Hockenheim showed why Sebastian Vettel vs. Lewis Hamilton is at the box office

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This back-and-forth campaign offered another memorable and spectacular show on Sunday in Hockenheim. a result that seemed highly improbable when the cars formed on the unfolded grid in front of our eyes. Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel were in the middle of the race and at the end of the race they traded places at the top of the championship.

In the space of 24 hours, they also exchanged their stories. Vettel had climbed high on Saturday afternoon, celebrating a brilliant pole position by declaring the day one of the best of his career, on the circuit of his hometown and one that he had never won. before. It was a German pilot flying a red car in front of a crowded Hockenheim, a return to the era of Michael Schumacher doing the same for Ferrari in the mid-2000s.

Everything seemed to align perfectly for Vettel. With the uncertain future of the German Grand Prix beyond 2018, Vettel's victory would be a good way to complete the current Hockenheim contract.

Compare this to Hamilton's own situation at this stage of the weekend. Recorded from the 14th day after a car breakdown in qualifying, which occurred after racing across turn 1 and grazing the curbs, the quadruple world champion kneeled desperately next to his car. After Ferrari's victory at the Hamilton home race two weeks earlier, the Italian team had issued its press release after the race with the provocative title "A Hammer Blow"; Saturday afternoon, it seemed like he had received another one.

Twenty-four hours later, everything was upside down. Hamilton was celebrating what he described as the greatest momentum of his life while an emotional Vettel wondered how the victory had slipped through his fingers, having collapsed at Sachs Kurve while the storm of rain intensified

. Hamilton encapsulated the competitor. The Englishman carries his emotions on his sleeve and is capable of the most extreme oscillations between the lowest and the highest; he lived both in Hockenheim. He had entered the critical weekend of pronounced Ferrari celebrations at Silverstone – which included Vettel's statement that the team could plant an English flag in Maranello – and on Saturday afternoon quoted Nelson Mandela in response to observers that he enjoyed seeing his last setback. After the race, he alluded to German boos and, in a post on Instagram that was later deleted, he had criticisms of the British broadcaster Sky Sports.

Hamilton has always used these types of setbacks and weaknesses – whether real or imagined – to reinforce his motivation during a season. He did it successfully during the years he fought Nico Rosberg and it's not surprising to see him doing it now in a season that he has described as the most intense of his career up to # 39; here.

On the other hand, Vettel's home race was another wasted opportunity. At times this season, the German has evolved to a higher level than we have ever seen: his form in qualifying, in particular, has been sublime. But he blew big opportunities. In Baku, he locked up Valtteri Bottas and eventually won the order, Hamilton winning a new victory out of nowhere, in France he clumsily hit the Finn in the first round, while in Austria, he won a useless penalty for blocking Carlos. Sain in qualification. Add them all together and there are a lot of points that the German has dropped to Hamilton in their quest to beat the other man to a fifth world championship.

Vettel's last mistake was a crunch under pressure. In the turns leading up to his accident, as the rain slowly increased and the track became wetter, Vettel opened his teammate Raikkonen for about six seconds. Further on, however, Hamilton found a twinkling pace on his ultra-soft tires and had reduced his lead to 11.5 seconds. Hamilton was sneaking up on Vettel and excelling in the conditions that he likes to run, but the win still seemed to be Ferrari's driver to lose – losing is exactly what Vettel did. Vettel can not afford to make the kind of mistake he made in front of his home crowd in a season.

It is turning into a special championship contest between two great all-time F1. In the space of two weeks, both drivers turned into brilliant workouts to defeat others in a home race. Vettel beat Hamilton at Silverstone but, after a late Safety Car, he had to catch up and overtake Valtteri Bottas for the victory, which was celebrated as the sweetest of the year. Hamilton returned the favor last Sunday, overcoming incredible odds to triumph and open a 17-point lead over his closest rival.