Lewis Hamilton managed to get through the German Grand Prix without much harm, winning a back and forth battle with Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso for a first victory this year.
For the first time this season, Sebastian Vettel was not on the podium, finishing in fourth after a hard felt battle with Felipe Massa, who had to settle for fifth after a pit mistake on the final lap of the race.
Vettel further had to drive with a 'possible rear brakes problem' warning from lap 27 to 44, but the fact he struggled all race long to overtake Massa is a sign it might not have been so much different for him without that warning.
The main issue of most drivers was to decide when to take the harder tire compound that was believed to be much slower than the soft (yellow) tire used by the top-10 qualifier and the rest of the field for almost the entire race.
Easily put, they decided to wait as long as possible, meaning the top-5 put the harder compound on less than 10 laps before the end of the race. Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa even waited the 58th lap of 60 to pit!
It was finally Lewis Hamilton who played his game best and did an incredible move on rival Fernando Alonso, once leader of this race, to win his first Grand Prix of the season.
Mark Webber saved Red Bull its first non-podium of the season by finishing in third. The polesitter exchange the lead for some time with Alonso and Hamilton, but had to give in at last.
Webber nevertheless gave Alonso a lift on the Red Bull's sidepod back to the winners' circle when Ferrari asked the Spaniard to stop in the slowing-down lap to have enough fuel for the sampling after the race.
Jenson Button surrendered in lap 36 on an hydraulic problem. He was running for fourth. Adrian Sutil, Nico Rosberg, Michael Schumacher, Kamui Kobayashi and Vitaly Petrov completed the top-10.
Formula 1 Grand Prix of Germany - Results:
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 60 Winner 2 25
2 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 60 +3.9 secs 4 18
3 2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 60 +9.7 secs 1 15
4 1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 60 +47.9 secs 3 12
5 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 60 +52.2 secs 5 10
6 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 60 +86.2 secs 8 8
7 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 59 +1 Lap 6 6
8 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 59 +1 Lap 10 4
9 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 59 +1 Lap 17 2
10 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 59 +1 Lap 9 1
11 17 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 59 +1 Lap 15
12 19 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 59 +1 Lap 16
13 15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 59 +1 Lap 12
14 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 59 +1 Lap 13
15 18 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 59 +1 Lap 24 *
16 20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 58 +2 Laps 18
17 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 57 +3 Laps 19
18 25 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 57 +3 Laps 21
19 22 Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 57 +3 Laps 22
20 21 Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 56 +4 Laps 20
*Started from last after a chemical inside his new fuel system contaminated his fuel that was then found illegal. He was excluded from qualifying.
Retired:
23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 37 +23 Laps 23
4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 35 +25 Laps 7
11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 16 +44 Laps 14
9 Nick Heidfeld Renault 9 +51 Laps 11
Unofficial Results
For the first time this season, Sebastian Vettel was not on the podium, finishing in fourth after a hard felt battle with Felipe Massa, who had to settle for fifth after a pit mistake on the final lap of the race.
 |
| Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber battling for positions. (Photo: WRI2) |
Vettel further had to drive with a 'possible rear brakes problem' warning from lap 27 to 44, but the fact he struggled all race long to overtake Massa is a sign it might not have been so much different for him without that warning.
The main issue of most drivers was to decide when to take the harder tire compound that was believed to be much slower than the soft (yellow) tire used by the top-10 qualifier and the rest of the field for almost the entire race.
Easily put, they decided to wait as long as possible, meaning the top-5 put the harder compound on less than 10 laps before the end of the race. Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa even waited the 58th lap of 60 to pit!
It was finally Lewis Hamilton who played his game best and did an incredible move on rival Fernando Alonso, once leader of this race, to win his first Grand Prix of the season.
Mark Webber saved Red Bull its first non-podium of the season by finishing in third. The polesitter exchange the lead for some time with Alonso and Hamilton, but had to give in at last.
Webber nevertheless gave Alonso a lift on the Red Bull's sidepod back to the winners' circle when Ferrari asked the Spaniard to stop in the slowing-down lap to have enough fuel for the sampling after the race.
Jenson Button surrendered in lap 36 on an hydraulic problem. He was running for fourth. Adrian Sutil, Nico Rosberg, Michael Schumacher, Kamui Kobayashi and Vitaly Petrov completed the top-10.
Formula 1 Grand Prix of Germany - Results:
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 60 Winner 2 25
2 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 60 +3.9 secs 4 18
3 2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 60 +9.7 secs 1 15
4 1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 60 +47.9 secs 3 12
5 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 60 +52.2 secs 5 10
6 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 60 +86.2 secs 8 8
7 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 59 +1 Lap 6 6
8 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 59 +1 Lap 10 4
9 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 59 +1 Lap 17 2
10 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 59 +1 Lap 9 1
11 17 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 59 +1 Lap 15
12 19 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 59 +1 Lap 16
13 15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 59 +1 Lap 12
14 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 59 +1 Lap 13
15 18 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 59 +1 Lap 24 *
16 20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 58 +2 Laps 18
17 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 57 +3 Laps 19
18 25 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 57 +3 Laps 21
19 22 Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 57 +3 Laps 22
20 21 Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 56 +4 Laps 20
*Started from last after a chemical inside his new fuel system contaminated his fuel that was then found illegal. He was excluded from qualifying.
Retired:
23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 37 +23 Laps 23
4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 35 +25 Laps 7
11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 16 +44 Laps 14
9 Nick Heidfeld Renault 9 +51 Laps 11
Unofficial Results