After clinching his sixth consecutive victory of the season at German Grand Prix, reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he was surprised by his own performance that allowed him to extend his championship lead over Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg to 19 points.
The three-time world champion continued his dominant run as he saw off Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo to seal his 49th career victory in the team's home race.
Meanwhile, Rosberg was handed a five-second penalty for pushing Max Verstappen off the track, thus finishing the German GP at fourth place behind the Red Bull driver.
Reflecting on his championship lead over Mercedes team-mate Rosberg, Hamilton said that he was pleased to head into the annual European summer holidays with a firm grip.
Hamilton, who was hit by engine problems at the start of the season, thanked his team for preparing his car and improving his starts, Sport24 reported.
The British driver said that he had learnt from his shortcomings and did not commit the same mistakes in Germany.
Hamilton was trailing Rosberg by 43 points just two months ago, but he bounced back in style to win six consecutive races of the season and take the F1 lead for the first time in season.