Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Hockenheimring, 2019

Verstappen wins crazy German GP after Leclerc and Bottas crash

2019 German Grand Prix summary

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Max Verstappen won a race of pure drama at the Hockenheimring as a string of rain showers led to several crashes.

Among a string of drivers to hit trouble were Charles Leclerc and Valtteri Bottas, both of which retired. Lewis Hamilton had two major offs, one of which cost him the lead of the race, and took the chequered flag out of the points in 11th.

From 20th and last on the grid, Sebastian Vettel climbed through the field in the closing laps to claim second place. He passed Lance Stroll and Daniil Kvyat in the final laps, and held the place despite sliding off in the Mercedes arena.

Kvyat held Stroll off by six-tenths of a second to claim Toro Rosso’s second podium. Carlos Sainz Jnr, who went off early in the race, recovered to take fifth,

Alexander Albon clashed with Pierre Gasly in the final laps of the race, putting the Red Bull driver out. Albon continued to finish sixth.

A slippery surface at the exit of the penultimate corner caught out a string of drivers including Leclerc and Nico Hulkenberg, who briefly ran second. Kimi Raikkonen went off at the same corner but continued, and took the chequered flag in seventh ahead of his team mate.

The two Haas drivers completed the points despite making contact with each other again, at the hairpin. Kevin Magnussen had Hamilton less than a second behind him at the flag, as Mercedes left their home race point-less.

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2019 German Grand Prix reaction

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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189 comments on “Verstappen wins crazy German GP after Leclerc and Bottas crash”

  1. “Verstappen wins crazy German GP after Leclerc and Bottas crash”

    And what Hamilton did, was, what?

    1. GtisBetter (@)
      28th July 2019, 16:21

      A spin

      1. Hitting any part of the perimeter = crash. In no way does crash mean retire.

        1. GtisBetter (@)
          28th July 2019, 16:29

          I know, I know I forgot my question mark, so my remark wasn’t clear, it was a little jest.

        2. Let’s be pedantic : Hamilton increases championship lead in crazy race. Should please you :D

          1. It didnt increase… being pedantic – youre doing it wrong :P

      2. A spin into the barriers lol

    2. He didn’t retire, I think that’s the point being made.

      And if Keith is using “crazy” in a headline, I think we can safely assume he liked the race. :)

      1. ‘Crash out’ would be more apt, then.

        1. I really think arguing semantics over a driver who finished out of the points really misses the point of the entire race.

          1. @mouse_nightshirt you mean I am being pedantic when a headline emphasises two drivers who are, in the story of the season, B-roles at best, and the main A-role character did the same thing? Yeah, sure.

          2. No you are NOT being pedantic. Pedantry is excessive concern with minor details, accuracy and rules – you are being anything but accurate. Just my opinion.

    3. Hamilton being switched on to slicks was the start of all his troubles, but everyone who went on to slicks too early lost out in some way.

      Made a great race in the end. The only slick tyre choice that was inspired was racing points.

      Lots to talk about in the race.

      1. everyone who went on to slicks too early lost out in some way

        @icarby – very true. I came away with the strong impression that all the teams were desperate to be the ones who made the brilliant call to switch to dry tyres at the earliest, and paid for it.

      2. How did Vettel lost out with slicks exactly?

      3. Funny. VER was actually the first one of the frontrunners to pit for slicks. He even got the worse mediums to run on in the wet (more difficult to warm up), compared to the softs that HAM was put on and he still destroyed the competition. If it wasn’t for all the safety cars, VER would have lead nr. 2 by more than 30 secs. Easily.

    4. @hahostolze in spite of all his mistakes and that pitstop, he survived, unbelievably, crash and chaos under pitstop was luckily under SC, everything was trying to keep Lewis on the win path.

      1. Everyone made mistakes today. Verstappen included. His mistakes luckily didn’t impact his race as much as others. Still…when you cross the line 1st you deserve it. Well done Verstappen.
        Has had zero impact on the championship but what a race. One for the ages. On to Hungary…Lewis territory.

