Certificate of maturity: comebacks and worries about the future in Hockenheim

SEBASTIAN VETTEL: Second place has rarely looked so much like a victory. On Saturday, Sebastian Vettel still felt the entire burden of this messed up Ferrari year on his shoulders. Technical problems in qualifying, last place on the grid at, of all things, the home race - the swansong for the four-time world champion seemed to continue in Hockenheim. But in league with the weather gods, Vettel turned the weekend on its head: unlike both Mercedes drivers and unlike his teammate Charles Leclerc, he made no mistakes in the confusing, grueling, confusing race and raced onto the podium. Vettel is still without a win for almost a year. But “this race was what Sebastian needed,” said his team boss Mattia Binotto. Hockenheim could have been at least an emotional new start for the German.

MAX STAGES: Max Verstappen later explained that this race was about making the fewest mistakes. He managed that - at least compared to the other pilots who started from one of the first places. And that was enough for victory. Verstappen's race wasn't really error-free either. He didn't get off well at the start and later spun on the soapy track. But he came through largely unscathed and made the Orange Army, who had traveled with him, celebrate for the second time this year. If Vettel hadn't started from the back, his performance would have been enough to win.

LEWIS HAMILTON: Also because Lewis Hamilton was standing next to him. In recent years, the world champion has earned a reputation as a racing robot that generally makes the right decisions and makes no mistakes. In fact, that's almost always true, Hockenheim was the big exception.

Struggled at Hockenheim: Lewis Hamilton. © APA/afp / SRDJAN SUKI

He lost control of his Silver Arrow several times in the difficult conditions, and the sub-optimal timing of the command post when choosing tires didn't help him either. Having been ailing all weekend, Hamilton also appeared to be under the weather after the race. Maybe it was just the fact that he exposed himself so badly in front of Sebastian Vettel's jeering fans that was gnawing at him.

MERCEDES: “I'm human, and people make mistakes.” Lewis Hamilton's succinct analysis applied just as much to Mercedes. The fact that the otherwise infallible team also made a mistake - gambled away in tire poker, as well as the wild departure of Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas - should come as no surprise. And the fact that almost everything went wrong at the racing team's 200th Grand Prix was almost an announcement: team boss Toto Wolff had previously jokingly announced exactly this scenario and justified his premonition with the team's not exactly reserved anniversary activities, which were dressed up all weekend appeared in a retro look. In the end it was only one race. And Mercedes remains the team to beat.

NICO HÜLKENBERG: It's slowly becoming a running gag. Nico Hülkenberg has now completed 168 races in Formula 1 and has never been on the podium. Of course, he never had a car that would easily take him into the top three. But the few opportunities that arose remained unused. Sometimes it was bad luck, sometimes it was our own mistakes - on Sunday it was the latter. Niko Hülkenberg gets out of his destroyed Renault. © APA/afp / JAN WOITAS

The chaos suddenly pushed Hülkenberg into second place, and the first podium was actually possible. But then the Rhinelander slipped off the track in the Motodrom, and even after the 168th race he was not allowed to spray champagne. To be fair, Hülkenberg was far from the only driver whose race ended prematurely on the slippery track.

HOCKENHEIM: Last summer remained unmatched. 61.000 spectators on Sunday, which was 10.000 fewer than in the outstanding previous year. And yet Hockenheim once again offered a race that could serve as a worthy farewell - if it is a farewell. There was high tension on the track and an excellent atmosphere in the stands. It is completely unclear whether and when Formula 1 will return to Hockenheim.

SAYING OF THE WEEKEND: “I hope that a decision is made based on common sense and not based on where the wallet opens widest.” Sebastian Vettel on the future of the Hockenheimring in Formula 1. The traditional track will probably be removed from the calendar in favor of wealthy competition.

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Certificate of maturity: comebacks and worries about the future in Hockenheim

The Formula 1 race weekend in Hockenheim was turbulent and brought with it a few surprises. The maturity certificate from the German GP.

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