Lewis Hamilton could see his nemesis exiting the pit lane in front of him. He couldn’t let the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso get it’s tyres up to temperature, he had to make the move now. Despite past criticism this season, there isn’t a better over taker in the sport. Alonso was in front of him into turn 1, Hamilton cut round the back, onto the outside of the Ferrari going into turn 2 and just didn’t give him the opportunity to push him to the outside. He was through and in control of the race.
“I just feel great . . .”
So said Lewis Hamilton after claiming a superb second win of the year in Germany. Despite the threat of rain which decided not to play in the end it was an intense and intriguing race rather than an out and out action fest, but there was still plenty to keep us interested. The main feature of the race was the battle between the three podium finishers; Hamilton, Alonso and Mark Webber. For lap after lap they were setting times within a tenth of a second of each other, not one of them willing to give an inch.
This weekend Hamilton was in brilliant form. He delivered an amazing qualifying lap within a tenth of pole that his team mate Jenson Button failed to match by over a second to claim 2nd on the grid to Webber. He shot into the lead at the start but wasn’t able to get away. Webber passed him into the final corner on one lap but this time he didn’t over react. He let him through and tucked himself in behind using his KERS to optimum effect to squeeze into the tiniest of gaps between the Red Bull and the pit wall to claim the inside line for turn 1 and maintain his lead.
As the first round of pit stops approached, Webber pitted first and emerged in the lead, but this didn’t upset Lewis, he bided his time, keeping a close watching brief until the second round of pit stops began, again Webber pitted first onto fresher rubber. It was now that the three elements which won Hamilton the race began.
Hamilton pitted on lap 32, storming out of the pits he can see Webber in his mirrors. The Red Bull has its tyres up to the optimum temperature and goes to the outside line into turn 2. The McLaren driver sees this. “I did not give him any room... I continued to drive my line”. Webber was forced onto a wet patch on the kerb and has to concede the corner.
The very next lap, Alonso emerges from the pits ahead of Hamilton. The undercut is simply not working on the softer tyres for the top 3 as the race progresses. He sees his quarry exiting the pit lane in front of him. He couldn’t let the Ferrari get it’s tyres up to temperature, he had to make the move now. Alonso was in front of him into turn 1, Hamilton cut round the back, onto the outside of the Ferrari going into turn 2 and just didn’t give him the opportunity to push him to the outside. He was through and in control of the race.
The final element was the risky one, stopping on lap 52, two laps earlier than Alonso or Webber for their final tyre change onto the harder compound. This tyre was meant to be a second and a half slower than the soft, but McLaren had seen that Vitaly Petrov who had already stopped for the hard was still able to set competitive sector times and brought him in. It worked perfectly, he was almost instantly lapping quicker, and once Webber and Alonso had pitted was easily in the lead.
“To be able to control the pace and get faster and faster we didn’t expect... conditions played into our hands. We’re able to switch on our tyres in cold conditions”. Lewis Hamilton used this advantage to full effect to take an impressive and controlled victory. More like this and just maybe he can work his way into the title fight.
Alonso and Webber take the rest of the podium
Mark Webber was left disappointed to finish third this afternoon. He was in the lead between the first and second pit stops and was always up there but ultimately didn’t have the pace on race day that had secured him pole position on the Saturday.
It was the 5th consecutive race he’s not won when he’s started first and it’ll be something that’ll concern him. However, he raced strongly for the most part, and will surely be pleased to finally finish ahead of his team mate Sebastian Vettel for the first time this season. He’s taken three points out of his lead, although it is still fairly large at 77 points.
However it is Alonso who’s looking the likelier title challenger if anyone can get up to Vettel before the season’s end. He drove another strong race to claim his 5th podium of the year. He made a strong start passing Vettel, although he ran wide and let him through a few laps later. He didn’t let this last long slipstreaming the Red Bull driver down the start finish straight to move up to third. His lap times got faster, soon finding the back of Webber and it looked like he could just be on the verge of a second win of the year, he looked dangerous.
This was especially true after the second pit stops, emerging in the lead having saved his tyres beautifully in the second stint, but Hamilton had his measure in Germany and he had to settle for second. This was impressive anyway given that he must have had to conserve fuel as he ran out on the slowing down lap, receiving a lift from Webber to get back to the podium.
It was still a great result, especially given the conditions. It was cold in Germany, and Ferrari so far has been poor at getting heat into their tyres but not today. With progress like this and a second successive race ahead of Vettel, it would be unwise to rule the Spaniard out yet.