        1. Difference being that with truly talented drivers the damage is limited when the make a mistake…. most of verstappens mistakes dont crash him out or when there is a crash he isnt the one receiving the damage :P …. its actually a skill.
          Just look at bottas and Hulkenberg not being able to keep the car on track and look at an hamilton and verstappen being able to do it. Some drivers just have natural instinct and some dont.

    5. Correct.
      The Brit media can’t bring themselves to admit Hamilton crashed (colliding with another vehicle or obstacle), one under a safety car lap.
      His “spins” today cost him the race just like Vettel’s mistake last year.
      Not a good look for a seasoned veteran and a supposed GOAT.

      1. The difference is Hamilton has made one mistake in what, 3 seasons while Vettel is making 3 mistakes (and more) every season.

        Even GOATs make mistakes – show me an F1 driver who never made a mistake.

        1. Why waste your time David. Let them have their crumbs of comfort from Ham. They are meagre portions after all. 😀

      2. Except Hamilton was clearly forced to put on the wrong tire and went off where tons of drivers also did.

        Vettel was the only driver to crash at that corner last year and was on the correct tire to boot.

    6. Didn’t argue for intermediates hard enough.

      And that pretty much started the snowball.

      Today must be a very happy day for you. Enjoy it until Hungary. Few things are more dangerous than Lewis Hamilton coming back from a bad weekend. :)

    7. How long do you want the header to be?!

    8. And what Hamilton did, was, what?

      Score points for ninth.

    9. @hahostolze What Hamilton did wouldn’t fit the headline even if everyone else was ignored…

  2. Well that will be the last German Grand Prix for a long time, Mercedes won’t fund that again! Great racing by all in tough conditions, great drive by Max and Seb.

    Some very questionable stewarding, but ultimately Lewis still leads by 39 such has been his dominance. I don’t think we are too far away from many years of boring Red Bull domination again!

    1. @burden93

      Ahh, when Lewis wins it’s his skill, when Verstappen wins it’s the car…………

      1. We all stand corrected and admire Max’s skilful start and later spin of balletic beauty.

        1. +1
          All drivers made mistakes today. Max had a few but they didn’t impact his race like some others. He crossed the line first but lets not call this a “masterclass” as Horner did.
          Despite this.. congratulations Max.

        2. P1 Max. Fastest lap Max. 26 points Max.

          1. Lewis P1 in WDC – 41 point from 2nd place and a whopping 63 points ahead of max. Lewis has as many wins this season as Max has had in his whole F1 career and we are only half way though the season. You wanted to talk stats…Let’s talk xx

      2. @bigjoe Not quite sure how you got that from the above! Yeah I think Lewis is one of/if not the goat, but Max is clearly an unbelievably great driver capable of matching his records in the future.

        All of the drivers at the top teams are insanely talented, hence why the top teams employee them.

        By Red Bull dominance I actually group Max and the team together, it is man and machine after all. He’s a top driver and he has an incredible team around him

      3. Anon A. Mouse
        28th July 2019, 17:39

        I’m about 90% sure that same comment was made yesterday with the drivers’ names swapped. F1 fans are the worst part about F1.

        1. Wrong. the media and pundits are. Just study the headlines and the hype, that more often than not leads to disappointment.
          These are people who have increasingly created more jobs in the industry to steal a living from the fans. How many pundits do Sky really need to tell us the next race ‘could’ be ‘the one’

          1. Thanks for proving him correct

  3. Inb4 Kubica will be every race behind Russell, but will beat him in championship standings

    1. @terrion – ha ha, good call. Tons of retirements today to help Bob.

    2. He might be on for a point with a possible penalty for the Alfa drivers!

  4. Bottas can be in trouble for next year. Hamilton was just off after his incident, whether he has continued to not feel well or not. Verstappen has already won driver of the first half.

    1. Lewis clearly lost interest in the race as the events transpired. His last bit of fighting spirit was his pass on Albon. After that he was done with it.

