After starting from P14, Lewis stormed through the field to claim his 66th career victory - his fourth of the 2018 season and fourth at the German Grand Prix, equalling Michael Schumacher's record for most F1 wins at the race.
Valtteri came home second to complete a perfect 1-2 for the team - his fifth second place of the 2018 season.
Todays' result marks the 80th win in Formula One for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, the 60th fastest lap for the team and the 125th podium in the series for Lewis - 92 years after the first German Grand Prix was won by Mercedes in 1926.
Lewis (188 points) leads the Drivers' Championship by 17 points from Sebastian Vettel (171 points) with Valtteri (122 points) in P4.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport (310 points) claim the lead in the Constructors' Championship, leading Ferrari (302 points) by eight points.
Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, accepted the Constructors' trophy on behalf of the team.
Toto Wolff: What an incredible race - here at Hockenheim, on home turf for Mercedes, and a one-two finish after all the bad luck we have had in recent races. Today it felt like that turned into good fortune for us and it was the perfect scene on the podium with our two drivers and Dr Zetsche up there. Like always, the race happens on Sunday not Saturday, and sometimes it's not the quickest car that wins; that was what happened today. But even in the joy of victory, our thoughts also remain with Sergio Marchionne and his family; although we are rivals on the track, we are friends off it and we were saddened to hear the news of his illness. It's hard to sum up a Grand Prix like this one in a few sentences but things were unfolding in an interesting way when the rain came. Valtteri was planning to make the one-stop plan work, and looked like he was in better shape with his tyres than the Ferraris ahead. Likewise, Lewis had great pace running long on the soft tyre, then was poised to hunt down the guys in front in the second part of the race. Things were pretty chaotic when the Safety Car came out - it was a very late call, a lot of traffic on the radio and we ended up with one car in the pits and one car out on track. In the end, this covered every option for us - then the battle was on when they went back to racing. With so much at stake, and after the misfortune of recent weeks, we took the call to tell Valtteri to hold position; it would have been the same if the cars had been the other way round, too, because we needed to protect the one-two and avoid losing one or both cars. After the drama of Silverstone and then qualifying yesterday, this is a dream result and that unpredictability is the beauty of sport. But our focus will turn quickly to Hungary, where we will have to do it all over again next weekend.
Andrew Shovlin: After yesterday we were wondering when our luck was going to change but we'd never expected today's race to go the way it did. To finish with a 1-2 at one of our home races is amazing, this weekend will be one of those that stays in your memory for ever. It's easy to underestimate how difficult it is to stay on track in those conditions on dry tyres so well done to both drivers who made today's result possible. Valtteri's race was panning out as we'd expected to Vettel. The dry situation wasn't very exciting as it was all about driving to tyre temperature limits and as a result Valtteri couldn't really put the Ferrari under pressure. The second stint was more promising, Vettel was losing time with Kimi and the traffic and it seemed like Valtteri's tyres were in better condition which helped when the rain started to fall which was helping us close further. Lewis's plan worked very nicely in the conditions, he did a great job of looking after his tyres in the early traffic and was able to push the stop very late. We decided to fit new Ultras on lap 42 as we could see the rain coming but wanted to be on new tyres when it came as we felt we could ride out the first shower on dries. This paid dividends as he was able to really close on the lead in the difficult conditions. The safety car created the race winning opportunity for Lewis, he had the best tyres of anyone so staying out was not an issue. Valtteri needed fresh tyres to restart so his stop was necessary. It wasn't a clean stop but luckily it didn't end up costing a position. After the restart we'd asked the drivers to hold position in the closing stages as the conditions were so tricky and we have to think about both championships given how close our fight is with Ferrari. It's never a nice call for a driver to hear but Valtteri showed his class and professionalism today and I hope we can see him on the top step soon.
Maurizio Arrivabene: "In what was a particularly fraught weekend for the team, it would have been important for us to bring home the win and our car had shown it was up to the job. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Kimi drove a great race to make it to the podium. We now head off immediately for Hungary, determined to give it our best shot, just prior to the summer break."
