The heat is on in the Formula One world championship arriving at the German Grand Prix, as Europe embraces unusually sweltering conditions. Join The Roar for a live blog from 11:10pm AEST.
A hot Hockenheim, which will likely host its grand prix in the short-term plays host to the eleventh round of the championship – having reached the halfway point in the season.
Celebrating their 200th grand start and 125 years of racing, Mercedes-Benz have sponsored their own home event, with the Silver Arrows chasing an unbeaten record in Germany during the hybrid era.
Regardless of their past form, Mercedes are cautious of the abnormally warmer conditions, given their struggles in similar temperatures at the Austrian Grand Prix. Could Red Bull and Ferrari be in the hunt?
Sebastian Vettel will certainly hope so, having never won a race in Hockenheim and famously crashing out of this event twelve months ago. Though of late, its been the German’s teammate Charles Leclerc who has been the form driver – along with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
67 laps will be raced across the 4.5km Hockenheimring, with one less DRS zone for the drivers to utilise for overtaking. Expect divided strategies across the board as per usual, though if the threat of rain is realised then all predictions can be scrapped all together.
Mercedes had no challenge during qualifying, as they qualified in the top three whilst Ferrari imploded with reliability problems on both cars – despite having been fastest in all three practice sessions.
2018 winner Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position ahead of Verstappen, while teammate Valtteri Bottas will share the second row of the grid with Pierre Gasly.
Leclerc provisionally starting out of tenth, but for Vettel; the German faces starting his home race from dead last on the grid.
A season best qualifying for Kimi Räikkönen in fifth puts Alfa Romeo as best of the rest, ahead of midfield rivals from McLaren and Renault in Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg.
Surprise top ten appearances from Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez on paper appear positive, though with faster cars such as the Ferraris behind them and even Daniel Ricciardo in thirteenth – their chances of holding on look quite slim.
Will the Silver Arrows reign supreme on home soil, or will the forecasted rain play its hand to upset the leaders in favour of an outside victor?
It has all the ingredients to be another race to remember, so join me on The Roar from 11:10pm AEST for what is poised to be a cracker of a German Grand Prix.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Well that wraps up this live blog of the German Grand Prix. Quick turnaround before F1 is back on track in Hungary next week. Thanks again for tuning in tonight and I'll be back for the Hungarian Grand Prix next Sunday. Ciao!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Thoughts on that race Roarers?
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
-------- DRIVER'S -------- 223 - Lewis Hamilton 184 - Valtteri Bottas 162 - Max Verstappen 141 - Sebastian Vettel 120 - Charles Leclerc 55 -- Pierre Gasly 48 -- Carlos Sainz 31 -- Kimi Räikkönen 27 -- Daniil Kvyat 22 -- Lando Norris 22 -- Daniel Ricciardo 18 -- Lance Stroll 17 -- Nico Hulkenberg 15 -- Kevin Magnussen 15 -- Alexander Albon 13 -- Sergio Perez 5 --- Antonio Giovinazzi 4 --- Romain Grosjean 0 --- Robert Kubica 0 --- George Russell
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
----- CONSTRUCTOR'S ----- 407 - Mercedes AMG 261 - Scuderia Ferrari 217 - Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 70 -- McLaren Renault 42 -- Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 39 -- Renault 36 -- Alfa Romeo Racing 31 -- Racing Point Mercedes 19 -- Haas Ferrari 0 --- Williams Mercedes
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
With the script for a Silver Arrows victory in their 200th grand prix torn up with a few drops of rain, the German Grand Prix proved to be a thriller, with Max Verstappen braving the conditions to win. The Safety Car led four formation laps, before the race started proper from a standing start, where Verstappen immediately lost ground and the Alfa Romeo of Kimi Räikkönen looked to challenge Valtteri Bottas in second. Pole sitter Lewis Hamilton led away unchallenged, as cars behind began to become unstuck, with Sergio Perez the first of seven retirees during the incident laden race. Drivers gambled with slick tyres too early in the race, only to have more rain make the track greasier. Daniel Ricciardo dropped out of the race with a mechanical issue, as did Lando Norris in that time. The first big name to crash out was Charles Leclerc on Lap 29, just as he was in a position on the soft tyres to threaten Hamilton for the lead. Having lost his car on the drag-strip to the outside of the final corner – the Ferrari driver triggered another Safety Car. There was then a flurry of activity in the pit-lane, with the drivers electing to switch back to the intermediate tyre, which the likes of Alexander Albon and Nico