      1. @gufdamm
        That move on Albon looked quite leisurely and down to experience

      2. Yeah we have to remember that Lewis had the sniffles

        1. Hamilton loses his mood to race whenever nothing is there to achieve. This could be down to the power unit rules. I get it that it is better to save the power unit than to use mileage, and then come up with nothing. But Mercedes is a team that has won 5 straight championships and the only team to win through regulation changes. They just need to regroup for Hungary. However, I am losing trust in Bottas. Recently, he has been way off the pace in comparison to his teammate.

          1. @krichelle
            He could have definitely achieved some good points.

            As for bottas… it’s ocons seat now

    2. Bottas has been in doubt for a while. Gasley is likely gone. Verstappen won and good on him. But Vettels drive was really good as was Kyvats.

    3. Bottas is safe for next year despite Wolff’s BS.
      Hamilton is quite comfortable with Bottas as he knows he can easily beat him.
      He claims he will have anyone as a teammate but 2 years ago when ALO’s name came up as he stated “it will never happen.” Sounds like he had some input, no?
      Last week Hamilton was asked if he would like to have VER as a teammate. Hamilton responded he and Bottas get along quite well. In other words no way. Toxic atmosphere.
      Don’t worry Bottas, your seat is safe.

      1. I’m inclined to agree. Ocon is a bit of a hothead, and as long as Hamilton is with Mercedes, Toto will not want to shake up the dynamic. As long as Ferrari are Ferrari and RBR have Gasly, Mercedes are sitting pretty.

      2. Being honest, Hamilton had faced far more valuable teammates than any other great drivers of the past.
        Bottas is probably not to be rated on par with Alonso, Button and Rosberg, but he is nonetheless good and had been allowed to race on equal treatment with Lewis pretty much every race.

        I think this is enough to affirm Hamilton doesn’t fear any teammate.
        He only wants to be treated equally. (ehm.. Rosberg-cough-cough)

      3. Mark @phylyp The way I’m looking at it is Hamilton is unlikely to go to 2021 Merc will need a potential WDC and they have him there in the team now, and it’s not Bottas. Bottas is a good reliable driver but he is not a WDC Ocon is.
        So even if Ocon goes to another team next yr it will be on loan. Merc would have rocks in there heads to let him slip through there fingers. They also have Russel again big potential and Merc have him as well. Verstappen will likely stay at RB if the car becomes fully competitive next yr. And yes I still have my fingers crossed that Renault and Ricciardo can full fill their potential and get up to the pointy end of the grid.

        1. @johnrkh – I think you’ve solved Mercedes’ problem for them – Russell. From what I’ve seen of him this year, he has the maturity and calmness (especially in the Williams), and he comes with a good racing reputation from lower series. Or else, Mercedes ought to make a big play to steal Lando – he has shown his talent and maturity as well.

  5. Hamilton made mistakes on the race (all the top six drivers did, I think? Except Vettel but it can be argued he was cautious on the rain) but Merc’s strategy and pit stop work was unforgivable.

    1. Ham’s drive was flawless until his slick tyre change, which in fact he was sceptical about, from then it went downhill. Not Mercedes day mistakes made from the drivers to the strategy.

      Red bull on the whole made less mistakes and rightly won. Even though I think Torro Rosso were excellent today.

      1. I think the bigger mistake was not pitting him with the penalty during the safety car period and have him take the penalty at full speed. I can’t understand the logic in that decision.

    2. Still, max as DOTD? With spins and errors? He has a whole country voting for him.

      1. GtisBetter (@)
        28th July 2019, 16:48

        London alone has the same population as 50% of the netherlands, so that is not saying much.

        1. Plenty of Londoners and UK people don’t like Hamilton.

          For me Vettel, Kvyat or Stroll deserved DOTD

      2. I’m British, and I live in the UK, and I voted for Verstappen.

        Vettel and Kvyat were also worthy mentions.

        Heck, I believe Albon had a better drive than Hamilton did. So did Stroll.

