Imago
A jubilant Vettel atop his Ferrari
Imago
A jubilant Vettel atop his Ferrari
It was a topsy-turvy qualifying session as Sebastian Vettel grabbed pole in Hockenheim. However, it was a close session as teammate Kimi Raikkonen and the other Mercedes of Bottas made him sweat. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen ended the session 4th ahead of both Haas cars.
In Q1, there was drama as Lewis Hamilton juddered to a halt due to a hydraulic problem. Many suspected that Lewis’ constant running wide was the reason behind the hydraulic issue. Bottas salvage some pride for Mercedes by slotting between both Ferraris. But Sebastian Vettel proved that he is the king of qualifying with a stunning lap.
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With Daniel Ricciardo also out of the reckoning due to a grid penalty, that meant that there were 2 less rivals.
In Q1, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Brendon Hartley, Lance Stroll and Stoffel Vandoorne were eliminagted. Of these 5, Ocon was the biggest surprise exit. Also joining them on the sidelines was an unhappy Hamilton.
In Q2, there was even more drama as Marcus Ericsson spun at the hairpin and ended up in the gravel. Fortunately, he was able to extricate himself and return to the pit lane. However, in doing so, he dumped a lot of gravel on the track, bringing out the red flag.
At the end of Q2, Fernando Alonso, Sergey Sirotkin and Ericsson joined Hamilton and Ricciardo on the sidelines. The Australian opted to remain in the pits as he probably found it pointless to set a lap time when he was starting last.
In the top 10 shootout, Raikkonen was on a flyer when he made a mistake in sector 3. This handed Vettel the advantage and Bottas also capitalised. Behind the top 3 were Max Verstappen in the surviving Red Bull, the Haas duo of Magnussen and Grosjean, Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz with Charles LeClerc sandwiched between the two Renaults. Finally, Force India’s Sergio Perez rounded out the top 10.
It's a @SauberF1Team one-two in FP3 @Charles_Leclerc tops a #F1 session for the first time 👏#GermanGP 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/YsBZABZqgT
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 21, 2018
Well that absolutely sucks… 💔 #LH44 stops on track in the dying seconds of Q1… 🇩🇪 #GermanGP pic.twitter.com/iGwLSDck5Y
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) July 21, 2018
Someone didn't pack a brolly ☂️
Good improvisation though 😂#GermanGP 🇩🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/qyTMhf3ua9
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 21, 2018
Ferrari trying to comprehend how for once in the V6 era everything seems to be going their way lately #F1 #GermanGP pic.twitter.com/NObYdSJzGi
— Aarav (@_aarava) July 21, 2018
Qualifying day! 👊🏻 I wouldn’t mind the weather to spice it up today #UnleashTheLion #KeepPushing #GermanGP pic.twitter.com/VfMVVEydaA
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) July 21, 2018
Gravel on track. Ericsson's fault #GermanGP #F1
— WTF1 (@wtf1official) July 21, 2018
Let’s be honest, this isn’t a huge deal for Lewis considering Ferrari are fastest and the midfield are so slow. Easy top 5 for Lewis tomorrow if he finishes 😅 #GermanGP
— Benjamin (@Tiametmarduk) July 21, 2018
With @LewisHamilton (hydraulics) and @danielricciardo (grid penalties) out of top 10, big chance for @HaasF1Team and others to get good grid positions. #GermanGP #AbuDhabiGP
— Yas Marina Circuit (@ymcofficial) July 21, 2018
Charles LeClerc qualifying in the top 10 is now the norm 👏👏 #GermanGP
— Gaz (@ProducerGaz1998) July 21, 2018
Gran Premio de Alemania (2018) #GermanGP #F1 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/boVS2At0hh
— Carlos Jimeno (@noticiascarlos) July 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/BielzitoMMA/status/1020672945071575040
Exhilarating qualifying session. Breathtaking stuff. We’re in for a race tomorrow #f1 #GermanGP
— Owen Mphande (@MphandeO) July 21, 2018
Vettel on pole… Bottas is second… #TeamMercedesAMG #GermanGP
— George Petros, Jr. (@georgepetros_jr) July 21, 2018
What a lap from Vettel. #F1 #GermanGP
— James Hick (@James27LUFC) July 21, 2018
Wow! What a quali! Bot threatened Vet but the German showed just whose home race it was! A significant result in front of home fans. 1Vet 2Bot(0.2) 3Rai 4Ver 5Mag 6Gro 7Hul 8Sai 9Lec 10Per.Ham starts in P14. Ric P15. #GermanGP
— Rosh. (@roshnigajjar) July 21, 2018
Great effort from Bottas to get on front row #F1 #GermanGP
— Craig Lockey (@Craigy_Craigo92) July 21, 2018
Sebastian Vettel. Smashed the track record to bits. What a qualifying session from him. Pole position at his home Grand Prix! Weiter so Seb! #Seb5 #F1 #GermanGP
— Yasser (@master_yas) July 21, 2018
What a pole lap #Vettel
Well done,that was great.#GermanGP #F1 #beINF1— Ahmad Mohammad Ahmad (@AhmadCapitano) July 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/Enya_SV5/status/1020672930982789122
Ermmmmmm……
Anyone else looking forward to the back of the grid tomorrow?
'Cos that's where all the action is gonna be….
Go for it Valteri & Daniel!! 🏁👍#GermanGP— Kristin Plant (@misskristinruth) July 21, 2018
But of course #Seb5 smashes pole position! 😅 thank you and well done @ScuderiaFerrari ! #GermanGP pic.twitter.com/p67kOZar2h
— jakalas_m (@FingahzEnt) July 21, 2018
That was such a beast of a lap from Vettel, WOW, could have been front row for Ferrari's but happy with P1 and P3 #GermanGP
— 🇩🇪🐐 (@its_me_axad) July 21, 2018
Toto didn't bless the rains down in Africa very well #GermanGP
— Rachel O'Sullivan (@Rachel_Victoria) July 21, 2018
Thought Vettel was going to do a 1.10 there. Incredible lap. #GermanGP
— IPsychoEnigmaI (@IPsychoEnigmaI) July 21, 2018
What a final qualifying lap! #Vettel #Ferrari #GermanGP
— S (@SAMawji) July 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/AbbofficialUK/status/1020673843999006720
Kimi: "I had a small moment. Not ideal. There was more left today but it didn't come" #F1 #GermanGP
— F1 Madness 🏁 (@F1_Madness) July 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/imONLY_FACTS/status/1020673837220868097
Seeing all of the German and Ferrari flags at Hockenheimring is something special. #f1 #GermanGP
— Jon Hayden ✂️🇺🇸 (@jonhayden) July 21, 2018
