22/07/2018
NEWS STORY
Whether we wanted it or not, in the last couple of weeks a new - or rather old - element has been introduced to Formula One... needle.
By that, we don't mean the Sound of Music version - as in 'needle pulling thread' - rather the slang version which means to "provoke or annoy by continual criticism or questioning".
It began with Lewis Hamilton's comments post-Britain regarding Ferrari's "interesting tactics" - by which he meant Ferraris drivers deliberately crashing into him and his teammate, a claim subsequently supported by team boss Toto Wolff and technical boss James Allison.
Then came Hamilton's questioning of Vettel and Ferrari's Silverstone celebrations, the Briton suggesting that the German, driving for an Italian team, celebrating a win on his 'home soil' was worrying and showed weakness.
Now, after four years of almost total domination, Wolff is questioning the recent improvement from Ferrari and its customer teams.
Ignoring the fact that all reigns come to an end eventually - just ask Ferrari, or McLaren or Williams... the fact is that this new accusatory atmosphere is just what the sport needed.
Thanks to the media - especially a British media still in mourning for the fact that "it isn't coming home" - we now have a world championship that is taking on a pantomime appearance, in the sense of a goodie and a baddie... someone to cheer for and someone to boo and hiss at.
And, in the eyes of the British media, who better as a 'villain' than a German driving an Italian car... the fact that Hamilton is at the wheel of a Silver Arrow quickly forgotten, after all it is built in Brackley.
Much like Nigel Mansell, Hamilton is now playing up to that element in the media, and thereby the public, witness the Mansell-like effort in pushing the car yesterday following its hydraulics failure, followed by the sight of him kneeling beside the car and subsequently (mis)quoting Nelson Mandela.
Seriously, all that's needed now is for Seb to grow a Dick Dastardly (Guenther Steiner) moustache and start wearing all-black overalls.
While Vettel must go into today's race as favourite, especially with his main title rival starting from the seventh row, imagine the media hysteria should Hamilton fight his way through the field to take victory... on German soil... no doubt they'd ditch God save the Queen for the podium ceremony in favour of the theme from The Dambusters.
But let's not rule out Valtteri Bottas or indeed Kimi Raikkonen, both of whom would dearly love to head into the summer break with a win under their belts.
That said, both Ferrari drivers will have to be on their very, very best behaviour, for even a hint of an incident in Turn 1 involving a Mercedes would see tomorrow's headlines created before the first lap had been completed.
And in an age of increasing (Mercedes) paranoia that must go for the Ferrari customer teams also.
Hamilton's heroics can surely only be matched by Ricciardo's revels this afternoon, the Australian unashamedly relishing the prospect of carving his way through the field... and here at the track where he performed his first 'shoey'.
While Ricciardo will be doing his thing, so too will Max Verstappen, who, despite the fact that it was widely thought Red Bull would struggle here, has the chance to totally upset the formbook.
Of course, both Ricciardo and Hamilton will need to spend part of their afternoon in that cauldron that is the midfield, as the battle between Haas, Renault, Force India and Charles Leclerc continues.
And if the Ferrari boys are on notice, that goes double for the Haas duo, and in particular Romain Grosjean, the American outfit still smarting from the missed opportunity that was Silverstone.
Throw in a Fernando Alonso who at times appears to think he's still at the wheel of a championship winning car and therefore entitled to dice with anyone and everyone, not to mention some very frustrated Williams and Toro Rosso drivers and we could be in for some fun and games.
And talking of fun and games, we have, thus far, omitted to mention the weather.
While the predicted 'scattered storms' are still forecast to hit Hockenheim, it currently appears that they will reach the track an hour or so after the race. However, with Ferrari now said to be taking increasingly desperate measure to retain its title leads, it cannot be long before the Italian outfit is accused of employing a couple of Tempestarii among its ranks.
However, rain or no rain, the temperature could also play a part, though even Vettel has witnessed blistering to his rears over the course of the weekend.
Sadly, if it is dry we are in for another one-stopper, which means that, barring a safety car or two later in the day - what we get at the end of lap one is effectively what we'll get at the end of lap 67.
The pitlane opens and as the drivers head to the grid the sun is shining and the sky is blue albeit peppered with some ominously large clouds. Indeed, McLaren reports that "rain has been reported in a nearby town".
As the field prepares to head off on the warm-up lap, the air temperature is 26 degrees C, while the track temperature is 44 degrees. Race control advises that there is a 60% chance of rain.
