Formula 1 races into Hockenheim this weekend for the German Grand Prix. But who’s hot 🔥 and who’s not 👎🻠at the event? Motorsport Week delves into the record books.
Wins ðŸ†
Only two drivers on the current grid have taken victory at the German Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton surged forwards from 14th on the grid to take an extraordinary win at last year’s event, which marked his fourth at the grand prix.
Hamilton’s 2018 trophy joined his wins from 2008 (when he drove for McLaren), 2011 (when the race was at the Nurburgring) and 2016.
Hamilton’s victory enabled him to draw level with record-holder Michael Schumacher on four German Grand Prix wins.
Sebastian Vettel led last year’s race before slithering off into the gravel as his hopes of a second home victory ended in the barriers.
Vettel’s sole home win came while competing for Red Bull, at the Nurburgring, in 2013.
Poles 💨
Hamilton has four wins in Germany – but only two pole positions, leaving him level with Kimi Raikkonen and Vettel in that regard.
Hamilton was quickest over one-lap with McLaren in 2008 and at the Nurburgring with Mercedes in 2013. Two of his three Saturday sessions at Hockenheim driving a Silver Arrows have been compromised by mechanical issues – a brake failure in 2014 left him last, and a power unit issue last season meant he lined up 14th.
Raikkonen’s pair of Germany poles came during his McLaren days – in 2005 and 2006 – while Vettel’s Hockenheim stunners were set in 2010, driving for Red Bull, and last year with Ferrari.
Podiums 🎉
Eight of the current 20 drivers have taken to the podium at the German Grand Prix.
Hamilton, along with his four wins, took third spot in 2014, while Raikkonen – never a winner at the event – finished on the rostrum in 2006, 2012, 2013 and 2018.
Vettel took successive podiums in 2009 and 2010, prior to his 2013 victory, while Valtteri Bottas was runner-up at Hockenheim in 2014 (for Williams) and in 2018.
Romain Grosjean (2013, Lotus), Daniel Ricciardo (2016, Red Bull) and Max Verstappen (2016) are the other drivers to have taken home a trophy from the event.
Other facts ðŸ”
Ferrari has taken 21 victories at a world championship German Grand Prix, which marks a record for any team or manufacturer at a single Formula 1 event.
Hamilton’s 2018 win, after his 2016 triumphed, marked the first time since 1991/1992 (Nigel Mansell) that a driver managed to secure successive German Grand Prix victories.
Fernando Alonso’s exit from Formula 1 means there is just one driver left – Kimi Raikkonen – who has experience of the old Hockenheim circuit, which was last used in 2001.
