It is fair to say that it has not been the best Formula 1 season so far for Ferrari’s outstanding German driver and four-time World Champion, Sebastian Vettel. The German speed merchant has not won a race this season, although he did take the chequered flag first in Canada, only to lose out to Lewis Hamilton once a five-second penalty had been applied to Vettel’s finishing time for blocking Hamilton after the German had left the track in Montreal.
Since then, Vettel’s morale and his performances seem to have hit a blip. He was fifth in the French Grand Prix, improved to fourth (from ninth on the grid) in Austria, where he outperformed Hamilton for the first time this season, but in the British Grand Prix a fortnight or so ago, the German had a dismal weekend where a catalogue or problems with his car, and a clash with Max Verstappen saw the German damage his car and finish a lowly 16th in the race, from 6th on the grid.
This weekend though, the German will be in front of his fervent home support in the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. Somewhat oddly, Vettel’s record in the race isn’t a particularly good one having won the race just once, back in 2013 when he was driving for Red Bull. His cause hasn’t been helped by the race not being run in either 2015 and 2017.
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History of the German Grand Prix
The very first German Grand Prix was held way back in 1926 but it was in the 1950s and 60s, when it was held at the famous Nurburgring, that the race began to earn a place in F1 folklore. A horrific crash which permanently injured the late great Nicki Lauda in 1976 saw the race move to Hockenheim circuit, where it has pretty much been held ever since, apart from a time between 2008 and 2014 where it rotated on the schedule with the Nurburgring GP-Strecke circuit.
Since those early days, the Hockenheim circuit has undergone an extensive redesign and it is now very different to the very fast track used in the 70s and beyond. The new design came into play in 2002 and features a much shorter layout, with the Forest straights removed, and more corners were added to give the track more of a technical aspect.
In the modern era, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton have the most wins in the race with four apiece, followed by a number of drivers including Fernando Alonso and Ayrton Senna with three. Of the driver’s racing this weekend, only Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have enjoyed victory at the circuit.
Current F1 Standings (following the British Grand Prix)
Drivers Championship
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 223
- Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) – 184
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 136
- Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) – 123
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 120
- Pierre Gasly (Red Bull) – 55
- Carlos Sainz Jr (McLaren) – 38
- Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) – 25
- Lando Norris (McLaren) – 22
- Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) – 22
- Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) – 17
- Kevin Magnussen (Haas) – 14
- Sergio Perez (Racing Point) – 13
- Danil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) – 12
- Alexander Albon (Toro Rosso) – 7
- Lance Stroll (Racing Point) – 6
- Romain Grosjean (Haas) – 2
- Antonio Giovanazzi (Alfa Romeo) – 1
- George Russell (Williams) – 0
- Robert Kubica (Williams) – 0
Constructor’s Championship
- Mercedes – 407
- Ferrari – 243
- Red Bull – 191
- McLaren – 60
- Renault – 39
- Alfa Romeo – 26
- Racing Point – 19
- Toro Rosso – 19
- Haas – 16
- Williams – 0
Fastest Lap Winners
The driver setting the fastest lap in a race earns 1 championship point on top of any earned in the race too.
- Australia – Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
- Bahrain – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- China – Pierre Gasly (Red Bull)
- Azerbaijan – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Spain – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- Monaco – Pierre Gasly (Red Bull)
- Canada – Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
- France – Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
- Austria – Max Vestappen (Red Bull)
- Great Britain – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Who will take the chequered flag in Germany this weekend?
This season was supposed to be the season that Ferrari and Red Bull finally reeled in Mercedes and put a real challenge in to the German team’s dominance of F1 racing over the last five years or so. However, if anything, Mercedes dominance of the sport has been even more marked, winning all but one of the races so far this season and absolutely crushing their opponents in the Constructor’s Championship.
In truth, they may as well etch Mercedes name onto the trophy for the 2019 season, even with the second half of the campaign still to go. It would take an unheard of drop off in performance for the team to lose the Championship this year and if they secure yet more points in Germany, they could be set for a record points haul.
As you would expect, this means that the Mercedes driver’s Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have dominated the season and with seven wins on the season so far, Hamilton has been the man once again. The British ace is looking odds on to win his sixth World Driver’s Championship this season and I think he is the man they all have to beat in Germany.
Vettel may have the home support behind him, but it is also Mercedes home track too and Toto Wolff will want to put on as dominating performance as the team showed in Great Britain a fortnight ago. I think that is likely with the best Vettel can hope for being a third place spot on the podium.
My Race Podium Tip – 1st – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2nd – Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), 3rd – Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari).
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