton could find himself coming under pressure from Raikkonen, who is just a car's length behind the pole sitter in fourth.

OUT! Felipe Massa spins heading into turn one at the start of the fourth lap, and his anti-stall fails, resulting in his engine cutting out. It looks like he spun under braking rather than in the turn itself, which is rather odd.

At the front, Vettel does the fastest lap of the race so far as he bids to keep himself out of the DRS zone of his teammate. Paul di Resta comes in for the first pit stop of the race, but his mechanics release him into the path of Jean-Eric Vergne, and the Toro Rosso driver has to stamp his breaks on to avoid a pit lane collision. The Scot may find himself penalised for that.

Ricciardo, Sutil, van der Garde and Bianchi all come into the pits for early changes. The stewards have confirmed that they will look into the unsafe release by Force India after the race.

Lewis Hamilton comes in for his pit stop from third place. Mercedes are obviously hoping that getting the Brit on fresh tyres before the race leaders will help him jump back ahead of the Red Bulls. Hamilton slots back into 10th, just behind him teammate.

Red Bull respond to Hamilton's pit stop, bringing in race leader Sebastian Vettel, and he just gets back onto the track in front at Rosberg and Hamilton.

Webber also comes in for new tyres. The gun man has problems with the rear right, and the tyre comes loose as Webber leaves the box, with the tyre bouncing down the pit lane, eventually landing in the Lotus pit box. Unfortunately it looked like a cameraman got struck by the tyre, but he's sitting up and is being attended to by medics.

OUT! Webber is told to switch off his engine and is wheeled back into the garage. His pit stop gives Romain Grosjean the race lead.

It's going to be a busy afternoon for the stewards, as they confirm that they will be investigating Red Bull for an unsafe release after the race.

TOP 10! 1. Grosjean, 2. Alonso, 3. Button, 4. Hulkenberg, 5. Vettel, 6. Rosberg, 7. Hamilton, 8. Raikkonen, 9. Maldonado, 10. Bottas

None of the top four have comes in for new tyres yet, so Vettel is effectively the race leader. In an interesting development, Red Bull have managed to get Mark Webber back into the race, after wheeling him back to the garage, and he's set the new fastest lap of race.

Alonso is the first of the cars that started on the medium tyre to come into the pits. Meanwhile, Vettel manages to overtake Button, moving him back up to second, around 14 seconds behind race leader Grosjean, but the Frenchman comes in for new tyres.

Grosjean re-enters the race third, but with Button yet to stop that leaves him second. That a brilliant first stint from Grosjean, who started the race on the soft tyre compound.

The Mercedes duo come up behind Raikkonen, Hamilton manages to pass the Lotus, but the Rosberg can't follow. Back at the front, Grosjean manages to pass Button, and is less than four seconds behind Vettel, and has fresher tyres than the race leader.

Rosberg comes in for his first pit stop, having started on the medium tyres. The Williams drivers are doing a good job of saving their tyres, as Maldonado and Bottas have climbed to eighth and ninth respectively without stopping.

Raikkonen has closed in on the back of Hamilton's Mercedes. With Grosjean showing such strong pace in second, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Finn get back in front of the Brit. Hamilton gets on the radio to complain about a lack of grip as Raikkonen gets DRS, and eases past the Mercedes to claim fourth.

At the front, Grosjean is really closing the gap to Vettel, as he's now just 2.8 seconds behind the German. The Lotus should get int the DRS zone before the Red Bull has to pit again at this rate.

Hamilton complains over the radio again, stating that the cars around him aren't on the same tyres as him, with Alonso already closing the gap to the Mercedes. It's not been a good afternoon for the pole sitter so far.

Alonso tries to go around the outside of Hamilton, but he can't get past. The Ferrari gets another chance heading into turn one, but Hamilton manages to hold the inside line to keep the Spaniard behind him.