Second star to Sutil
A mention most definitely has to go Adrian Sutil of Force India. He has generally been out performed by his team mate Paul Di Resta this season but at his home race he shone. He qualified 8th and beat that by two positions to finish 6th making a two stop strategy work beautifully.
It was a relatively lonely drive, there was no real wheel to wheel action for him, apart from keeping Michael Schumacher behind him in the opening stint. He made the option soft tyre last longer than most, and then defied those who believed the harder tyre was so much slower to set competitive lap times that kept him ahead of both Mercedes.
It’s a performance he really needed, because with Paul Di Resta doing so well and reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg looking likely to get a drive at Force India next season, Sutil needs to show what he can do, and he did so today with an outstanding drive in front of his home crowd.
Top 10 notables
Felipe Massa had a good day, although for the most part he wasn’t on the pace of the leaders, he put a good move on Rosberg and Vettel and then held off Vettel until his final pit stop on the final lap which he could do nothing about to come in 5th. Still, it’s a bit concerning to see him finish up nearly 50 seconds behind his team mate, he has to finish closer in the races which he was quite capable of that once upon a time...
The Mercedes cars of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher finished up 7th and 8th a disappointing result as they were expecting more. However it’s entirely conceivable that Schumacher may have finished 6th if it weren’t for a spin. He again had strong race pace, despite qualifying over a second off Rosberg, but was generally faster all race. Rosberg had a decent race but lost positions too easily. I’ll write more extensively on Mercedes later in the week.
Kamui Kobayashi had a strong drive to finish 9th. He too utilised a two stop strategy, but what really made his race was a fantastic start from 17th on the grid to wind up 12th by the end of lap 1, something that was sadly missed by the cameras. It’s his 8th points finish of the year, and it’s about time some top teams began to take notice of him.
Vitaly Petrov rounded out the points scorers. He’d started 9th but was unlikely to hold Schumacher back, which he didn’t. However, he put in some great defensive driving, holding Jenson Button back for many laps. He was also on a two stop strategy and even contributed to Lewis’ win when he showed the harder compound wasn’t as bad as expected. A good result as he hadn’t scored a point since Canada.
Other mentions
Jaime Alguersuari in the Toro Rosso kept up his tradition of qualifying low and then making good on the Sunday. Although he failed to score points for a fourth race in a row he still managed to bring the car home a none too shabby 12th. It was better than his team mate Sebastian Buemi who managed to get a five place grid penalty for Hungary after shoving Nick Heidfeld off the track at the final chicane.
Jenson Button suffered this weekend, being well of the pace in qualifying, having a poor start to finish the opening lap in 10th and suffering a second retirement after a nice fight back up to 6th. It’s certainly a weekend he’ll be looking to forget.
Vettel – “It is not satisfying, we need to work harder in order to be back on the podium... I didn’t feel good all weekend”
So now we come to world champion and championship leader Sebastian Vettel. He didn’t look quick this weekend. He was out qualified by his team mate at his home race, even dumped to the second row for the first time this year, finished behind Mark Webber and off the podium for the first time this year, and made some fairly significant mistakes including his spin in the first stint.
He generally seemed a bit subdued during the race, perhaps, as is often commented, it was because he was not at the head of the pack. Once he’s away from his favoured position at the front, he just doesn’t seem like quite the same driver.
I’m not one who subscribes to the view that he can’t overtake, as he has had a few races where he’s charged through the field. It’s just when he’s trying to overtake another top car where he seems not to have the confidence to just attack. He failed against Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone, and he relied on his pit crew in Germany to pass Felipe Massa for fourth.
He’s sublime when he’s leading and equally good when defending, it’s just that he seems to lack that sense of fight when he has to get back to the front. Admittedly he did suffer from brake problems, although these were resolved after half the race had gone.
What can’t have escaped Vettel’s notice is that despite still having a points lead of over three race wins, he’s only won one out of the last four and Ferrari and McLaren certainly now have the pace to challenge on most occasions. As Alonso commented after the race, if they can both finish ahead of the Red Bulls then the title charge is on.
Having said that, Vettel this year has been extremely good under pressure. This is nothing but a small blip at the moment, one he can easily get over at the next race in Hungary just a week away. Red Bull were light years faster last year and Vettel is more than capable of delivering.
He’ll want the win to reassert himself before the F1 season takes a month long break, so as to continue the year of Vettel. I certainly don’t expect him to crumble at all he can finish second all year now and still take the title. But if he doesn’t win, a month is a long time to think about the rest catching especially if it’s Alonso and Hamilton heading the chase. We’re only just over half way through, there’s still a long way to go.
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