Germany: The Hits and Misses from the Editorial Team

The tops

The FIA and its stewards

It is rare enough to point out, but the decisions made during this German Grand Prix by the authorities were remarkable. To begin with, the FIA implemented the procedure of doing several formation laps behind the safety car to assess the track condition before executing a standing start. This allows gathering the necessary elements to ensure safety conditions are met while maintaining the spectacle. The procedure worked perfectly, and we all benefited from it.

Then, when Michael Masi decided to impose only a financial penalty on Ferrari for releasing Charles Leclerc ahead of Romain Grosjean, he showed foresight by considering the context that all drivers were diving into the pit lane due to the safety car. If the Monegasque hadn’t rejoined at that moment, he would have almost certainly rejoined last.

Honda

What a turn of events! When last year, Red Bull announced its switch to Honda, many observers (including yours truly) wondered what mess the team was getting into, as the results had been more than complicated since the return with McLaren.

But it must be noted that the first half of the season was perfectly successful, with two victories by a Max Verstappen truly gaining momentum and race intelligence. But Germany marked an additional step as it was able to place its two teams on the podium with Daniil Kvyat’s third place. The performance is all the more remarkable as Alex Albon finished sixth and Pierre Gasly only retired at the end of the race due to contact with the Thai driver. In the end, the four Honda-powered cars could have legitimately scored big points this weekend.

Life is made of choices, and I prioritize the German rather than the other two on the podium, even Lance Stroll, who could have very well been there with his fourth place. If I choose Sebastian Vettel today, it’s because of the context in which this performance was achieved. He just went through 12 extremely difficult months since his off-track incident on this same circuit while he was leading. He struggled to recover, as shown by his numerous errors since then (Monza, Bahrain, Canada…). Being eliminated in Q1 at home without being able to fight must have been even more frustrating for him.

But there you have it, he managed to lift his head and make no mistakes in the worst possible conditions for a driver, namely incessant changes in grip and therefore tires. While he was anonymous for a large part of the race, he knew how to put everything together in the final sprint to move up to second position.

Start: P20

Finish: P2

An incredible drive by Sebastian Vettel in front of his home fans

And that final push to the second step of the podium was unforgettable #F1 #GermanGP 🇩🇪 @ScuderiaFerrari pic.twitter.com/mzh2nkPfu1

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 28, 2019

The flops

The Haas drivers

The saying goes that bad things come in threes, but this is becoming laughable. Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen collided for the third time this season while the team sits in eighth position in the Constructors’ Championship due to a car that’s completely inconsistent in performance. They got lucky this time as they could have once again sustained enough damage to retire and lose out on points.

“🏁🇩🇪 Checkered flag in Germany! It’s our second double points score of the season! 💪

We come home:
P9 GRO (2pts)
P10 MAG (1pt)
#HaasF1 #GermanGP pic.twitter.com/lrksCZRnh2”
— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) July 28, 2019

Nico Hülkenberg

Yes, the German driver was not the only one to make mistakes, and the conditions were complicated. But they were complicated for everyone. Most importantly, the German is accustomed to this type of situation. He could have been on the podium twice in Baku if he hadn’t crashed into the wall. This time as well, he was in an ideal position to take advantage of a daring strategy and finally make it to a podium that has eluded him since he started in the category, now ten years ago. After all, bad luck doesn’t excuse everything, and it’s high time he learned to capitalize on the opportunities that come his way. Otherwise, he risks being sidelined…

Somewhat like Nico Hülkenberg: his mistake alone doesn’t land him in this flop. If he’s included, it’s because this mistake happened after several laps on an almost dry track during which he was simply unable to seriously threaten Lance Stroll’s Racing Point. Trying too hard, he spun and did not have the luck of his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who made the same spin but did not end up in the wall.

The Finn benefits from the best car in the paddock but needs to show that he truly deserves it. The competition is intense for such a position, and he cannot afford this type of blunders while the team deliberately waits before making a decision about his future.

A difficult and dizzying day for both Mercedes drivers at Hockenheim 🔄 😵#F1 #GermanGP 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/x8u4opjBMT

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 28, 2019

From our special correspondent in Hockenheim