2018 German F1 Grand Prix: Hamilton wins at Hockenheim as Vettel suffers his first retirement

The surprise came at the 2018 German F1 Grand Prix, as the race was not won by Sebastian Vettel but by Lewis Hamilton. The championship leader failed to take advantage of the circumstances in his favour, starting from pole position, and made a serious mistake that handed victory to a Hamilton who staged a historic comeback at Hockenheim, having started from 14th place.

Vettel had no trouble holding off Valtteri Bottas at the start, and everything looked very good for victory, which would have been his fifth of the year. He only hit a bad patch when his teammate Kimi Räikkönen gave him an undercut, and the German dropped back for a few laps radioing for the Finn to let him through, which Kimi finally did as he usually does once the order came from the pit wall.

But then the rain arrived, not a full downpour but affecting only certain sectors of the Hockenheim circuit. Chaos ensued, with drivers pitting for tyre changes (decisions that were in no case correct), drivers dancing through the wet corners… And with Vettel hitting the wall after entering a corner too quickly. His first retirement of the year and a mental blow for a driver who already saw himself as the winner and, after this race, the leader.

A childish error that put Vettel out of the race, brought out the safety car, and handed victory to Lewis Hamilton. The Briton had done what was expected up to that point, which was to recover at least to fifth place, but with the rain, Vettel’s error, the safety car, and Verstappen’s mistake in fitting wet tyres… In short, everything fell in his favour and he did not waste the opportunity, setting dry-weather times even with some sections still wet.

As for the Spanish drivers, Hockenheim will not be a pleasant memory. On one hand, Fernando Alonso did not have his best day; he gambled on the intermediates, it did not work out, and he even failed to complete the race by pitting on the last lap. On the other, Carlos Sainz finished tenth, but received a ten-second penalty for overtaking under the safety car, so he said goodbye to the point he had clawed back.

The complete classification of the German Grand Prix was as follows:

Following this race, Lewis Hamilton has reclaimed the lead, as Vettel stays on the same 171 points he arrived with, while the British driver rises to 183 points thanks to the 25 he earned for the win. The championship has swung back to Lewis, just when least expected. Hopefully the Hungarian GP, just one week away, will also give us as much to talk about.