        _That’s_ how bad Hamilton was today.

        1. @nvherman

          I would give it to Albon. he was looking good until a safety car. He was a sitting duck for Hamilton at the wrong time.

    3. Lewis made 1 mistake and it cost him very dearly. Verstappen made more but came out on top. That’s racing sometimes. Can’t say anything other than well done Max.

      1. Dean …Lewis made 2 big errors .. not only the crash with the wall wich destroyed his front wing but also he did a 360 on other part of the track where Bottas crashed or did you forgot that one?

        1. And Max made how many mistakes? I lost count of the times he slipped off track. But hey…He won, so kudos to him, his fans and RB. All that counts is that final result.

          1. @dean
            Lol, even when he spun (thanks to the yellows btw) he kept part of his car on the track.
            Spinning and winning….only reserved for the all-time greats.

            And the moment he got clean air……oooh, did he show us who’s the fastest man on the planet.

          2. steveetienne
            28th July 2019, 18:57

            I think you’ll find the fastest men on the planet are any of those that have achieved re-entry, specifically Apollo astronauts. Pretty sure many of them are still alive – they achieved speeds of around 24,000mph so to imply that Max ‘showed’ who the fastest man on the planet is, he was around 23,800mph short.

          3. Not a time to slate Max but when, and ONLY when, he has achieved even half of what some of the current drivers have, will he be classed as getting close to being the “fastest man on the planet” but enjoy today Max fans.

          4. You don’t need to collect trophies in the best car to be considered the fastest.

            Funny how Hamilton was accepted to be the fastest when he had 1 lucky WC in 6 years at a top team, whilst Alonso was considered the ‘complete package’ dragging 3rd rate cars into runners up positions.
            Max does look the fastest driver right now.

          5. @steveetienne
            Well those austronauts achieved those speeds in space, so they’re not really the fastest ON the planet, are they?

          6. @ Joseph think you need to have accumulated more than 7 wins though.

  6. For a whilst everything was going just right for Lewis. Spun off and the only one not to get stuck. Conveniently by the pits.
    Safety cars at right time for free tyres and again to catch Verstappen

    1. @bigjoe
      It wasn’t really conveniently by the pits, it was just past the entrance, leaving the conundrum of driving a while lap with half a front wing, driving the wrong way on the circuit to get into the pits around the prescribed bollard or just cutting across as he eventually did.

      Oh, and one of the VSCs ended while he was in the pits, which is actually quite a problem, because the pitstop is suddenly a lot more expensive than was calculated.

      1. It’s now not even a conundrum if 5 seconds is all you get. A slowish lap or 5 seconds? I know what every driver will do now.

        Although the circumstances of this being repeated are slim to none.

  7. More please.
    More like this.

    The unpredictability of the weather really made the strategists earn their pay and forced the drivers to think rather than just “Follow Plan A” or whatever.

    Let’s reschedule the calender to have races during that venues unpredictable weather zone rather than only racing when it will be clear and dry.

    1. @nullapax
      If Formula E did that F1 fans would call it ‘gimmicky’

      1. @bigjoe Got to disagree with you there.

        A gimmick is something predictable, like DRS.

        Unpredictable weather is just …. unpredictable.

        1. Sorry just re-read. I thought you meant to have all races in those zones.

    2. I think thousands of people who went to Silverstone in April might disagree with you.

    3. Sprinklers.

  8. I don’t think the pit stop was their fault, Hamilton crashed on the way in so they had no way of knowing he would need a front wing.

    1. That was supposed to be a reply to postreader.

      1. It shouldn’t have taken more than a few seconds for someone to realize what was going on and give the orders. Not run around like blind ants during a 50 second pit stop.

        Also, the two following pit stops had incredibly poor timing, as well.

      2. The pit stops costed HAM dearly. He was 3rd and had 17s advantage over the 4th placed so he had time to pit under SC, serve his penalty, change tyres and go out again in 3rd but yet the team didn’t. And after 2 laps they pitted him under normal race conditions and pitted him, he served his penalty and went down to 12th and this is what broke the last hope. Huge rare mistake from the team today.

