Vettel takes Hockenheim pole, with Hamilton starting 14th
Vettel takes Hockenheim pole, with Hamilton starting 14th
A thrilling qualifying session for the German Grand Prix saw Sebastian Vettel take pole position in record time, with Lewis Hamilton damaging his gearbox to go out in Q1 and ensure he will start Sunday's race mired in the midfield. Valtteri Bottas joins Vettel on the front row, with Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen in close quarters, third and fourth respectively.
Vettel has never had such a good chance to take a first victory at the circuit he grew up less than 30 miles from, with Hamilton suffering a hydraulic failure while bumping over kerbs and seeing attempts to push his car back to the pits being curtailed by stewards.
It opened the door for Vettel to take a 55th pole position and he duly obliged, lowering the lap record to one minute 11.212 seconds in the process with a blazing final effort.
Bottas did his best to keep Vettel honest, and the Mercedes team were agape with disbelief when he secured provisional pole, but there was no touching Vettel in the end, the German two tenths quicker.
Raikkonen never looked on the pace, while Verstappen dropped out of contention, having gone quickest in FP2 on Friday.
Saturday's practice session was nearly wiped out by rain, but the track had dried sufficiently for qualifying, not that it led to a duller session.
Amid reports he had felt unwell in the morning, Hamilton looked off-colour again in qualifying, regularly exceeding track limits and his machinery was similarly ailing after a trip over kerbs, Hamilton ordered to stop the car as he tried to nurse it back, before Mansell-esque attempts to roll the car home were also curtailed.
Hamilton will be joined in a race through the field by Daniel Ricciardo, who will start last thanks to a glut of engine penalties and his warm-up runs were brought to an end in Q2.
Haas' Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean took full advantage of two front-runners' absences to fill the third row, with the Renaults of Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr just behind and Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez completing the top 10.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
Q2
Another race, another Q3 qualification for Leclerc, while Sauber team-mate Marcus Ericsson could not make the shootout, qualifying slowest in a session that saw a reduced field as Hamilton and Ricciardo were absent. Sergey Sirotkin also qualified quicker than Ericsson, with Fernando Alonso on the edge of the top 10.
Q1
Esteban Ocon was a surprise departure among a more familiar cast of Lance Stroll, Brendon Hartley, Pierre Gasly and Stoffel Vandoorne, however Hamilton's issue took a good portion of attention away from the bottom five, who will have a charging Ricciardo behind them come race day.
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Hamilton hit with SURPRISE Ferrari claim as new Cullen relationship blossoms - GPFans F1 Recap
- 2 hours ago
Current F1 star qualifies for world championship race on two wheels
- 3 hours ago
Ricciardo given HUGE boost after upgrade claim
- Yesterday 21:57
‘Absolute b******s’ - Newey’s wife SLAMS Red Bull F1 claims
- Yesterday 20:57
Norris INJURED at party with legendary DJ
- Yesterday 19:57
Newey tipped to POACH key Red Bull staff if he joins F1 rivals
- Yesterday 18:57
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860