Germany – Race: Max Verstappen at the End of Madness

The long-awaited rain finally appeared just in time for the start. In response, the FIA once again prioritized safety and initiated the formation lap behind the safety car. To be precise, it was four formation laps under this regime. Many drivers could be heard urging for the race to start quickly as the conditions were manageable. Their demands were heeded, and a standing start took place.

The start was very clean but completely missed by both Red Bull cars. At the first corner, the two Mercedes were at the forefront ahead of the surprising Kimi Räikkönen, who had to concede his position the next lap to Max Verstappen’s return. However, the Ferraris made a significant comeback as they were already sixth (Leclerc) and 13th (Sebastian Vettel) by the end of the second lap. The second lap was marked by Sergio Perez’s off-track exit during acceleration, bringing out the safety car.

LAP 3/64

SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED

Sergio Perez is out after colliding with the wall 🔥

Multiple cars returning to the pits for intermediate tyres #F1 #GermanGP 🇩🇪 https://t.co/doibw77DbH

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 28, 2019

It was then a dive into the pits for half the grid to switch from wets to intermediates. As often happens in such situations, there was congestion in the pits. Ferrari released Charles Leclerc just in front of Romain Grosjean’s Haas. The stewards eventually decided that the incident warranted only a financial penalty for the team and not a penalty for the driver.

Kevin Magnussen made the choice to stay on track, which propelled him to second position! However, he could not resist the return of the drivers who opted for intermediates and was forced to pit again on the 9th lap. Pierre Gasly, on the other hand, was struggling in the early laps, finding himself last by the 7th lap.

On the 15th lap, Renault’s hopes went up in smoke along with Daniel Ricciardo’s engine as the Australian was in 12th place. To clear his car, a Virtual Safety Car regime was implemented. Charles Leclerc and Nico Hülkenberg then dove into the pits to switch to a new set of intermediate tires. The Monegasque’s stop was not perfect due to a problem with the front-right, but he didn’t lose any positions. Most importantly, he was able to set a blistering pace on the drying track, initially going two to three seconds faster than the competition.

Haas decided to adopt a strategy that was decidedly different from everyone else as Kevin Magnussen was the first to switch to soft slicks on the 23rd lap, precisely when the rain was returning to the German circuit… Ferrari decided to mimic the American team by bringing Sebastian Vettel in a lap later. While attacking behind Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen also dove into the pit lane to switch to mediums, which forced Mercedes to follow suit a lap later. But the threat was not imminent as the Dutchman executed a spectacular spin.

In this crazy context, it was Lando Norris’s turn to cause a VSC after having to retire due to an engine failure. Ferrari took advantage of this to switch Charles Leclerc to soft tires, thus benefiting from a free pit stop compared to the competition. Sensing a great opportunity, the Monegasque attacked but pushed a bit too hard, causing him to go off the track at the last corner! Furious, he was unable to get his car out of the gravel trap. The safety car then re-entered the track.

But at the same time, Lewis Hamilton, who had just stopped to switch to slicks, went off the track at the same place as the Ferrari driver. Nevertheless, the Briton was able to get out of the gravel but not without tearing off half of his front wing. The world championship leader rushed into the pits, but the team was not ready. There was a mix-up in the Mercedes garage, which was unprepared and didn’t know whether to switch back to softs or wet tires. He remained stationary for nearly 50 seconds, with an unusual panic among the mechanics. To make matters worse, as he entered the pits from the wrong side of the pit lane bollard, he received a five-second penalty.

The whole field then went back through the pits to switch to intermediate tires suitable for the wet track. When the race resumed on lap 34, the top 10 were quite surprising: Verstappen, Hülkenberg, Bottas, Albon, Hamilton, Sainz, Räikkönen, Vettel, Gasly and Giovinazzi.

The two Mercedes then had no trouble overtaking Nico Hülkenberg’s Renault, which was in a position to finally secure his first F1 podium. But history had it that this race would remain crazy until the end. Indeed, the German made the same mistake as Charles Leclerc a few minutes earlier. Once again, the safety car was deployed to clear the Renault. Red Bull then took advantage of Max Verstappen’s lead to bring him in again to switch to a new set of intermediates. He was able to rejoin ahead of the two Mercedes, much to the delight of his thousands of fans in the stands.

During the restart, Lewis Hamilton was somewhat caught off guard and found himself under threat from Alex Albon. However, the overtaking attempt did not bear fruit, and the Thai driver was overtaken by the drivers directly behind him. But after a lap, everyone pitted again to switch back to slicks. Lewis Hamilton then served his penalty, which brought him out in 12th position. The top 10 was even more insane: Verstappen, Stroll, Kvyat, Bottas, Sainz, Albon, Magnussen, Gasly, Vettel, and Grosjean!

On the 52nd lap, Lewis Hamilton came very close to a disaster, spinning at full speed in the first corner. Nevertheless, he was lucky not to hit anything and was able to resume without any damage. This was not the case for his teammate five laps later, who did the same maneuver but ended up in the wall! Once again, the safety car was forced to appear on the track for a thrilling finale.

Indeed, Sebastian Vettel, unleashed, made a series of overtakes in the final laps, getting the better of Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll, and Daniil Kvyat! Still in a position to score big points, Pierre Gasly collided with the back of Alex Albon, which snapped his front wing, caused a puncture, and thus forced his retirement.

The final top 10 is therefore unprecedented: Verstappen, Vettel, Kvyat, Stroll, Sainz, Albon, Räikkönen, Giovinazzi, Grosjean, and Magnussen!

Confirmation of the final positions from an unforgettable race at Hockenheim ⏱️#GermanGP #F1 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/ea8y1zqGE3

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 28, 2019

From our special correspondent in Hockenheim