28 AUTOSPORT.COM 1 AUGUST 2019RACE CENTRE GERMAN GP
LEWIS HAMILTON SEBASTIAN VETTEL PIERRE GASLYDANIEL RICCIARDO ROMAIN GROSJEAN LANDO NORRISVALTTERI BOTTAS CHARLES LECLERC MAX VERSTAPPENNICO HULKENBERG KEVIN MAGNUSSEN CARLOS SAINZ JRMERCEDES FERRARI RED BULL
RENAULT HAAS MCLAREN
Issues on the
brakes in
qualifying meant
he wasn’t able
to join his team-mate
on the front row. For
much of the race
he was thereabouts
without ever looking
like a victory
contender, but he
did struggle with
passing slower cars
before crashing out
of fourth place.Qualified ninth
and maybe could
have done one
place better. But
he excelled in the early
stages of the race to
get to the front of
‘Class B’, at one point
well ahead of next-
best Raikkonen. Was in
the hunt for a possible
podium when he went
off at the penultimate
corner and nosed into
the wall.Until he was
unable to take
part in Q3, he
looked destined
for pole and perhaps
even a maiden GP win.
Fuel system control
module problem put
paid to that, but he’d
done well to get up to
second and perhaps
within striking
distance of Verstappen
when he crashed at the
penultimate corner.Used capricious
latest-spec Haas,
with upgrades to
the bargeboards
and front wing, for
much of the weekend
and was, at times, very
competitive. But failed
to make Q3 after a
lock-up on his final lap.
Gambled on staying
on wets early on and
briefly ran second but
largely spent the race
in the midfield.A few errors in
Q3 prevented
him challenging
for pole, but did
at least beat Bottas to
the front row. Spent
the first 29 laps behind
the Merc drivers, not
helped by a spin after
switching to mediums,
but picked up the lead
thanks to Hamilton’s
problems and jumping
back to inters quicker
than Bottas.Proved he’d
made progress
by putting the
car seventh,
although arguably
a third-row slot was
there for the taking. A
spin on the notorious
Turn 16 runoff looked
to have ruined his race
and dropped him from
eighth to 14th, but
switching to fresh
inters when others first
took slicks paid off.Wasn’t at his
best in qualifying
but capitalised
on the absence
of the Ferraris to bag
pole. For the first 28
laps he had the race
under control and was
0.3-0.4s quicker than
Bottas until he slid off
under the safety car.
A 5s penalty, a Turn 1
spin and several more
pitstops dropped him
to an eventual ninth.Renault had a
difficult run
through practice,
but he should
have got into Q3,
instead failing to string
together a lap by a few
hundredths. His race
was ended early with
an exhaust failure, but
he’d been unable to
make an impact owing
to a brake temperature
offset that caused
front-left locking.Again appeared
to be the slower
Ferrari driver,
although his
intercooler problem
meant he never had
a chance in qualifying.
He climbed rapidly
in the early going
but was only really
comfortable once
it dried up, before
picking off the top
midfield cars to
take second.Ran the
Australia-spec
Haas for the
second race in
succession, taking it
to sixth in qualifying.
Ran seventh early on,
but started the race’s
second phase in 15th
after losing time in
the pits due to Leclerc
being released in front
of him. Plugged away
for a points finish after
Magnussen clash.Crashing on
Friday wasn’t a
good start, but
did a great job in
qualifying to lap just
three thousandths
slower than his
team-mate before his
time was disallowed.
After slipping to
eighth, he plugged
away in the mid pack.
Retired after clipping
Albon while trying
to take sixth.Qualifying was a
disappointment
as he exited
in Q1 but,
despite taking full
responsibility, a
battery problem did
cost him a tenth or so.
His race didn’t last
long before he lost
power while trying
to climb the order,
meaning he had little
opportunity to make
up for Saturday.TORO ROSSO ROOKIE STANDS OUT
WITH SOLE MAXIMUM SCORE
Alexander Albon’s sixth-placed finish on his first experience of a
Formula 1 car in the wet makes him Autosport’s star of Hockenheim
EDD STRAW