Hulkenberg were already on – thus rocketing up the order. Hamilton’s race began to unravel after the Leclerc crash, with the Briton damaging his front-wing by going off where the Ferrari did and then having been hit with a 5-second penalty for driving around the pit-entry bollard incorrectly. Verstappen, having survived a 360 degree spin himself, was now leading the race and Bottas had passed Hulkenberg to be running second. This was before Lap 41 where the German crashed his Renault in the same spot as Leclerc. Another Safety Car was deployed, which benefitted Lance Stroll and Daniil Kvyat, who both gambled for slick tyres on Lap 46. Sebastian Vettel, who started the race from the rear of the field also benefitted in this period. There was one last twist in the tale though for Mercedes, with Bottas going into the wall on the outside of Turn 1 on Lap 57, which is where also Hamilton survived a spin earlier. After one final Safety Car period, Verstappen led Kvyat and a very fast Vettel was quick to displace Carlos Sainz and Stroll, before passing the Russian on the penultimate lap. An emphatic podium was completed by Vettel in second, after his qualifying disaster and charge up the grid, whilst for Kvyat it was his first podium since China 2016 and Toro Rosso’s second ever podium. Season best results followed for Stroll and Albon in fourth and sixth respectively, with Sainz in between them. The reliable Räikkönen led his Alfa Romeo teammate Antonio Giovinazzi in seventh, whilst Haas despite clashing again on-track both secured points with Romain Grosjean ahead of Kevin Magnussen.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
STANDBY FOR RACE REPORT AND UPDATED STANDINGS
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Roar Guru
POST-RACE INTERVIEWS - Hosted by Martin Brundle VERSTAPPEN - "Amazing to win, but it was tricky out there." "It was all about trying to not make mistakes." VETTEL - "It was a long race, it was a lot of fun." "I'm just happy." "I had good moves down the back straight." KVYAT - "It was amazing, incredible for Toro Rosso after so many years." "I'm really happy." "It was a horror movie with a bit of black comedy..."
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RESULTS FROM THE 64-LAP GERMAN GRAND PRIX 1 M. Verstappen [FASTEST LAP] 2 S. Vettel 3 D. Kvyat 4 L. Stroll 5 C. Sainz 6 A. Albon 7 K. Räikkönen 8 A. Giovinazzi 9 R. Grosjean 10 K. Magnussen 11 L. Hamilton 12 R. Kubica 13 G. Russell RET P. Gasly RET V. Bottas RET N. Hulkenberg RET C. Leclerc RET L. Norris RET D. Ricciardo RET S. Perez
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS THE GERMAN GRAND PRIX! And what a cracker of a race it was, which sees Sebastian Vettel come from last on the grid to finish second. And for the first time since China 2016, Daniil Kvyat is on the podium in what is only the second ever podium for Toro Rosso!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 64/64: FINAL LAP
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 63/64: Vettel now moves into second! He's passed Kvyat now to move into second and if only there was more laps remaining in this race...
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 62/64: DRS enabled as there are 3 laps to go in this thrilling race. Vettel swoops past the Racing Point of Stroll and moves into the podium places, after starting last on the grid! Gasly has gone off with a broken front-wing and he makes contact with Albon.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 61/64: Vettel now will have a go at Stroll and try and do what Bottas couldn't earlier.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 60/64: 5 LAPS TO GO Clean getaway for Verstappen and Kvyat, while Vettel is looking to pass Sainz and he gets the job done at the hairpin. Albon shoves his way past Gasly for sixth in a spectacular move!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 59/64: SAFETY CAR IN THIS LAP Vettel currently holds the fastest lap too, which means he is on course for an extra championship point.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 58/64: SAFETY CAR Verstappen leads Kvyat then, but the intrigue lies behind with Stroll only barely holding onto third before Bottas crashed and Sainz and Vettel behind looking very quick.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 57/64: SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED Bottas goes into the wall! Mercedes' 200th grand prix is definitely one to forget, as Bottas is off at Turn 1 where his teammate also spun. Hamilton makes yet another stop from dead last in the field.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 56/64: Replay showing both the Haas cars clashing again...
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 55/64: Vettel sets the fastest lap of the race with a 1:17.045 and closing in on Sainz, who isn't being helped by Stroll holding up Bottas.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 54/64: Vettel passes Albon for sixth and will now charge after Sainz ahead and the possibility of a podium. Hamilton has to pit again for another set of tyres.