Germany – Qualifying: A pole, Hamilton pushed back to 14th, ideal scenario for Vettel!

Sebastian Vettel didn’t ask for that much. Already ahead with an eight-point lead in the standings, the German benefited from the misfortune/error of the Englishman, who suffered a hydraulic failure after going off on the kerb of the first corner. A godsend for him as he secures his first pole position at home, marked with the Prancing Horse emblem.

Present in FP3, the rain eventually evaporated from the Hockenheim sky just as the first light turned green for Q1. Everything had to be redone for the drivers on a dry, fresh track with cooler temperatures: from 50 degrees on Friday to 30 degrees on the German tarmac.

Q1: Hamilton defeated by KO technique!

In the lead at the end of the FP3, Charles Leclerc was one of the first drivers to clock a time of 1:15.203. Meanwhile, Stoffel Vandoorne was experiencing difficulties with his gearbox. The Belgian did not have the opportunity to assist his teammate, Fernando Alonso, as instructed by his team over the radio. Atmosphere… Up front, times naturally improved as the session progressed. Sebastian Vettel took the lead ten minutes before the end with a 1:12.765, a first warm-up for the favorites. He was ahead of Kimi Räikkönen by 29 milliseconds, Lewis Hamilton by four-tenths, and Max Verstappen by six-tenths.

With 5 minutes remaining, Sainz, Hartley, Stroll, Sirotkin, and Vandoorne were at risk of elimination. However, the track conditions kept improving. This led to an interesting end of the session: Sainz and Sirotkin managed to get through, at the expense of two of our French drivers: Gasly and Ocon, unfortunately eliminated in Q1. On the other side of the standings, a special mention to Romain Grosjean, who clocked the fourth-best time.

Shock, however, for Lewis Hamilton who finished his last lap in slow motion, stuck in first gear! A few seconds later, the Briton was forced to get out of his car. The slow-motion revealed a hydraulic failure on his machine, after going over the curb, at the outside of the first corner. A problem identical to the one encountered by Bottas during the Austrian Grand Prix.

Hamilton’s trying to push the car back to the pits 😲

It’s looking like he won’t make Q2!#GermanGP 🇩🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/BMOm7Kb4gp

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 21

Enraged, the four-time world champion offered a comical scene, trying to push his Mercedes back to the pit. Major problem, he was only in the second sector! Gathered at the foot of his stopped car, Lewis Hamilton could only assess the damage: he will therefore start 14th in this German Grand Prix. The drought continues for the one who has achieved “only one pole” in six appearances at Hockenheim.

That’s Lewis Hamilton’s qualifying session over!

He looks distraught 😢#GermanGP 🇩🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/ct37KXvzFS

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 21, /f1/actualite/22842-allemagne-essais-libres-3-leclerc-devant-ericsson-sauber-sillustre-sur-le-mouille-.html

Eliminated in Q1: Ocon, Gasly, Hartley, Stroll, Vandoorne.

Q2: Leclerc advances to Q3 again!

The absence of a Mercedes and a Red Bull (penalized with 20 places, Ricciardo did not take to the track in Q2) gave credit to the mid-grid teams. Two additional places in the top 10 became available! Overenthusiastic, Marcus Ericsson braked a bit too late in the thirteenth corner, in the heart of the Stadium. The Swedish driver went through the gravel trap and managed to return to the track, heavily dirtying it. The red flag was presented two minutes later, giving the marshals time to give a lifesaving sweep… for ten minutes.

A big spin for @Ericsson_Marcus, but he manages to get back to the pits! #GermanGP 🇩🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/O6bTNNyxuf

— Formula 1 (@F1) 21 juillet /f1/actualite/22842-allemagne-essais-libres-3-leclerc-devant-ericsson-sauber-sillustre-sur-le-mouille-.html

An eternity in short before the resumption, which allowed the distribution of the ten tickets for Q3, among thirteen participants.

No issues for the remaining four big guns, as well as the two Haas cars, in fifth (Magnussen) and sixth position (Grosjean). Sainz put in a strong effort to climb into the top 10, at the expense of Alonso, Sirotkin, and Ericsson, who were left out, from the 11th to the 13th place. Meanwhile, it’s the third Q3 for Charles Leclerc! Up front, the best time was set by Bottas, thirty-six thousandths ahead of Verstappen. Vettel remained lurking in the shadows.

Eliminated in Q2: Alonso, Sirotkin, Ericsson, Hamilton, Ricciardo.

Q3: Vettel surgical in the decisive moment!

Four drivers for a pole, that was the scenario at the start of the final qualifying phase. The first timed lap was important for the mental approach going forward. In this little game, Vettel dominated his rivals, taking the best time: 1:11.539. The German was three-tenths faster than his teammate, just in the last sector. Between them was Valtteri Bottas, at 0.17 seconds. Disappointment for Verstappen, nearly eight-tenths behind!

For his part, Romain Grosjean temporarily took fifth place, just ahead of Hülkenberg.

But they had to go again in the final minutes for the conclusion of these qualifications: all improving, the quartet didn’t change at the end of the final launched lap. Even provoked, Vettel snatched the pole with a time of 1:11.212! Bottas tried his best but the Finn ultimately fell short by 0.204 tenths of a second. Behind Räikkönen and Verstappen, it’s ultimately Magnussen who makes a good move by securing fifth place, winning his battle with Grosjean, who is sixth. The two Haas drivers will face off against the two Renault drivers, who will occupy the fourth row at the start. Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez close out this top 10.

Q3 CLASSIFICATION: What a lap from Sebastian Vettel 🔥 #GermanGP 🇩🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/UKS3K0oZXs

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 21 /f1/news/22842-germany-free-practice-3-leclerc-ahead-ericsson-sauber-makes-its-mark-on-wet.html

On the statistics side, this pole is already Sebastian Vettel’s fifth this season, after also securing the first place in Bahrain, China, Azerbaijan, and Canada. He had secured “only” four throughout the entire 2017 season…

Thumbs up from the #GermanGP pole sitter 👍 pic.twitter.com/cTGuWKCvmf

— Formula 1 (@F1) 21 juillet /f1/actualite/22842-allemagne-essais-libres-3-leclerc-devant-ericsson-sauber-sillustre-sur-le-mouille-.html