Christian Horner: "Max had a good start and was able to challenge Kimi on the opening laps. Things quickly settled down as the tyres were going to be a crucial factor in the overall race strategy. Meanwhile, Daniel was making good progress from the back of the grid after incurring his engine penalties. At that point, there was a threat of rain but it was difficult to predict exactly when it would come. Unfortunately, on lap 29 Daniel's engine failed, which is particularly disappointing alongside the penalties that he had already incurred. Max was on a one stop strategy running in P4, it started to rain and with a couple of cars running wide, including Max, we decided to take a gamble and pit him for the Intermediate tyre. Unfortunately, it didn't rain enough and the inter tyre got burnt up so Max had to pit again for the Soft tyre. From the position we were in with no threat from behind, the gamble was worth taking but it didn't pay off this time.The Safety Car then bunched the field up meaning that Max crossed the line in fourth which is about where we were on pace today."
Sahara Force India scored ten points in Hockenheim today as Sergio Perez raced to seventh place ahead of Esteban Ocon in eighth place.
Otmar Szafnauer: "To come away from Germany with ten points represents a very good afternoon's work. We rode our luck at times, but the drivers gave excellent feedback on the conditions and we made some brave decisions from the pit wall. A bit of rain always adds some drama and keeping the car on track on slicks was a real challenge this afternoon. To complete the race with only one pit stop for each car was definitely the right strategy and the result is vindication of that. It was very close with Grosjean catching us in the closing laps with a big tyre advantage and a strong Ferrari engine, and in the end we couldn't hold him off. We worked hard for this result today and credit to the entire team for a well-executed race."
Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin were both forced to retire from the 2018 German Grand Prix. Lance started the race from P17 and Sergey started from P12 on the Pirelli soft tyre. Lance pitted on lap 29 followed by Sergey a lap later, both for the Pirelli medium tyre. The Safety Car was deployed on lap 52 following an incident from Vettel. After the rain started to fall, both drivers managed the tricky conditions before eventually pitting for the Intermediate Pirelli tyre.
Sergey retired during his first out lap due to an engine oil leak, closely followed by Lance on lap 55 due to a brake issue.
Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: That was a disappointing result for us today. It was a particularly tricky race with the rain and these are always a test of the race operations and the drivers' responses to rapidly changing conditions. I think we called it pretty well and would have been in comparatively good positions and possibly in the points, but both the cars broke down for entirely different reasons. This is a particular blow as if there is one thing we have achieved this year it is being significantly more reliable than last year, with only one other car related retirement this year. Sergey had an oil fire due to an oil leak somewhere in the engine circuit, but we are still investigating this, and in Lance's case he had a failure in the rear brake circuit, losing all control of the rear brakes. In both cases it was clearly necessary to stop the car straightaway.
Renault Sport Formula Team's Nico Hulkenberg delivered a stellar performance in a wet-weather affected Emirates Grosser Preis von Deutschland.
Nico drove a measured race in a Grand Prix which started dry but was visited by repeated rain showers to finish in fifth position - his best result for the team. Carlos Sainz was on the brink of the top ten battle at the end of the race, however was given a ten-second time penalty, dropping him to twelfth positon in the results. The team remains in fourth place in the Constructors' Championship, with an increased margin from its nearest competitors.
Carlos started from P8 on scrubbed Pirelli Ultrasoft tyres, pitting on lap 20 for a new set of Medium tyres, lap 50 for a new set of Intermediates, then lap 56 for scrubbed Ultrasofts.
Nico started from P7 on scrubbed Ultrasofts, stopping on lap 18 for new Mediums, lap 51 for Intermediates, then lap 55 for scrubbed Ultrasofts.
Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: "It was a very eventful race in front of an amazing crowd here at Hockenheim. It probably gave extra focus and motivation for Nico and that's what he showed today. It would have been easy to make a mistake on the track, or make the wrong tyre call in the uncertain conditions. He, Mark Slade his engineer, and the whole team did an excellent job of staying on top of the conditions and making the right calls and execute them properly. We have the feeling that Carlos could have joined the party where Nico was as well with a good start, good pace and similar stops, but it just did not go his way. He also lost two positions with the 10-second penalty post-race. We need to better understand what happened there as it was a very busy race. It's a race which again showed it's very tight between us, McLaren, Force India and Haas. There are ten more races to go, which means ten more tight and exciting battles for everyone."