        1. And rare mistakes from Hamilton

    2. @glynh

      Are you sure he was on his way in? The wings were already out though.

      1. @bigjoe I meant he crashed on his way into the pits so they had no time to react. I’m not sure if he was pitting anyway.

        I think the wings are always outside ready.

        1. He didn’t crash on his way to pits. He was past the pits, hence him cutting across the grass to get to the pits. The team weren’t expecting him and chaos ensued.

    3. Considering he only recieved a 5 second penalty for entering the pits the wrong way, which saved him a whole lap with a half front wing in wet conditions. I’d say he got pretty lucky.

      1. Very lucky. Otherwise he would have been a lap down compared to just 5 secs.

        1. It was under SC remember so he may not have lost much time, the main issue was if the car got damaged dragging the front wing around for a lap.

    4. Yeah, but it’s hard to believe he wasn’t on the radio saying he’d hit the wall and needed a new wing and/or tyres. I assume he was aware of that, otherwise why pit?

  9. I thought Hamilton was the rainmaster? LMAO

    1. It was mostly dry. At the start he said ‘there’s not much rain’

    2. He is, but like all the top drivers are human.

    3. Huh? He was pulling away under the rain, for 3 SC and VSC periods, his mistakes came on the slicks on a wet dry and HE DIDN’T WANT TO PIT FOR SLICKS. The strategy team made huge mistakes today and the drivers paid for it.

      1. Boudi sometimes you just have to admit that ‘your’ driver made mistakes.

        1. Yes he made a mistake. All of the top 6 drivers did. Verstappen made more than all of them yet won. Its just how the dice roll sometimes.

          1. @dean
            Yeah, like dices had anything to do with Max winning…whahaha!
            Come on dude, exposing you’re disappointment so badly……..salty tears.

          2. Why would he be salty, Hamilton still extended his championship lead.

          3. A 6th WDC for Lewis will dry them quickly old boy. Don’t you worry 😛

    4. Good try. No cigar xxx

    5. He is, won the last 11 rain affected races straight. Rumours of his demise are greatly exagerated.

      Be interesting to see some stats showing wins in rain affected races, I expect Hamilton would be right up there with Schumacher and Senna.

      1. He lost today and quite badly actually. And had it not been for Ocon he wouldn’t have won Brasil in 2016 either. He got a real good lesson from Max back then… If only that idiot had not run into Max.

        Yes Hamilton is a great driver but I don’t think he is the best in the wet. With equal equipment I’m convinced Max would be out of reach for any of the current drivers on a wet track.

      2. Well not even Senna nor Schumacher had such dominant cars as Hamilton has had for a very long time. A superior car will always be easier to drive in any condition. You can be further from the limits and still be faster than anyone.

    6. Who calls him that? I haven’t heard that term since Schumacher

  10. It’s so painful supporting Leclerc! Once again he could have won. When one Ferrari driver does well the other faulters!

  11. NeverElectric
    28th July 2019, 16:31

    “Are you not entertained??”
    Shambolic strategy by Mercedes, the call to put Hamilton on the slicks was disastrous. What a lost opportunity for him to stretch his lead at the top of the standings, and for Mercedes to score even more constructors points.
    And surely that’s it for Bottas at Mercedes? And for Gasly at RBR’s senior team?

    1. Of course Hamilton did nothing wrong. When he wins, he is the best. But today it was his strategist’s fault?

      1. NeverElectric
        28th July 2019, 16:51

        He did not want to pit for slicks. His team made the call.
        Slicks were the wrong tyre for the conditions, obviously, we now know.
        Ergo, team at fault today.
        QED.

        1. Does the team include Hamilton?

          1. Of course the team includes Hamilton. All that’s been said is Lewis stated the slicks were the wrong tyre. He trusts his team and went with their call. It was the wrong call but it was Lewis that lost the car and hit the barrier. It was the only mistake he made all race but it cost him AND the team very dearly. I the grand scene of things though… Not such a big deal.

