Less than two weeks after an acrimonious aftermath to the British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton will this weekend bid to wreck Sebastian Vettel's homecoming at Hockenheim just as the German ruined his own carnival at Silverstone. As the Formula One world championship heads to its half-way mark and a simmering rivalry shows hints of boiling over, championship leader Vettel has a chance to land another telling blow for Ferrari as Hamilton's Mercedes team, also on home soil, seek to recover their consistency.

Vettel leads Hamilton by eight points after his British triumph and would dearly love another success, in front of his family, friends and fans, to ensure he heads into the European summer break with a clear advantage. That would give satisfaction, too, to Ferrari team chief Maurizio Arrivabene who, after the British race, declared that Mercedes should have been ashamed of remarks made about Ferrari. Mercedes technical director James Allison was quoted as suggesting that opening lap accidents in France and Britain, that had seen Ferrari cars collide with Mercedes, could be explained only as "deliberate or incompetent."