F1 - German Grand Prix: Hamilton Wins from 14th, Vettel Crashes from P1
The drama started in qualifying, when at the end of Q1, Hamilton ran wide over the exit curbs of Turn 1, getting airborne, before slowing to a halt in the middle sector with a hydraulics failure. After attempting to push the car back to the pitlane, he eventually let the marshals remove the car from the circuit, and would take no further part in qualifying. Hamilton would have started 15th, if it weren't for Daniel Ricciardo already taking tactical engine penalties in preparation for Hungary.
However, in the early stages of the race, Ricciardo's engine failed on him, stopping in the same place as Hamilton did in qualifying, putting them on the back foot for Hungary, a circuit where they arguably could be fastest.
The race itself remained pretty calm, despite a lot of overtaking. During the pit stops, Vettel's teammate Raikkonen jumped him for the lead, and remained there for a lot of the 2nd half of the race, with Vettel resorting to falling behind by a few seconds to prove to Ferrari just how much faster he was out of the dirty air.
Eventually, Ferrari got on the radio to Raikkonen to tell him to let Vettel through, with flashbacks to the infamous 2010 incident at the same circuit, however this year it was a bit less to the point.
Hamilton was still yet to pit on lap 42 of 67, as he was waiting for the rain to come, however his tires just couldn't hold on.
But on lap 44, the rain was coming down heavily, but just at the hairpin of Turn 6, however the rain slowly made its way across the circuit, catching out Charles Leclerc, who span 360 degrees out of Turn 1.
The rain also meant teams were splitting strategies, with some drivers opting for inters and some dries. However, Toro Rosso decided they would look outside the box for their strategy and put Gasly on extreme wet tires, on a circuit that was only half damp. Crazy as the strategy was, it did mean that for the first time in F1 history, every compound of tire was represented on track at the same time, with a mixture of Ultrasoft, Soft, Medium, Intermediate and Full Wets used.
Come lap 51 the rain was worsening, with drivers spinning and locking up all over the circuit, but the drama peaked when race leader Sebastian Vettel crashed out from his home race in the stadium section, with a tearful apology on the radio to the team apologizing.
A safety car followed, with drivers coming in for dry tires due to the rain easing off. Hamilton however was rightly confused with his orders, being told to box, before frantically being told to stay out then come in again in the space of a few seconds. He crossed the grass from the pit entry back onto the circuit, for which he was investigated but not penalized for in the end.
On the restart, Mercedes lead one-two, however that was almost a double DNF, with Bottas attacking Hamilton aggressively, and almost ironically colliding on the entry to the Mercedes Grandstand corner, after which Mercedes ordered Bottas, with an apology, to hold station behind Hamilton, to which Valtteri duly agreed to.
Full Results:
