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HOCKENHEIM, Germany – Sebastian Vettel must keep up pressure on Lewis Hamilton at this weekend's German Grand Prix.
Midway through the Formula 1 season – the 11th of 21 races – Vettel holds an eight point lead
Vettel started strong, then Hamilton got the upper hand, and now Vettel seems to be back in l & # 39; ascendancy.
Although he leads Hamilton only 4-3 in wins this season, Vettel's most recent win was particularly poignant because it was on Hamilton's home track at Silverstone, where the British pilot had a huge success. Vettel's victory overwhelmed more squalor on Hamilton, considering that he had experienced a rare retirement at the Austrian GP a week earlier.
In previous years, Ferrari was the team experiencing technical problems and a frustrating inconsistency. Now the roles seem reversed, and Mercedes is under pressure.
"We are getting stronger and we have a very, very good group of people," Vettel said Thursday. "The car has potential."
After winning the last four championships of drivers and constructors, often with huge margins, Mercedes is 20 points behind Ferrari. There were communication errors and strategy errors within Mercedes. For Hamilton, who with Vettel is in the running for a fifth F1 title, these problems are hard to accept
Last year, the pressure seemed to affect Vettel more, but this time Hamilton shows signs of tension
. Quickly overtaken from pole position at the British GP, Hamilton was sidelined after a collision with Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen.
After an impressive comeback from last place, Hamilton comments on Ferrari's interesting tactics. "- Involving Raikkonen had done so as part of the team's strategy." Hamilton later apologized, calling his own comment "stupid."
Vettel says that it's not the same thing. was a "dumb" thing for Hamilton to say, but he understood why he was speaking in turn
"We all went there. It's never great if you're touched without doing anything wrong, "said Vettel." It's as good of expressing your opinion, even if it's not fair or not reasonable. It's human. Two weeks ago, we move on to something else.
Mercedes has often taken responsibility for Hamilton's setbacks, up to the top
"We left points on the table and had to limit the damage more often. that we would have wanted, "said Toto Wolff, head of the motorsport team." Much of this was due to our own mistakes. "
With Mercedes wavering, and Hamilton restless, the moment seems Vettel came to hit another shot at Hockenheim on Sunday.
Vettel won the Red Bull Germany GP in 2013, but it was at Nuerburgring. A Hockenheim victory takes on special significance. [19659017"I'mliterallyrighthereit'shalfanhourfromwhereIwasbornandgrewup"saidVettel"Thatwouldmebadottome"
The German race returns after being abandoned last year for financial reasons." The local fans will be in the unusual position of encouraging a German driver (Vettel) in an Italian car, competing against a British driver (Hamilton) and his Finnish teammate, Valtteri Bottas, in German cars
If one of the three wins, it will look like a victory for Germany.
The Hockenheimring, as the circuit is called, is in the region of Baden-Württemberg, in southwestern Germany, bordering France. It has fast straight lines in the first half of the 4.6-kilometer (2.85-mile) track, which means fans can expect a 67-speed battle between Mercedes and Ferrari.
But Red Bull is waiting to leap.
While Red Bull is not as fast as its major rivals, the gap has been filled this season and Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen have three wins between them.
Ricciardo has two wins, while Verstappen is impressive after a difficult start.
The 20-year-old Dutchman – the youngest to win an F1 race and qualify at the front row at age 18 – has achieved four podium finishes in the last six races and shows the kind of form that earned him a new contract record last year
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