By the time he stood atop the podium at the German Grand Prix, the atmosphere around Lewis Hamilton was positively apocalyptic. The rain that had played such a crucial role in his victory had turned torrential. Great crashes of thunder rolled across the Hockenheimring, punctuated by staccato flashes of lightning amid dense clouds that subsumed the circuit in a sea of grey. Nature itself, it seemed, was determined to mark one of the most extraordinary and unlikely wins Formula One has seen and provide a suitably dramatic backing as the result hung in the balance for over two and half hours, while Hamilton waited on tenterhooks to see if his victory would stand.
At the heart of the maelstrom as the national anthem played, stood Hamilton, arms outstretched, head turned towards the heavens, rain streaming from his face, simply glorying in the moment. He had started from 14th, a win was beyond his wildest expectations. But it was only ultimately confirmed at gone 7.30pm when the stewards decided not to penalise him for a late exit from the pit‑lane entry, issuing a reprimand instead.
Damage limitation had been his intention after a mechanical failure in qualifying saw him start in the back half of the grid but the turn around could not have been more remarkable or wide-reaching.
His championship rival Sebastian Vettel had gone in to the race with an eight-point advantage and starting from pole was expectant of extending it. But the German was caught out by the rain and crashed while leading in the final third. If Hamilton viewed what he described as a “biblical” storm at its close as a suitably operatic finale to his epic day, for Vettel it would have surely reflected his fury. He was left impotent, banging his steering wheel in anger with his stricken car in the barriers.
Hamilton’s win once again puts him in charge of the title race, the sixth time the lead has changed hands this season and he now has a 17-point advantage over Vettel. Psychologically it is a major blow in Hamilton’s favour. His race engineer Peter Bonnington said “miracles do happen” to his driver at the close of the race. Hamilton echoed the sentiments when saying later that he believed his prayers before the race had been answered.
It is Hamilton’s fourth win at the German Grand Prix, matching Michael Schumacher as the most successful driver at the race and of import for Mercedes in securing a one-two, with Valtteri Bottas in second, regaining their lead of the constructors’ championship.
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