Button finally heads into the pits from third, he's put in an impressive stint on the medium tyres. Hamilton is still locked in battle with Alonso, with the Brit defending hard to keep the Ferrari driver behind him.

Hamilton comes into the pits, having been complaining of a lack of grip for the last two laps, meaning he'll need third pit stop later in the race. Hamilton comes back out in eighth, just ahead of Sutil.

OUT! It looks like an engine problem for Jules Bianchi, as plumes of white smoke billow out the back of his Marussia before the car catches fire as he pulls onto the grass. Fortunately, he manages to get out in one piece.

SAFETY CAR! The safety car is deployed with the Marussia having been left just off the track. However, it starts free-wheeling backwards down the track, as race leader Sebastian Vettel heads past it, but the Red Bull spots the danger. The Marussia is eventually stopped when it hits an ad banner. The pit lane is suddenly busy as numerous cars come in for new tyres.

TOP 10! 1. Vettel, 2. Grosjean, 3. Raikkonen, 4. Alonso, 5. Button, 6. Hulkenberg, 7. Hamilton, 8. Maldonado, 9. Perez, 10. Sutil

Just to update you on Webber, after his tyre issues at the pit stop, the Australian was initially marked as retired, but came back out a couple of laps later. This safety car really helps him, as he can now un-lap himself, and will re-start right on the back of the pack once the safety car comes in.

OUT! Jean-Eric Vergne is out of the race, having suffered a hydraulics issue. It's back-to-back retirements for the Toro Rosso driver.

It's being reported that the cameraman who was struck by Webber's tyre is being treated for a concussion at the track's medical centre.

Bianchi's Marussia is now clear of the track so the safety car will come in at the end of this lap.

Vettel is away quickly as the safety car pulls of the track. Perez is on the attack early as he looks to get past Maldonado, while Webber gains to places in turn one.

Vettel opens up a 1.4 second lead over Grosjean within the first lap, while Raikkonen us just 0.7 seconds off the back of his Lotus teammate. This could play into the hands of Vettel if Grosjean has to start defending against the Finn.

Webber has made swift work of the back of the field since the end of the safety car period, having already moved up to 15th, and he's now right on Gutierrez's rear wing as he looks to claim 14th.

Raikkonen is in the DRS zone as he looks to get past Grosjean, but his teammate just has enough pace to keep Raikkonen in third. However, the 2007 world champion has set the new fastest lap of the race.

Hamilton looks much happier on this set of tyres, as he closes the gap to sixth-place Nico Hulkenberg. Meanwhile, Grosjean responds to Raikkonen's pace, setting another fastest lap.

Grosjean closes in on Vettel, while Raikkonen remains just behind him. Despite Grosjean using DRS and KERS, he can't get past the German as the leading three come into the pit straight. All three are within 2 seconds of each other.

Paul di Resta's race engineer informs him that they have no concerns over his rear tyres, which will be welcome news to the Scot. He's had a quiet afternoon so far, currently running in the same place that he started in. However, he's just two places out of the points, so a strong run could see him sneak into the top 10 this afternoon. Meanwhile, Hulkenberg has pitted, releasing Hamilton into sixth.

Grosjean is still right behind Vettel, but Raikkonen has slipped back a bit. Fourth-placed Alonso is started to close in on the top three, and could soon be looking for a way past the Lotus. Elsewhere, Webber has pitted again, and this time it was a slick stop from the Red Bull mechanics.

Grosjean pits from second place. He'll be hoping that stopping before Red Bull will allow him to jump ahead of Vettel. It will be interesting to see if the race leader responds.

Raikkonen is already half a second up on Vettel's lap time since Grosjean's stop. It looks like the clear track is helping Grosjean's teammate close in on Vettel, but the German is coming in for new tyres, giving Raikkonen the race lead.

Vettel manages to get out of the pit lane just in front of Grosjean. He runs a little wide in the first corner, but manages to keep the place. Raikkonen is looking fast up front.