All are starting on ultras bar Alonso, Sirotkin, Ericsson, Hamilton, Hartley, Stroll, Vandoorne and Gasly who start on softs, while Ricciardo has opted for mediums.
The field heads off on the warm-up lap, all getting away with no issues.
Sainz is warned that showers are developing but it is unclear when they will hit. Hmm, Ferrari's tempestarii have been busy.
They're away
Bottas makes a strong start but Vettel has him covered. As they head into T1 Vettel leads the Finn as Raikkonen and Verstappen are side-by-side. Grosjean makes full use of the large expanse of run-off.
Into T2 there's a big lock-up for Hulkenberg, as the pack manically scrap for position.
The jostling continues on the run to the hairpin, the cars almost five abreast. Another lock-up, this time further back down the field, it's Ocon.
At the end of lap one, it's: Vettel, Bottas, Raikkonen, Verstappen, Magnussen, Hulkenberg, Grosjean, Perez, Sainz and Leclerc. Hamilton is up to 12th and Ricciardo 19th.
Replay shows Grosjean having a slow start and almost being swallowed up by the Renault pair, with Leclerc keeping a watching eye.
Verstappen is all over Raikkonen, the Finn needing to all his experience to keep the Red Bull at bay.
"There's some rain on my visor," warns Raikkonen.
Hamilton closes on Alonso as Vettel builds a 1.8s lead.
Alonso almost allows Hamilton through, then again the Spaniard is aware that the Mercedes is out of position and would be wrong to hold him up.
Leclerc isn't quite so obliging, Hamilton needing to use DRS and late braking to pass the Sauber for tenth.
Hamilton is told of "very light rain at turn 6", while Hulkenberg is warned that his "left-rear is in the danger zone".
As Vettel builds a 2.6s comfort cushion, Hamilton picks off Sainz at the hairpin. Next up is Perez.
On those mediums, Ricciardo reports low grip as he passes Sirotkin fir 15th.
Grosjean reports that he has some angry looking blisters. Moments later the Haas driver runs wide after locking-up, as if to prove the point, allowing Perez to pass him for seventh.
Using some choice Anglo-Saxon, Grosjean claims Perez put him on the f****** grass.
Hamilton makes short work of the struggling Grosjean, as Verstappen drops to 2s behind Raikkonen who is now closing on Bottas.
Ricciardo passes Ericsson for 14th as Hamilton passes Perez for 7th.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Hockenheim, here.
Verstappen enquires about the wind direction at various parts of the track.
"Hulkenberg ahead reporting he has blistering," Hamilton is advised. Moment later Hulkenberg is actually behind.
Ricciardo closes on Alonso as Hamilton hunts down Magnussen.
Sainz and Grosjean having a great scrap for 9th.
Making full use of his DRS, Hamilton sweeps past the Haas on the run to the hairpin, as Raikkonen is the first driver to make a pit stop.
On softs, the Finn rejoins in fourth, just ahead of Hamilton.
Relay shows Alonso overshooting the hairpin as he made a move on Leclerc, thus allowing Ricciardo close in.
Prior to Raikkonen's stop, Hamilton was finally in clear air, now the Briton is stuck in the dirty air of the Ferrari.
On his fresh rubber, Raikkonen posts a new fastest lap (17.581).
Ricciardo finally nails Alonso at the hairpin, the Spaniard attempts to fight back, but, as they say, resistance is futile.
At the end of lap 18, Hulkenberg is the second driver to pit. The German drops from sixth to sixteenth in the process as he switches to mediums.
No sooner has Ricciardo passed Leclerc than the Monegasque retakes the position, however, the Australian soon stamps his authority and experience on the situation.
Magnussen, Sainz and Leclerc all pit at the end of lap 20. The two former switching to mediums, the Sauber to softs.
Next time around Grosjean pits, rejoining on mediums in 16th and almost collecting Sainz in the process.
As Grosjean is almost caught out by a very, very slow Stroll at the hairpin, he almost gets hit by Hartley from the side and Sainz from behind.
Meanwhile, Hulkenberg is involved in an equally fun scrap with Ericsson and Ocon. When Ericsson makes a mistake allowing the German through, the Renault driver says "thank you!"
As if proof of the midfield were needed one need only look at the battle for eighth which involves almost a dozen drivers.
Vettel pits at the end of lap 25, as Raikkonen posts a new fastest lap (17.286). Vettel, now on softs, rejoins in fourth, 1.5s ahead of Hamilton, who has Ricciardo 25s behind in sixth.
