German Grand Prix: Hamilton's revenge or Vettel's redemption?

After being upset on home soil by drivers' standings leader Sebastian Vettel at Silverstone, the German Grand Prix gives Lewis Hamilton the perfect place to respond, at a Hockenheim track just a few short miles from the Ferrari star's birthplace. However, Vettel will be desperate for victory, having failed to shine in previous races at his home circuit.

CIRCUIT DEBRIEF

• Mix of slow/medium speed corners connected by long straights
• Traction and braking important, as is looking after rear tyres
• Pit stop strategy could be important as overtaking is tricky

WHO'S IN CONTENTION FOR THE WIN?

Strangely, home success has eluded Vettel for much of his F1 career, and he's yet to win a Grand Prix at Hockenheim in five attempts. He took victory at the Nurburgring during his final season with Red Bull, but so far his best result at Hockenheim has been a third-place finish all the way back in 2010.

In contrast, Hamilton has three German Grand Prix wins to his name, with two of those coming here at Hockenheim in 2008 and more recently in 2016, with a Nurburgring win sandwiched in between from 2011.

With the event having alternated between Hockenheim and Nurburgring in recent years, and having not run at all in 2015 and 2017, getting a steer on form is tricky, but Hamilton's 2016 win was the most recent race held here and you'd expect Mercedes to be in contention once again.

That race back in 2016 was actually a bad weekend on all accounts for Ferrari, as they struggled to fifth and sixth in both qualifying and the race, and were beaten to the podium by both Red Bulls.

But with Ferrari's power unit seemingly on par with Mercedes this season, a repeat of their 2016 performance seems unlikely, and Vettel should have his best chance in recent years of securing that elusive first Hockenheim win.

HAMILTON COMMITS FUTURE TO MERCEDES

In case you missed it, Mercedes announced Thursday morning that Hamilton would be sticking with the team for a further two years, extending his stay to the end of the 2020 season.

The length of this new deal is significant as it mirrors the length of Vettel and Max Verstappen's contracts, meaning the 2020/21 silly season should be absolutely fascinating with arguably the three biggest names in F1 all likely to be out of contract.

What it means in the short term is an end to any speculation regarding Hamilton's future, and he can now concentrate on his title fight with Vettel without the distraction of having to negotiate a new deal in the background.

With Valtteri Bottas following suit by signing a new deal for 2019 at Mercedes on Friday, the next announcement we're likely to see is Daniel Ricciardo committing to Red Bull, a deal which is likely to have knock-on effects for Carlos Sainz Jr at Renault and possibly Esteban Ocon at Force India.

FERRARI / MERCEDES BATTLE HEATING UP

Four wins from the opening 10 races represents Ferrari's best run of form for a decade, but with both Vettel and teammate Kimi Raikkonen making contact with a Mercedes in two of the previous three races, the fight at the sharp end of the F1 grid has intensified both on and off track.

Following contact with Raikkonen on lap one of the British Grand Prix, Hamilton referred to "interesting tactics" from Ferrari and seemed to suggest he and Mercedes teammate Bottas were being targeted, with Bottas also having his race compromised through contact with Vettel in France.

When asked to elaborate on his comments, Hamilton replied: "All I'd say is it's now two races one of the Ferraris has taken out one of the Mercedes."

Vettel quickly shot down any suggestions of foul play, saying: "It's quite silly to think that anything that happened was deliberate. I, at least, would struggle to be that precise and take somebody out."

Hamilton apologised for his comments in an Instagram post a few days later, but not before Raikkonen's wife Minttu had suggested Hamilton should "take up ballet" if he continues "crying like a girl".

Shots fired!