Grosjean responds to his teammate's pace, setting a new fastest lap of the race. It's so close at the front, the winner of the race will be whoever has the most left in their tyres in the last couple of laps.

Vettel is currently running in fifth, just under 15 seconds behind Raikkonen. Lotus would need a bigger gap to pit the Finn and get him back out ahead of Vettel, but the German is now right behind Hamilton, and will need to pass the Mercedes quickly to avoid giving Raikkonen a bigger lead. Vettel looks to pass Hamilton in turn one but runs wide, but Vettel persists, and Hamilton gives up the fight two corners later, knowing that Vettel is on fresher tyres.

Raikkonen also gets past Hamilton to keep Vettel in touch. Hamilton decides it's time for a new set of tyres and comes into the pits, re-entering the race in 10th.

Nico Hulkenberg has been quietly impressive this afternoon, getting good pace out of his Sauber. Somewhat surprisingly, he's just managed to overtake Nico Rosberg to move into 10th, although the Mercedes is on well-worn tyres.

There's a potential issue for the race leader, as Raikkonen's race engineer informs him that he can only hear him over the radio after turn 12. Meanwhile, Button pits from third, re-joining the race in sixth. It's been an impressive exercise in tyre management from the McLaren driver this afternoon.

TOP 10! 1. Raikkonen, 2. Alonso, 3. Vettel, 4. Grosjean, 5. Perez, 6. Button, 7. Maldonado, 8. Di Resta, 9. Hulkenberg 10. Hamilton

Raikkonen pits from the lead for fresh tyres, closely followed by second-placed Alonso, allowing Vettel to move back into the lead. The Ferrari losing time coming out of the pit lane, running well wide in turn one.

After the latest pit stops, Vettel, Grosjean, Raikkonen and Alonso are all within five seconds on the track.

Webber's impressive recovery continues, the Red Bull driver is now up to ninth, having lost time earlier after a horrendous pit stop. In the pits, Maldonado loses time as the wheel gun fails for Williams.

Back at the front, Grosjean has been informed that Raikkonen, who is currently third in the drivers' championship, is on a different strategy to the Frenchman. Despite that, Grosjean hasn't let his teammate through yet.

Webber manages to gain another place, passing Di Resta for eighth, and is told over the radio that he can catch Perez in sixth. Back at the front, Vettel is struggling to get through the backmarkers.

Bottas finally comes in from 10th for his last pit stop, allowing Rosberg to move into the final points place. Raikkonen finally gets past Grosjean to claim second, just three seconds behind Vettel.

Hamilton passes Perez for sixth place. The McLaren driver appears to be struggling on old tyres and is losing time.

Alonso is quickly closing the gap to third, he's now just 0.8 seconds behind Grosjean. In the battle for first, Vettel and Raikkonen are both setting their personal bests, with Raikkonen just 1.3 seconds behind the German.

Raikkonen manages to take another tenth out of Vettel's lead. At this rate, he could have DRS on the final lap. Meanwhile, Hamilton is closing the gap to Button for fifth place.

Vettel starts the final lap of race, with Raikkonen just 1 seconds behind.

Hamilton gets past Button for fifth.

Raikkonen has DRS but can't get passed Vettel.

Grosjean completed the podium, just managing to hold off Alonso. Webber gets past Perez just before the final turn to claim seventh. Alonso is out of fuel and parks his car at turn one just after finishing.

Having won his home race for the first time in F1, Vettel says over his team radio: "That was a tough one, they gave me a run for the money."

TOP 10 & POINTS! 1. Vettel (25pts), 2. Raikkonen (18pts), 3. Grosjean (15pts), 4. Alonso (12pts), 5. Hamilton (10pts), 6. Button (8pts), 7. Webber (6pts), 8. Perez (4pts), 9. Rosberg (2pts), 10. Hulkenberg (1pt)

Well that's all from the Nurburgring this afternoon, but stick around for reaction to this race, and join us again in three weeks' time for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Until then, thanks for joining me this afternoon, goodbye!