        2. Lewis had on off day. Many had an off day. The conditions were very tricky. Luck, talent, team work and patience was required to prevail and Max prevailed. But blaming Merc strategy to show support for Lewis is totally wrong. They win and lose together. Merc knows it, Lewis knows it. So get on with it mate!

        3. Vettel pitted for slicks before Hamilton did and ended up second. Don’t put all the blame on the tyres.

          1. Or did you mean Mercedes was too late with the call for slicks?

      2. When he asked to stop under VSC and they said it was better not cuz they didn’t want to lose the 5 seconds on the pit stop was really dumb.

        With a weather as that, it was to bold to expect not to pit anymore with 30 laps to go.

        It wrecked his race for good. Then he spun, but the damage was already done.

  12. My 3 favourite drivers all retired for various reasons (and though Hulk had a chance at a podium, I think he’d have been 4th or 5th but we’ll never know), but yet I’m still so insanely hyped from that. What an unbelievable race, the best I can remember for a long time. That was ridiculously good.
    And well done to Dani Kvyat. Has his kid, wakes up the next morning, and goes and gets Toro Rosso’s first podium since Monza 2008. Also, Hulk crashing led to Kvyat putting on softs and getting the podium. You’re welcome. I’m not trying to mask the pain.

    1. Has his kid

      @hugh11 – really? That’s awesome for him. I’m doubly pleased.

      1. Well, more accurately, his partner had the kid, but yeah, he mentioned in the post race chat with Martin Brundle

      2. @phylyp Yep – little girl born last night I think I heard him say :)

        1. Neat, very pleased for all of them! @hugh11 @nullapax

          Although he put Vettel out of a race, I’ve always felt Kvyat had been done hard by, so good to see good things coming his way.

    2. We’ll never know where the Hulk would’ve finished, his tyres were quite old after not stopping during one of the SC phases. So gutted…

    3. I came to Racefans looking for your comment! :)

      I share your pain in Hulkenberg’s retirement, but he’s bottled a lot of good chances for a crazy result in unpredictable races in the last few years, and I honestly don’t know why I hoped he’d keep himself in podium contention in this race too. Ah well, Hulk, you’ll still have my support for the endless string of consistent 7th place finishes you bring.

    4. +1 Gutted for Hulk, he had a good chance of the podium today, just hope it happens at some point!

  13. 2 Hondas on the podium???

    1. @jaymenon10Grand Podium 2 engine.

    2. And 2 Renault engines down. One in Renault style…

  14. Snowflake generation expect mistakes to be consequence free…

    …he got out of jail on the unsafe release, does he complain of inconsistency in how stewards have punished unsafe releases?

    1. @gnosticbrian I adore this comment, especially in the context of Leclerc moaning about that ‘drag strip’ in another article on this website. Bang on.

    2. We’ve had plenty of drivers admitting their mistakes lately, this has nothing to do with the ‘snowflake’ generation. More the individual.

      1. There is a difference between admitting a mistake and asking that there be no consequences of said mistake.

      2. GtisBetter (@)
        28th July 2019, 16:52

        You can safely ignore people who use the term snowflake.

        1. +1 it’s such a lazy term to use. I find it the height of ignorance to dismiss someone’s opinion out of hand. Sure some of the younger generation do have some character flaws but they’re not the only one’s….

  15. MB (@muralibhats)
    28th July 2019, 16:35

    Unfortunate timing of all Alfa pit timings. They did everything right before someone crashed.

  16. What an awesome race!

    Crazy that Max was keeping up with Bottas on the first half of the race, and just blasts off on the other half. Meanwhile the other RB was nowhere and eventually crashed out! Albon must be laughing 555+ inside the cockpit

    I still couldn’t believe that the fastest Mercedes was Stroll, Kvyat got a podium in a Toro Rosso, and Seb moved from P20 to P2. More of German GP in the Future please Liberty

  17. once you saw that awful start you knew Max would win, he has that Ham quality of generally getting away with mistakes and clashes that would either end a race or get you a penalty.