"Teams don't actually have a huge amount of information to base strategies on here," says Pirelli. "Nobody has raced at Hockenheim since 2016, the cars and tyres are very different, and a lot of Saturday was wet. Useful for Ferrari to have pitted Kimi early, in order to gain some info."
Bottas pits at the end of lap 28 as Vettel locks-up at the hairpin. Bottas rejoins in 5th, behind Hamilton.
"Something's wrong," reports Raikkonen who has parked by the side of the track at T11 bringing out the yellows.
Verstappen pits at the end of lap 29, the Red Bull driver switching to softs as he rejoins in fifth ahead of Alonso.
So, after 30 laps, Raikkonen leads Vettel by 1.2s, with Hamilton a further 3.2s down the road but yet to stop. Bottas is fourth, ahead of Verstappen, Magnussen, Alonso, Hulkenberg, Grosjean and Perez.
However, there are reports of heavy rain closing in.
Magnussen and Alonso - who have history - are currently battling for sixth, and looking very much as is it will end in tears.
However, no sooner has Magnussen seen off the Spaniard than Hulkenberg also dispatches the McLaren driver.
Fact is, some driver are clearly waiting to see what the weather does, but are in danger of waiting too long.
"I can see some blisters on my rear," reports Vettel, "they are getting quite hot." The German is advised that rain is expected in ten minutes.
Stuck behind Raikkonen, Vettel claims: "This is just silly, I'm just losing time and destroying my tyres."
Running last, Vandoorne slows... but in the pits his crew are ready. The Belgian subsequently pits and retires.
Vettel is getting quite agitated about the temperature of his tyres. "Can you see it?" he warns "what are you waiting for?"
Asked how much faster he could go, Vettel replies: "Around a second, low seventeens".
Raikkonen gets the order, advised that Vettel is ruining his tyres. The Finn subsequently obliges, moving aside for his teammate.
In clear air, Vettel immediately ups his pace to a 17.290. So, he wasn't lying.
Alonso is advised that a shower is "quickly on its way" and will hit T1 first. Verstappen is given a similar warning.
"Box, box, box, box," Hamilton is told on lap 42, the Briton subsequently pitting for ultras and rejoining in fifth, 12.3s down on Verstappen.
In fact, Vandoorne hasn't retired, he is back out and running a lap down.
With everyone having stopped, after 43 laps, it's: Vettel, Raikkonen, Bottas, Verstappen, Hamilton, Magnussen, Hulkenberg, Grosjean, Perez and Sainz.
Suddenly the rain arrives but will it be a heavy shower and last long or is it merely passing by.
Leclerc stops for Inters, as do Alonso and Gasly, the Frenchman taking on full wets.
As Verstappen runs wide at the hairpin, Hamilton is told that it will be his call on tyres.
While the leaders have dropped their pace to low 19s, Hamilton is still in the low 17s. The Mercedes is currently 19.6s down on the race leader.
Verstappen pits, the Red Bull driver switching to Inters as he rejoins in 5th.
Replay shows Vettel going over the kerb in the final corner and losing his left front wing endplate.
While some parts of the track are wet, others are dry, what one calls mixed conditions.
Then, as suddenly as it arrived, the rain goes and the sun comes out.
Leclerc immediately pits, as does Gasly. Disaster however for Verstappen who will need to stop again. Indeed he does, at the end of lap 48, switching to ultras and rejoining still in fifth.
On his fresh ultras, Leclerc finds a wet patch and does a full 360.
Hamilton asks about the rain and is told it will last three more minutes. He is currently 10.7s down on Vettel.
Leclerc is still struggling and takes a long, long trip across the grass at T8.
Bottas catches by surprise to take second, the Ferrari attempts to fight back but it is lost. The Finn has to run wide to avoid a Haas and Bottas seizes the opportunity. "Arggh!" declares Kimi.
Disaster for Vettel. He is off and in the barriers in the stadium, clearly caught out by the strange conditions. He punches the steering wheel in anger and frustration.
"Sorry guys," says Vettel, his voice checked with emotion.
Out comes the safety car and Bottas, Grosjean, Magnussen all pit.
So, after 52 laps, Raikkonen leads Hamilton by just 0.5s, with Bottas third, ahead of Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Perez, Ocon, Ericsson, Grosjean and Sainz.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Hockenheim, here.
