Vettel crash brings victory to Hamilton – sport.ORF.at

Lewis Hamilton won the Grand Prix of Germany with a good catch-up and luck on Sunday. The world champion won a varied race at the Hockenheimring ahead of teammate Mercedes Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen in Ferrari.

Ferrari star Sebastian Vettel slipped to the top of the track and missed the chance on the first win at Hockenheimring, but also had to give up the championship lead in Hamilton. The German, still eight points ahead of the Mercedes star before his home race, is now 17 points behind.

Hamilton must shudder briefly

Hamilton however had to shake because of a forbidden maneuver in the safety car But in the end, Hamilton got away with a warning. The Englishman had entered the pit lane in the safety car phase, then ironed on the track by the lines and a green belt.

Even with a possible five-second penalty, he would be from first to second behind Botta fallen. The commissioners responsible acknowledged the violation of the rules Sunday night. They pointed out in the verdict almost three hours after the race, that Hamilton has endangered anyone. In addition, he and the team openly acknowledged the mistake in the hectic final phase.

Mercedes 'first victory in Germany

It was Mercedes' 80th win for Mercedes and a very special one for Hamilton. The Briton was only 14th after a technical problem in qualifying, the goal of his team was fifth. But in the end, it was his fourth win of the season and the 66th of his career. Mercedes was also satisfied with the first double win in Germany.

"It was very difficult, but you still have to believe it.I prayed a long time before the start of the race, the team did a great job," Hamilton said immediately after the race. "The car was fantastic, I believed it and gave it all, the conditions were perfect for us after all, I am very grateful for the team, everyone worked hard and believed in me."

Reuters / Wolfgang Rattay

At the awards ceremony, the sky finally opened its locks

There was no problem at the start Vettel defended pole position in front of Bottas, behind Max Verstappen in the Red Bull but once, he briefly put pressure on Raikkonen. After three rounds, this quartet had already taken a little advance, Hamilton was already eleventh and was also pushed into the points a little later. Red Bull rider Daniel Ricciardo, who started from the last row and was the only driver with medium tires, also missed some spots, but found himself stuck in traffic – also because of slower tires .

Vettel almost four seconds before Bottas, who drove just before Räikkönen and Verstappen. Hamilton had already advanced to sixth place at the time, competition in the midfield apparently had little Mercedes to oppose.

Early tire change at Räikkönen

A little later, Räikkönen was the first rider to pick up new tires. a stop not quite perfect just ahead of Hamilton in fourth place on the track. The Finn was the fastest after that and was able to stop the World Champion's recovery for the moment after running halfway through the pack. Ricciardo entered the top 10 on the 20th lap. Vettel changed the tires on the 26th lap and placed himself directly in front of Hamilton

Pentathlon for the podium

This meant that the podium for the top five was already reserved Ricciardo, sixth, was almost 40 seconds behind him. A few minutes later, the Australian had to park his Red Bull with engine problems next to the track.

At Mercedes and Red Bull Bottas and Verstappen took the second set of tires, so only Hamilton was not in the pits. Raikkonen reported blisters on his tires

Vettel gets angry

Apparently noticed the Vettel, because he was complaining on the radio, that he had to drive as a faster driver behind his teammate and his tires would also be damaged. On the 39th lap, the Finn clearly indicated that he had to spare his tires – a few seconds later, Vettel was back at the front of the peloton and immediately stood out from his teammate.

There was one behind Same situation at Mercedes, Bottas put pressure on Hamilton, whose tires are now significantly reduced. The world champion took a surprise risk and allowed the qualifying tires to rise despite a recent rain warning. However, it was not necessarily the best decision at the moment, as the track was sometimes wet. Räikkönen slipped off the track and lost second place to Bottas

Rain adds variety

Before the start, the probability of rain was 60%, some teams picking up rain tires after two-thirds of the race. come back again. Red Bull opted for Intermediums in fifth, making his laps, but he also found Soft soon after.

Reuters / Ralph Orlowski

The race is over for the local hero Vettel

In the 52nd round, the leader was caught in conditions Extremely difficult track run: Vettel crashed in front of the Ferrari fans and had to bury the dream of his first win at Hockenheim again. "I was just a little late on the brakes, the tires were not cool and very cold," Vettel said in the ORF interview. "You are still testing, it's wet?" I was just a tick late, "I gave it a relatively unspectacular hand." In the sandbox, I liked being, not today. "

Hamilton takes command

There was a Saftey-Car-Phase and ahead for Raikkonen ahead of Hamilton and Bottas. After another tire change at Raikkonen, the Mercedes duo was at the top. Ten laps before the end of the race, the safety car came back and the race started again

. This was particularly important for Bottas, who gave equal pressure to the world champion and pushed Toto Wolff up. But Hamilton managed to repel the attack from his teammate and went into high gear after several laps.

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