After starting from second on the grid, it was Mercedes driver, Lewis Hamilton who was victorious at the German Grand Prix held in Hockenheim. This is Hamilton’s fourth consecutive win, with the British driver winning six of the last seven races on the Formula 1 calendar.
The Man Who Can’t Stop Winning: Lewis Hamilton Wins in Germany:
Marking Hamilton’s sixth win of the season was this weekend’s German Grand Prix, with the reigning world champion experiencing a very straightforward race, leading from turn one of the first lap until the end of lap 67. Through this result, Hamilton has extended his championship lead, leading his Mercedes team mate, Nico Rosberg by 19 points in the drivers standings. Following Hamilton across the line was Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo, with the Australian driver securing his second podium finish in two races. Rounding out the podium positions this weekend was Ricciardo’s team mate, Max Verstappen, securing his fourth podium of the season. By finishing second and third, Red Bull Racing beat both Ferraris, thus moving the four time constructors champions into second in the team standings with 256 points.
It was title hopeful Nico Rosberg who finished in fourth place at his home race, facing a very disappointing race from the outset. Following a poor getaway, getting wheel spin when shfting into third gear at the race start, Rosberg’s race only went downhill, with the Mercedes driver being given a 5 second time penalty for an aggressive manoeuvre on Max Verstappen in turn six. This penalty however, has been described as an incorrect decision by experts and fans alike, with commentators such as Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle disagreeing with the stewards and their verdict after an investigation. Further error came in Rosberg’s pit stops, with Mercedes holding Rosberg for 8 seconds as opposed to the 5 seconds required to serve his penalty in a late pit stop. This then extended Rosberg’s pit stop time to a lengthy 12 seconds, removing him from contention for a podium finish.
Finishing in fifth and sixth place were the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, marking a highly disappointing weekend for the Maranello based team. If this weekend has proved anything, it has proved that Red Bull are getting faster than Ferrari- a sad fact for a team that were hoping to challenge Mercedes this year. Going into Formula 1’s mid season break, Ferrari remain winless, with their closest shot at victory coming from the Spanish Grand Prix back in May.
Force India were the next best team, securing a double points finish in Germany. This came from Nico Hulkenberg who finished the race in seventh, and Mexico’s Sergio Perez who finished in tenth place, bringing Force India a haul of 7 points. McLaren’s Jenson Button finished in eighth place after starting in twelfth, overtaking Williams’ Valtteri Bottas in the final laps of the race, marking Button’s fifth points finish of the season. The German Grand Prix was particularly disappointing for Williams, only securing 2 points from Valtteri Bottas, with Massa retiring from the race after being plagued by problems from a very early stage.
For the fourth time this season, Haas F1’s Esteban Gutierrez finished in eleventh place, narrowly missing out on a points finish yet again. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso finished in twelfth.
One man who will be disappointed will be Renault’s Jolyon Palmer, who narrowly missed out on a points finish in last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix. In qualifying, Palmer managed to get into Q2 for the first time since the season opening Australian Grand Prix. Palmer started in fourteenth place after Romain Grosjean and Carlos Sainz Jr were awarded with grid penalties after a gear box change and blocking during qualifying. Believing that he could finish in the points this weekend, the Brit finished in a low 19th place of the 20 finishers.
Driver of the day is a very hard call. Jenson Button could once again be awarded this for his points finish for McLaren in a race where scoring points was an unlikely prospect. Lewis Hamilton could also be considered, beating his team mate to the line after Rosberg looked so strong in all three practice sessions and in qualifying. However, Daniel Ricciardo has to be driver of the day. Starting in third, Ricciardo finished in second on his 100th Grand Prix race weekend. Not only did Ricciardo gain places but he also challenged Hamilton time and time again, closing in frequently to the Brit. Not only this but Ricciardo also secured the fastest lap of the race, making him a worthy winner driver of the day.
Results from the German GP:
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 25 points
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 18 points
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 15 points
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 12 points
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 10 points
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 8 points
- Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 6 points
- Jenson Button, McLaren, 4 points
- Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 2 points
- Sergio Perez, Force India, 1 point
- Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 0 points
- Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 0 points
- Romain Grosjean, Haas, 0 points
- Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 0 points
- Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 0 points
- Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 0 points
- Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 0 points
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 0 points
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 0 points
- Rio Haryanto, Manor, 0 points
- Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 0 points
- Felipe Massa, Williams, 0 points
Drivers Standings after 12 races:
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 217 points
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 198 points
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 133 points
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 122 points
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 120 points
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 115 points
- Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 58 points
- Sergio Perez, Force India, 48 points
- Felipe Massa, Williams, 38 points
- Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 33 points
- Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 30 points
- Romain Grosjean, Haas, 28 points
- Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 24 points
- Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 23 points
- Jenson Button, McLaren, 17 points
- Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 6 points
- Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1 point
- Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, 1 point
- Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 0 points
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 0 points
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 0 points
- Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 0 points
- Rio Haryanto, Manor, 0 points
Constructors Standings after 12 races:
- Mercedes, 415 points
- Red Bull Racing, 256 points
- Ferrari, 242 points
- Williams, 96 points
- Force India, 81 points
- Toro Rosso, 45 points
- McLaren, 42 points
- Haas, 28 points
- Renault, 6 points
- Manor, 1 point
- Sauber, 0 points
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