Max Verstappen won a chaotic and rainy German Grand Prix on Sunday, while Formula One championship leader, British driver Lewis Hamilton, finished 11th and his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas had an accident near the end.
The Dutch winner kept his composure on a dangerous track to achieve his second victory of the season and seventh of his career in Red Bull, leading a surprise podium that included Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel, who started in last place and finished second (+7.333 s), and Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso.
"It was incredible to win, it was really tough, you had to be focused," said Verstappen. "It was about trying not to make too many mistakes. You learn that over the years. I'm very happy with the result."
After this week's heatwave, the rainy weather caused chaos in Hockenheim (southwest Germany) with drivers having to make up to six pit stops to change tires and several crashing at the same slick spot on the circuit.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was in contention for a podium finish, despite starting in tenth position; however, he crashed after switching to faster tires, going off the track. He ended up in the barriers.
Surprisingly, Hamilton had the same mishap later on, causing damage to his front wing. He had to go to the pits for a wing and tire change, but it caught Mercedes off guard and a painfully long stop cost him.
For Vettel, it was an impressive comeback - and almost the opposite of what happened in 2018 when he crashed near the end after leading the race from pole position and Hamilton won - after being in last place.
"It was a lot of fun, it was very difficult to know what the smartest move was in these conditions," Vettel said. "I was clean throughout the whole race. Congratulations to Max, he was excellent." (D)