Franz Tost (Team Principal): "Starting from the back of the grid was of course not an easy task. However, both drivers managed to have a reasonably good start and during the race they could show a decent performance. At the end, it was good for Brendon to be able to score a point. As for Pierre, we decided to gamble and called him in for the pit stop to the Full Wets because heavy rain was a high possibility, but unfortunately it didn't arrive. I'm sorry for Pierre, but sometimes you need to dare and this is what we opted for today. Our performance has improved during the race as we managed to do some good lap times, and this gives us confidence we'll be able to show a strong performance in Budapest."
Toyoharu Tanabe (Honda F1 Technical Director): "The arrival of rain changed the story of this race. It was good to see both our cars take the chequered flag. Brendon did a good job to work his way up from sixteenth on the grid into tenth place, to pick up a well deserved point. However, as we now look ahead to next week's Hungarian Grand Prix, we know that we have not been competitive in the past few races and we have to work hard to improve our overall performance."
Despite rain falling on Haas F1 Team's parade in the German Grand Prix Sunday at the Hockenheimring, the American squad made the most of the adversity thrown its way when intermittent rain showers disrupted its strategy and scuttled a likely double-points finish.
Romain Grosjean made a spirited drive in the waning laps following a safety car period between laps 53-57, powering his way from 10th to sixth in the final 10 laps.
Teammate Kevin Magnussen, who started fifth and held that position for the first 13 tours around the 4.574-kilometer (2.842-mile), 17-turn circuit in Baden-Württemberg, wound up just outside the points in 11th.
Prior to rain hitting select portions of the track on lap 44 and leaving other parts bone dry and bathed in sunshine, Haas F1 Team was en route to its second double-points result of the season.
The spotty showers brought chaos, however, with the unpredictable weather putting teams in the difficult position of deciding how long to stay on slicks before switching to intermediate rain tires and, ultimately, when to return to slicks.
In the case of Haas F1 Team, each driver made three pit stops. The first round went as scheduled, with drivers swapping the Pirelli P Zero Purple ultrasoft tires they used to start the race for a new set of White mediums that would have taken both drivers to the finish. Magnussen stopped on lap 20, dropping from sixth to 10th. Grosjean came in on the following lap, going from eighth to 15th.
Tenacious drives by Magnussen and Grosjean combined with the pit stops cycles of their counterparts allowed the duo to return to the top-10, and as rain began to fall over certain portions of the circuit, Magnussen was up to sixth and Grosjean was eighth.
Some teams began opting for intermediate rain tires on lap 45 despite most of the track remaining dry and quite hot, as the sun still shone on most portions. But by lap 52, the rain intensified, which was exemplified when Scuderia Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel crashed out of the lead.
This brought out the safety car and Haas F1 Team took advantage, bringing both its drivers into the pits. Off went the slicks and on went the Pirelli Cinturato Green intermediate tire to each of their Haas VF-18s. Grosjean returned to the track in ninth and Magnussen came out in 11th.
Yet as quickly as portions of the track were wet, the sun reappeared and those same sections quickly dried. Haas F1 Team double pitted Grosjean and Magnussen on lap 56, ridding their cars of the intermediate tires and replacing them with Purple ultrasofts.
When the race returned to green on lap 58, Grosjean was 10th and Magnussen was 12th.
Grosjean was able to make the most of the 10-lap dash to the finish, which continued to see bursts of rain wreak havoc among the field. Grosjean tiptoed his way to sixth while Magnussen stayed mired in 12th, but was awarded 11th when Renault's Carlos Sainz Jr., was assessed a 10-second time penalty for overtaking during the safety car period.
Eleven rounds into the 21-race Formula One schedule, Haas F1 Team is tied for fifth with Force India in the constructors' standings with 59 points apiece, 21 points behind fourth-place Renault with an 11-point margin over McLaren and a 39-point advantage on Toro Rosso. Magnussen is ninth in the driver's championship with 39 points and Grosjean is 13th with 20 points.
The 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship resumes with the Hungarian Grand Prix July 29 at the Hungaroring in Budapest.
Guenther Steiner: "I think it was a case of damage limitation today. It was a very eventful race. We still need to analyze exactly what happened, what we could've done different. I don't say even better, because we don't know yet. But, we got away with eight points, so I think it was damage limitation. I think the race was an interesting one for everybody."
An action-packed German Grand Prix was a difficult one for McLaren, which yielded no points to be added to the scoreboard today.