  18. Lovely lovely race… icing on the cake was that the race was sponsored by Mercedes :’)

    1. I had a couple of chuckles about it being the big celebration race for Mercedes myself ;)

      1. Blaize Falconberger (@)
        28th July 2019, 16:58

        Also Leclerc ending up with Mercedes advertising in his face… lol

        1. I laughed at that too!
          That Mercedes wall just took everybody

        2. “Have you seen our latest model?” :)

  19. @okeptl

    Crazy that Max was keeping up with Bottas on the first half of the race,

    Not really it was only Bottas. Verstappen won fair and square, but Verstappen done a Bradbury.

    1. Never realised you were Australian

    2. @johnrkh

      Yeah I agree, Bottas wasn’t up to scratch, especially today. I also think that this was a ‘motorsport’ win, where his team’s performance and his rivals misfortune helped him. Still, only a handful drivers can pull that off if they were put in his seat, so there is some merit to his win

  20. Renault just can’t capitalize on opportunities, and in this case, especially Hulk. He maybe could’ve even had a shot at the elusive first podium-position, but still not, although neither did VB. He would’ve reduced the points-gap to his teammate by at least 12 points, and he threw it all away.
    Albon’s move was questionable, though. He moved to the right long before the right-kink with Gasly still in his blind-spot, thus, causing an avoidable collision, so, a penalty wouldn’t be unjustified.

  21. RebelAngelFloyd (@)
    28th July 2019, 17:12

    Spectacular race with the usual biassed Keith semantics;
    Verstappen wins AFTER Leclerc an Bottas crash

    1. Well, chronologically he is quite correct.

      Inferring causality would be incorrect however, as both Leclerc and Bottas were positioned behind Verstappen when they crashed out.

      1. Was Leclerc not in front at that stage, I think Verstappen had spun the lap before? It was such a crazy race I can’t remember now!

      2. RebelAngelFloyd (@)
        28th July 2019, 17:33

        Exactly my point

        1. So, what? Either you inferred causality where none existed in your head, or you knew that there was no causality but arrogantly thought other people aren’t as clever as you and might think that.

          Neither is a good look for you.

  22. Twice for Hamilton I thought. One under safety car lap.

  23. And another potential podium finish wasted by Hulkenberg.
    I give up.
    This guy is hopeless.

    1. Always a bridesmaid…

    2. Hopeless is harsh, but yeah – it never seems to work out for him when he gets the chance

    3. At some point I thought stroll was more likely to be double podium winner than Hulk to be on the podium one day

  24. I wonder if Mercedes/Hamilton will be insecure enough to bring up the ‘Lewis was actually ill, it’s a miracle he got in the car at all’ excuse.

    1. 2019 Standings:
      1 L. Hamilton 223
      Mercedes
      2 V. Bottas 184
      Mercedes
      3 M. Verstappen 162
      Red Bull
      4 S. Vettel 141
      Ferrari
      5 C. Leclerc 120
      Ferrari

      Has a weekend with Flu and this is the result. Not bad ehh 😛

      1. @Dean
        So losing 25 points ain’t bad….god, that explains your earlier comments.
        Guess you were standing last row when brains were handed out, no?

      2. You call that not bad @dean? Your standards must be really low.

        He lost 25 World Driver’s Championship points to the driver who has won two out of the last three races, and who is only 62 points behind Hamilton in third place.

        This may turn out to be Hamilton’s moment of 2019 the way Germany 2018 was for Vettel. Of course that’s unlikely but it’s also not impossible.

        1. @nvherman
          Even if it is Hamilton got such a huge lead by now it most likely wont matter. Hamilton can afford to “be sick”.

          1. @rethla, very true, Hamilton must be very close (at his win rate) to winning half of the seasons races and with 2 other winners already I calculate that those (10/11) wins alone would give him the championship. Am I wrong ?

