 Today’s 60-lap German Grand Prix, saw an exciting race thanks to McLaren and Ferrari giving a real challenge to this year’s dominating Red Bulls. There was always a threat posed by the cloudy weather, however all teams decided to go for slick tyres rather than intermediates. No rain would fall. With Mark Webber starting in first position, team Red Bull was definitely in a good place to take the lead, but Lewis Hamilton got a better start once the red lights went off, taking the lead with Webber, Vettel and Alonso following very close behind. A few laps into the race, it was clear that Sebastian Vettel would not dominate as per usual, with him struggling to match the pace of Hamilton and Webber, and eventually being overtaken by Alonso. After running wide and touching slippery grass, Vettel spun his car while in fourth position (Michael Schumacher would repeat the same mistake later on), allowing Felipe Massa to drive right up to his tail. Massa soon managed to get passed Vettel, where they would continue to battle, nose to tail, for fourth place right up to the final lap when they both pitted. With Massa’s pit stop taking longer than Vettel’s, the German driver would be able to take back and finish in fourth place, with Massa finishing over four seconds behind in fifth. Jenson Button started the race lower down the grid than his team mate, but still had good pace. It came as a surprise, though, when his team radioed him at lap 36 to retire due to apparent hydraulic problems. Webber, Alonso and Hamilton exchanged the lead throughout the grand prix. However, by lap 57, it was clear that Lewis Hamilton was going to win the race, with Webber going in to make his final pit stop. Alonso finished in second place and Webber in third. One big highlight came during the slow down lap though, where team Ferrari ordered Alonso to stop his car due to a lack of fuel. Webber took the opportunity to give Alonso a lift, Mansell and Senna-style, back to the pits. Alex Kisiri |