Mid-way through the race Stoffel reported an issue with the car, which the team believed would require him to retire from the race. However, after some rapid setting changes he managed to get up and running again, albeit with a lot of time lost trying to fix the issue, pushing him further back down the order.
The key factor all day was the weather, which looked to change throughout the afternoon, although it was never quite clear when. When the rain finally came, the two drivers took opposite gambles - Fernando boxed immediately for Intermediate tyres, while Stoffel chose to stay out on dry tyres.
Although the rain worsened, conditions were manageable and ultimately Stoffel felt comfortable enough to stay on dry tyres for the duration. Fernando, however, was forced to make an extra pit-stop back to dry tyres once the rain subsided, which dropped him down to 15th.
The team then detected a possible issue with the gearbox on Fernando's car a few laps before the end, and he was forced to retire on lap 65 of 67, although he was classified in 16th.
Gil de Ferran, Sporting Director: "A disappointing German Grand Prix for us. "On Fernando's side we took a gamble, banking on there being some heavy rain, but unfortunately we were a little too early and the gamble didn't pay off. It's a real shame for Fernando who was actually driving a really good race at that time, fighting as he usually does.
"At the end of the race, there were some concerns over his gearbox and we had to retire his car.
"On Stoffel's side, we had a much calmer afternoon and he drove a solid race. He had an issue half way though that we are still investigating and which lost him a lot of time, but it was a solid finish in the end.
"It's unfortunate to miss an opportunity to score some good points, as the car and the drivers had enough pace to do so today. So, onwards and upwards."
With the strength of the good pace shown during the weekend, the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team took the start of the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim with Charles Leclerc in P9 and Marcus Ericsson in P13. The beginning of the race evolved as planned with both drivers fighting in the midfield.
The race changed face when the rain, expected to fall heavily, started. It was a crucial moment and the team decided to call Charles Leclerc in to pit on lap 43, and change to intermediate tyres. When the rain decreased just a few laps later, the tyre performance dropped requiring Charles to pit again to change back to ultrasoft tyres. From that moment, his race was an uphill battle with the track conditions made particularly challenging by intermittent rain. He finally finished the race in P15.
It was a different race for Marcus Ericsson who drove a long first stint, changing from soft to ultrasoft on lap 38. When it started to rain, he remained on track where he was very good at controlling the car and managing his tyres. In a hectic race, with many of the teams pitting, and a hard fight in the midfield, he remained calm and determined, finally finishing in P9 and scoring two more points for the team.
After an overall positive weekend, the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team heads into the final round ahead of the Formula One summer break feeling confident. With two additional points to its tally, the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team holds 9th place in the Constructors' Championship (18 points). Charles Leclerc is currently in P15 (13 points), and Marcus Ericsson in P17 (5 points) in the Drivers' Championship.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "There were two sides to the race today. Marcus had a very positive day. He managed a demanding situation very well and had good control of the slick tyres on a wet track. He gave a strong performance and good pace from beginning to end, scoring two more points for the team. On the other hand, it was a tough race for Charles. He started in a good position and showed a strong performance. Unfortunately, we made a risky call when it started to rain. We brought him in and put him on intermediate tyres. That compromised his race. Looking at the race weekend as a whole, we made good progress and are confident that we will continue on this positive path during the upcoming Grand Prix weekend in Hungary."
The weather was pivotal to the German Grand Prix, with rain in the closing stages of the race making strategies almost impossible to predict. Despite the intensity of the rain, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was able to win with a one-stop soft-ultrasoft strategy, setting a rapid pace even on slick tyres.
A late safety car also affected the race, with Hamilton the only driver in the top six to stop only once, following a high-pressure finale in which teams tried to read the constantly-evolving grip levels. A number of drivers alternated between slick and intermediate tyres; one also used the full wets. But the final 10-lap sprint after the safety car came in was run with all the leaders on the ultrasoft, on a drying track.
Mario Isola: "The weather conditions provided an extremely dramatic and unpredictable race. Teams had to think on their feet to counteract the constantly-changing circumstances, with only one sector of the track affected by rain while the other two remained dry. This obviously provided a very big challenge, with the ultrasoft chosen for the final stint, as this compound worked well in the mixed conditions. The six different strategies seen in the top 10 underline the difficulty of identifying the right tactics under the demanding conditions, but it's notable that despite the rain only four of the top 10 finishers used the intermediate tyres."
