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Verstappen wins wet and utterly crazy German Grand Prix!

28 July 2019 at 16:15
Last update 28 July 2019 at 16:36
  • Nicolás Quarles van Ufford

In one of the craziest and most chaotic Formula 1 races in recent memory, Max Verstappen has won the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring, as both Charles Leclerc and Valtteri Bottas crashed out of the race and Lewis Hamilton spun out heavily twice.

Much like in Austria, Verstappen started in second place but dropped down the order after a poor start, but re-gained first place after Hamilton spun out and lost his front wing.

Hamilton ended the race in last place in P14, with Sebastian Vettel and Daniil Kvyat unbelievably getting P2 and P3 respectively for Ferrari and Toro Rosso, with Vettel starting from P20.

Verstappen gets his second win in three races and gains 25 points in the championship on both Hamilton and Bottas, who both didn't finish with any points.

How it happened

The race start was postponed because of the rain, with the formation lap behind the Safety Car lasting several laps. Once the race finally got underway under a standing start, Verstappen had another nightmare start, with his anti-stall kicking in twice. He dropped several places, while the Ferraris came flying off the line.

Vettel won four places at turn one and two more in the opening lap, while Leclerc gained a few places as well, taking advantage of the poor start of Pierre Gasly in P4.

The Safety Car was deployed soon after, however, with Sergio Pérez aquaplaning and hitting the barriers, totalling his Racing Point and ending his race.

Complete chaos

Daniel Ricciardo's engine then blew up, ending his race, and the same later happened to Lando Norris for McLaren. Both drivers weren't driving within the points, but it's a headscratcher for Renault nonetheless, as both cars were powered by the French team.

Then, drama for Ferrari. Leclerc was charging at the podium places in P4 but then in T16, a place that caused a lot of spins during the race, the Monegasque lost control of his SF-90 and slid into the barriers, which were ironically covered with Mercedes sponsoring. The 21-year-old banged his wheel in frustration and was absolutely livid with himself, as he knew a podium or even more was on the cards for him.

Another twist in the tale came when Hamilton then did the same thing at the same turn, although the Brit did well to keep his W10 going. He lost his front wing and immediately drove into the pitlane, but he then got a penalty as he entered the pitlane through the wrong side of the bollard.

That left Nico Hülkenberg in P2 behind Verstappen, who was in the lead after the Safety Car. The German holds the record for most races without a podium and he finally looks to end that streak, until the 31-year-old lost it and rammed his RS19 into the barriers at T17, causing absolute heartbreak.

Still following us? Because we're not done yet. After another Safety Car, Lance Stroll found himself in P2 and Kvyat in P3, with Bottas behind him chasing down the midfield cars. The Finn then also lost control, though, as he spun out at turn 1 and totalled his W10. With Hamilton having done the same there, it meant for the first time since Austria 2018, Mercedes would walk away with no points from a Grand Prix weekend.

Kvyat overtook Stroll for P2 but after the final Safety Car for the Bottas crash, Vettel overtook Carlos Sainz, Stroll and Kvyat to finish in P2 in front of his home fans after starting in P20.

However, the winner was Verstappen, who makes it two wins in three races and makes it four wins in the last five times he started from P2.

What. A. RACE!

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