Lewis Hamilton Wins German Grand Prix – Vettel Falls To Second in Drivers Points

Lewis Hamilton celebrates after taking the checkered flag at the German Grand Prix on Sunday

After taking the checkered flag at Sundays German Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton has taken over the lead in the drivers’ standings. The result came after an unexpected crash on lap 52 by race leader Sebastian Vettel that allowed Hamilton to eventually take over the lead.

As the race went on, dark clouds could be seen rolling in, and with rain falling in corner six, it caused Vettel to misjudge a third sector corner and saw the Ferrari slid into the gravel and came in contact with the barriers.

Vettel had started in pole position and led for most of the race until the crash. Clearly angered by his error, Vettel could be seen in the cockpit hitting the steering wheel and then kicking at the gravel after exiting his car.

The exit of Sebastian Vettel from the race left the door open for Lewis Hamilton, who was sitting in fourth place at the time. Hamilton did not have a good performance due to issues relating to the hydraulics and started fourteenth on the grid, but seemed to have the problem corrected and was making good progress.

In post-race interviews, Hamilton said,

“You’ve always got to believe. I just wanted to stay collected, stay calm. For those who don’t know me, now you do.”

Hamilton’s teammate, Valtteri Bottas began the day in second and held the second place for the duration of the race. Kimi Raikkonen took third, Max Verstappen finished fourth, and Nico Hulkenberg was in fifth.

The accident that left Vettel out for the day created some confusion with Mercedes after the safety car entered the track. Hamilton was instructed to pit but chose to ignore team orders and remained out. After the race resumed, he was almost overtaken by teammate Bottas, and that was not looked well upon by Mercedes.

This saw the team issuing orders to Bottas not to pass Hamilton and to hold his position. The orders came as Mercedes is battling Ferrari in the constructor’s championship and Hamilton is trying to earn his fifth F1 championship.

Commenting, Bottas said that he “understood” the team’s call” and added,

“We had a bit of a battle after the safety car …Taking positives as a team, perfect result for us.”

The same move was made by Ferrari when Raikkonen took over the lead. After Vettel was struggling with overheating problems with his tires due to being behind Kimi, the Finn was given the order not to slow down Vettel.

This was not met with much fanfare from Raikkonen who was heard on the radio asking what the team wanted. After some other comments from the team, Raikkonen said “So you want me to let him past? Please. Just tell me.”

Ferrari has a loyal following of Canadian Formula One fans, and the move was one that was seen to keep the Italian team out front in the constructor and driver points. Sadly, this was not the case, but with the Hungarian Formula One Race in Budapest slated for the 29th of this month, sports books still are favouring Ferrari. One Canadian friendly sports book offering Formula One betting is Bodog, and new punters will be welcomed with some favourable deposit bonuses when registering today and making their first deposit.

Vettel did eventually pass Raikkonen, but the move could have caused Ferrari the win after Vettel crashed. Raikkonen had the speed and was out front with only twenty laps to go. The result could have been much different, and with such a tight race in the championship, it is a move that Ferrari will need to evaluate for future races.

Author Noah is our American writer who likes to give his own spin on everything Golf & the NHL he covers mainly the US side of the game as Doug covers the Canada. In his time off he can usually be taking to the greens or on the ice playing some hockey