3. 2019 German GP: Mercedes self-implodes as pitwall watches on in fancy dress

July 28, Hockenheim

Mercedes’ purple patch had rarely been more purple. Between them Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas had won nine of the first 10 grands prix of the season prior to arriving at Hockenheim, and Mercedes went all-in for its home race in what was an important year for the Stuttgart brand.

As well as being the event’s title sponsor – the Mercedes-Benz Grosser Preis von Deutschland – the brand was also marking an important milestone. To celebrate both 125 years of its participation in motorsport, and its 200th grand prix start, the Silver Arrows went back to their roots, instead being decked out in a special white livery harking back to Mercedes’ original 1930s colours. To add to the theme, all team members were encouraged to attend in period fancy dress (above). There was a sense of fun and frolic about the usually straight-faced team, like F1’s version of Disneyland. Perhaps that contributed to what would eventually become something of a downfall.

Initially everything looked like going to plan when Hamilton annexed pole, however Sunday would be a different story as the Baden-Württemberg weather literally rained on the parade. Hamilton held the lead as the race began in soaking-wet conditions, but by mid-race the rain had abated opening a tiny window for those brave enough to try slick tyres.

“The Tarmac became a trap, dragging any car that got off-line helplessly into the barriers or the gravel”

This put the race on a knife edge as drivers toed extremely slender drying lines, well aware of the pitfalls awaiting beyond the margins. And there was no bigger pitfall than the Südkurve. Hockenheim’s final turn featured run-off that doubled as a dragstrip, and in the conditions the super-smooth Tarmac was transformed into a booby trap, dragging any car that ventured off-line helplessly into either the barriers or the gravel. The first warning signs came when Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc skidded out of second after seemingly innocently dipping one of his soft tyres onto a wet patch, his Ferrari sucked and swamped into the gravel.

Leclerc’s off gave Hamilton a comfortable lead, but it all went wrong when he too fell victim of the same trap just a few laps later, ironically smiting the Mercedes-branded barrier, damaging his front wing. Hamilton got going and scrabbled back to the pits, but in doing so crossed the track and skipped the pitlane entry bollard, earning himself a five-second time penalty that would dump him outside the top 10 come the next round of stops. Things were compounded for Mercedes when Bottas put a wheel on the wet stuff at turn one and crashed out.

Max Verstappen won for Red Bull, despite his own early spin on slicks, and Sebastian Vettel put in one of his finest performances in red. After missing qualifying due to an electrical issue, the German dragged his Ferrari from 20th (and last!) on the grid to second to delight his home crowd.

“It shows you can’t fool about with this stuff. We’re not superstitious, but we do believe in karma”

Hamilton would nick a single point for ninth, but it was hardly the celebration Mercedes had planned. Toto Wolff, Fedora barely hiding his reddened face, said: “It shows that you can’t fool around with this stuff. You should concentrate on the job. We are not superstitious, but we do believe in karma…” We doubt he ever wore that hat again. RL

Results

1st Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing-Honda), 1hr 44min 31.275sec, 104.41mph
2nd Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
3rd Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso-Honda)

Pole position Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 1min 11.767sec, 142.56mph