          2. @hohum
            Well theoreticly you are wrong but there aint any realistic chance for anyone else to win unless Hamilton does a Lauda or something.

          3. @rethla, of course, I should wait for my morning coffee to kick in before trying mental arithmetic. I had that nagging feeling I was missing something, which was why I questioned my (incomplete) logic. Thanks.

        2. ONLY 62 points behind??! Hahaha gotta love your optimism.

      3. Classy comment Oconomo. Keep em coming sweetheart x

  25. Good to see Kvyat back on the podium!

  26. If I’m not mistaken, this is only the second ever podium for Toro Rosso. What a weekend for Kvyat, he’s got quite a nice story to tell to his daughter when she gets older.

    1. @pironitheprovocateur – nice stat! Two podiums, both in the wet. :)

  27. It was a great race and i really loved it.
    Can someone explain why MB today sacrificed Bottas again? I mean ok they didn’t pit Hamilton to let him race and serve his penalty later when the distances between the cars would had been bigger but why don’t pit bottas to soft when the rest of the field did it?
    This is means two things for me, either their main focus is always on Hamilton which is my opinion also or they have already decided that Toto’s protege Ocon is already decided to be Hamilton team mate next year so they don’t bother to do a decent work for the other side of the garage.
    Bottas imo is already broken inside him because he is not stupid and he is understands everything so i don’t expect any more good performances of him till the end of season, or when the championship would had decided in favor of Hamilton they maybe let him will again.

    1. *win* and not will

    2. yes i want someone to explain that please, the race broadcaster Im watching play the team radio at an extremely low volume.

      1. Completely agree, I was baffled. The Ham decision not to out was bad, but not hitting Valtteri was criminal.

        1. Pit*
          Pitting*

  28. It was particularly great because my wife happened to watched the race withe me, which is very rare. And after the podium she said “and it’s great no one had to drink from a shoe.”

    How must it feel now Dan.

  29. Josh (@canadianjosh)
    28th July 2019, 17:58

    Gasly needs to be demoted in favour of one of the Toro Rosso drivers based purely on end of the year prize money they may miss out on. It’s so unbelievable to me how bad he actually is. He was so terrible today if it wasn’t for the safety cars Max would have lapped him at the 3/4 mark in the race.

    1. @canadianjosh I’m with you.

      I have nothing against the guy as a driver or anything but that seat in a damn fine racing car is being wasted.
      At least give a test driver the chance to see if they can do a better job.

    2. At the very least, Red Bull should ask Ferrari to pay Gasly’s salary, seeing as how Gasly is as much a contributor to Ferrari’s #2 WCC standing as anyone in red.

      1. @phylyp Wow harsh but correct!

    3. I can see Kvyat returning to the senior team, if not for Hungary, for Spa…

  30. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    28th July 2019, 18:27

    What a rollercoaster – I’m frankly shocked that Williams weren’t podium contenders during the race :-)

    Did the safety car lead the race for the most laps?

    1. Even with this crazy race and Williams new upgrades they amazingly managed to occupy the last two spots basicly the entire race. Thats a feat of its own.

    2. The safety car was definately the most consistent and error-free Mercedes out there

      1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
        29th July 2019, 2:18

        Ha-ha :-)

      2. Weirdly, that honor got to be stroll’s

  31. This season could well be like 2009 with Brawn/Mercedes dominating the first half and then Red Bull developing their car and bringing themselves back into contention………

  32. Another brilliant drive from dutch driver.

  33. One of the things I have really enjoyed about the last few races that is making me appreciate the quieter engines a little is just how much you can hear the crowd react. Listening to the crowd roar as Verstappen took places in Austria and again in Germany with Vettel on Stroll an Kvyat was fantastic and for me a big addition to watching the race from home. I’m not really a Vettel fan but couldn’t help but smile watching him overtake when you get the emotion of the crowd along with it.

  34. ONLY 62 points??? Hahahaha
    Behave yourself

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