The Red Bull driver, having sustained race-long pressure from his Lotus rivals, led home Kimi Raikkonen by just over a second, while Romain Grosjean completed the podium.

As the lights went out, pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton struggled for traction, allowing both Vettel and team-mate Mark Webber through. Felipe Massa was another man to make progress, jumping up to sixth at the expense of Daniel Ricciardo. However, his efforts were undone on Lap 7 when he spun out of the race under braking for the first corner.

The race took a wild turn during the opening pit-stop phase when, following a botched pit-stop, Webber was released with a loose left-rear wheel. The tyre then struck a cameraman who has since been taken to the Military Hospital in Koblenz, with initial reports suggesting back pain and bruising.  The Red Bull driver stopped his car after the incident, before being wheeled back to his pit box and re-joining at the back.

As the race developed, most of the top six – who all started on the Option compound – were quick to switch their degrading Softs for Mediums, but Grosjean brought himself into contention with a 13-lap opening stint. The Frenchman came out just behind Vettel, who resumed his lead after the gaggle of cars on opposing strategies pitted.

After Vettel, Grosjean and Raikkonen emerged as the front three, a bizarre incident involving Marussia's Jules Bianchi threatened to wreack havoc with strategies. Having suffered an engine failure on the run up to the final chicane, the Frenchman parked on the inside of the track, but after stepping out of his car it went on to roll back across the circuit, leading to the deployment of the Safety Car and flurry of pit-stop action.

Vettel maintained his advantage throughout this phase, and stormed away when the action got back underway. However, Grosjean and Raikkonen refused to give up, the pair delivering extremely quick times in a bid to topple the German. As the final stops approached, both Vettel and Grosjean pitted for more Mediums, but Raikkonen stayed out much longer and ultimately opted for a short final stint on the Soft tyres.

This plan soon yielded progress, the Finn overtaking team-mate Grosjean with five laps remaining. He then produced personal best laps in quick succession, closing in on Vettel at a fast rate of knots. But despite his efforts, Vettel held on to take a popular home victory, with Raikkonen having to settle for the second podium step.

Grosjean survived a late scare from Fernando Alonso to take third, while Hamilton fought back to fifth after tyre degradation issues early on. Jenson Button wound up sixth, just ahead of Webber who made good use of the Safety Car to claim a handful of points. Sergio Perez, Nico Rosberg and Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten.

In the championship, Vettel now holds a lead of 34 points over Ferrari rival Alonso, with Raikkonen, a further six points behind, bringing himself back into contention.

Race Results:

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 60 laps 1hr 41m 14.711s
2. Kimi Raikkonen Finand Lotus-Renault +00m 01.0s
3. Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault +00m 05.8s
4. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 07.7s
5. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 26.9s
6. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 27.9s
7. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +00m 37.5s
8. Sergio Perez Mexico McLaren-Mercedes +00m 38.3s
9. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 46.8s
10. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Sauber-Ferrari +00m 49.8s

11. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes +00m 53.7s
12. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Toro Rosso-Ferrari +00m 56.9s
13. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +00m 57.7s
14. Esteban Gutierrez Spain Sauber-Ferrari +00m 60.1s
15. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Renault +00m 61.9s
16. Valtteri Bottas Finland Williams-Renault +1 lap
17. Charles Pic France Caterham-Renault +1 lap
18. Giedo van der Garde Holland Caterham-Renault +1 lap
19. Max Chilton Britain Marussia-Cosworth +1 lap

Rtd. Jean-Eric Vergne France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 22 laps competed
Rtd. Jules Bianchi France Marussia-Cosworth 21 laps completed
Rtd. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 3 laps completed


Fastest lap:

Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 33.468s lap 51