Raikkonen pits at the end of lap 53 for ultras, he rejoins in third behind the two Mercedes.
However, there is a question mark over Hamilton after appeared to not go the right side of the bollard after looking as if he was about to pit and then opting not to. Having initially been told "box, box, box, box," he was then told to stay out. A total miscommunication between team and driver.
To add to Hamilton's woes, he is now on old rubber while Bottas, Raikkonen, Verstappen and all are on fresh rubber.
"Safety car needs to get a move on," says Hamilton. "This is a stone cold nightmare."
In the midst of all that, the Haas duo have dropped to 11th and 12th, while Renault (Hulkenberg 5th) and Sainz (7th) are the winners.
That said, Sainz pits at the end of lap 56.
Hamilton is clearly impatient at the pace - or lack of it - of the safety car.
At the end of lap 57 the race resumes. Bottas sticks with his teammate and appears to take a look. The two are at it, side-by-side, Hamilton refusing to yield.
As they battle Raikkonen closes in, ready to pick up the pieces.
Grosjean is back up to 10th, as Sainz is under investigation for overtaking under the safety car.
As he builds a 2.3s lead, Hamilton posts a new fastest lap (15.745).
Ocon and Ericsson - yes, Ericsson - are all over Perez, with Hartley, Grosjean and Sainz not far behind.
As Hamilton is warned of more rain (possibly), Alonso runs wide down in 14th.
"It's starting to rain again," advises Sainz on cue.
Bottas is told to "hold position" by strategist James Vowles.
Sainz gets a 10s time penalty for overtaking under the safety car.
Ocon and Ericsson still scrapping for seventh.
Despite that penalty Sainz passes Hartley for 1th.
While Hamilton posts a new fastest lap (15.708), Raikkonen ups his pace.
Grosjean passes Ericsson for 8th.
On the Ferrari pit-wall, Vettel apologises to Arrivabene and the rest of the team.
"Rain will be heavier, coming from turn two to turn six," Hamilton is advised.
The penultimate lap sees Hamilton posts another fastest lap (15.545), the Briton desperate to beat whatever the weather gods might have in store.
He takes the flag, while Mercedes takers its first ever 1-2 on home soil.
A late charge sees Grosjean pass Ericsson for 6th, while Hartley makes it into the points.
"I'm so grateful," says Hamilton, "love conquers all".
Hamilton takes the win, ahead of Bottas, Raikkonen, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Grosjean, Perez, Ocon, Ericsson and Hartley.
Magnussen is eleventh, ahead of Sainz, Vandoorne, Gasly, Leclerc and Alonso.
What a difference two weeks make. This time there is no skipping the post-race track interview.
Told that surely he couldn't have believed that he would win the race, Hamilton responds: "I did, its obviously very, very difficult from that position and highly unlikely, but you've got to believe.
"I said a long, long prayer before the race started, and on the parade lap I could see how much support I had out there.
"The team did such a great job, the car was fantastic," he adds. "I'm so grateful, I never would have thought I could do something like that today, but I kept pushing, I kept believing. And it happened, so I really manifested my dream today. Big, big thanks to God.
"It was so tough out there... conditions were perfect," he laughs. "When it rained, I knew that I would have a good position, but I didn't know what was going to happen after the safety car. The guys behind had new tyres, but... I'm just so grateful to the work of the team, hopefully this justifies my belief in them.
"For those that don't know me, now you do."
"When Seb went off I thought now was a good chance," adds Bottas, "but I think for Lewis the safety car was better timed, he stayed out and I had to come in.
"Taking the positive, as a team it was a perfect result for us, in Germany our homeland, for Mercedes."
"Asked about being called on to hold station and not attack his teammate at the end, he replies: "We had a bit of a battle after the safety car, and I didn't get past then, and then they told me to minimise the risk, which I understand."
Asked about similar orders, Raikkonen says: "It was a big moment in the race, I needed to stop, and that's what happened.
"I don't know," he adds, "because it didn't really change a lot in the end. It was a tricky race with the rain, it was slippery in places. I had a small moment with one of the Saubers so under braking Valtteri got past me.
"Not an easy race, and I'm a bit disappointed," he admits. "It was very difficult to know where the grip was."
Before we all head off on our hols, there's the little matter of Hungary, where Red Bull can be expected to be a serious force.
Hamilton now has a 17 point lead over Vettel while Mercedes retakes the lead in the constructors' standings with an 8 point advantage.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Hockenheim, here.