Nico Rosberg once again finished ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton during the second practice session at the German Grand Prix this afternoon.

Having pipped his drivers' championship rival in the first session earlier in the day, the German finished 0.394 seconds in front of Hamilton in another dominant performance from Mercedes.

The new championship leader was still 0.2 seconds clear of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, while Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Jenson Button finished eighth, but the 2009 world champion was then taken to hospital with an eye problem, although McLaren have insisted that it is only a "precautionary check-up".

Hamilton will go into this weekend's Grand Prix with a six-point lead over Rosberg having overcome a 43-point deficit to gain control of the championship.

Second practice rankings:

1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
5. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
6. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
7. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India)
8. Jenson Button (McLaren)
9. Sergio Perez (Force India)
10. Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
11. Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso)
12. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso)
13. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
14. Romain Grosjean (Haas)
15. Felipe Massa (Williams)
16. Kevin Magnussen (Renault)
16. Esteban Gutierrez (Haas)
18. Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
19. Pascal Wehrlein (Manor)
20. Jolyon Palmer (Renault)
21. Rio Haryanto (Manor)
22. Felipe Nasr (Sauber)