Hamilton in misery, Pole for Vettel! / Formula 1 SPEEDWEEK

Formula 1

By Vanessa Georgoulas – 21.07.2018 16:12

At the eleventh qualification of the year at Hockenheimring, world champion Lewis Hamilton had to swallow a bitter pill. The Mercedes driver is allowed at Q1 a race – and had to pay dearly.

While the third free practice on the Hockenheimring was shortened by heavy rain, the GP stars were able to get back on the slicks for qualification, Sauber's two drivers, Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson, who had secured the first two positions on the timesheets during the last free practice session, left with pilots Williamsy Sirotkin and Lance Stroll from the start.

The quartet did not stay alone for long, and Ferrari stars Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen and Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas left seven minutes after the start of the session to make their first appearance. fast turns. Only the two Red Bull Racing drivers Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo have taken even more time.

The latter will have to face the eleventh confrontation since the last place of the grid, because in his runner new engine components had been installed, which exceeded the authorized quota. Nevertheless, the Australian participated in the final training

After the first quick test on ultra-soft tires, Vettel took first place ahead of teammate Raikkonen, Bottas, Hamilton, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Grosjean, Ricciardo, Leclerc and Ericsson. Behind the top 10, Kevin Magnussen, Esteban Ocon, Sergio Perez, Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Brendon Hartley, Stroll, Sirotkin and Stoffel Vandoorne complete the timesheet. The Belgian, who was the slowest on the pitch, as he was on Friday, showed gearshift problems, as he reported on the pit radio.

After the GP stars made another quick test, Raikkonen was the fastest of the two Ferrari drivers. With 1: 12.505 min, however, he remains only 33 thousandths faster than his team mate from Heppenheim. Behind them Bottas, Grosjean, Hamilton, Leclerc, Magnussen, Verstappen, Ricciardo and Sainz took the other 10 first ranks. Perez, Hulkenberg, Ericsson, Alonso and Sirotkin also made the jump in Q2, while Ocon, Gasly, Hartley, Stroll and Vandoorne were the first losers.

Also for Champion Hamilton, the final training was over because a wild race on the vibrators made him nervous on the tenth lap. The four-time champion tried his silver arrow with muscular power to bring back the pits, but eventually he had to close because his team had warned him that he could further damage the pits. 39, drive unit.

In addition, a look at the sporting regulations reveals that the change would not have been successful anyway, because according to article 33.2, any driver who stays on the track during from the last workout will be automatically eliminated. The body language of the Brit showed how much he was struck by this.

The team reported that a loss of hydraulic pressure had resulted in a bitter end. The former Mercedes driver and 2016 champion Nico Rosberg commented in light of television footage: "Probably went with those hard knocks, which suffered his car during his commute, the gearbox." And the German asked with his eyes on his former teammates disappointed: "I've never seen Lewis suffer so much, that's new."

Red flag at Due to Marcus Ericsson

The competition went on without doing anything and Hamilton's teammate took the lead with 1: 12.962 ahead of Raikkonen, Vettel, Magnussen, Grosjean, Hulkenberg, Perez, Leclerc, Verstappen, Alonso, Sainz and Ericsson. The Swede made a sensation in the 13th corner during his first quick lap with a rotation on the gravel.

Ericsson was able to return to the pits by itself, but was able to spread gravel on the track. interrupted – much to the chagrin of Verstappen, Hülkenberg and Sainz, who just wanted to make their fast turn at the moment.

After nine minutes, the track was released, but the GP stars only came back shyly. The first to see again was Ericsson, who had not finished his first quick attempt to get into the gravel. Also Verstappen moved soon after – and on ultra-soft tires, as 18 of the 19 other Formula 1 drivers too. Only Fernando Alonso had left the tires soft for his first attempt at Q2.

Verstappen came second with 1: 12.188 minutes behind Bottas. However, the Dutchman only needed 36 thousandths of the Finnish Q2's best time before the break. Also Raikkonen, Vettel, Magnussen, Grosjean, Hulkenberg, Leclerc, Sainz and Perez made the jump in the top 10 barrage. For Alonso, Sirotkin Ericsson, Hamilton and Ricciardo, however, the final training was over

After the first round of the Q3, the local hero Vettel was able to enjoy the best lap in 1: 11.539 min. The Heppenheimer was 0.170 seconds faster than Bottas, who ranked second ahead of Raikkonen, Verstappen, Grosjean, Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Leclerc, Sainz and Perez.

Also, the second round did not change the first position – Vettel was happy with 1: 11.212 min on his fifth pole of the season – and the 55th of his career – happy. Behind them, Bottas, Raikkonen, Verstappen, Magnussen, Grosjean, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Leclerc and Perez.