Lewis Hamilton wins after Vettel crashes at German GP in the Heavy Rain.
Despite the heavy rain in Hockenheimring Lewis Hamilton has regained Formula 1 world championship lead by winning the German Grand Prix, over his rival Mercedes' Sebastian Vettel crashed out.
Lewis Hamilton earned his 66th career victory.
Vettel had been cruising to victory in his Ferrari ahead of Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas until the rain started to fall with just over 25 laps to go.
But the weather, which hit only part of the track, turned the race on its head and brought Hamilton into the mix when he had been looking at a fourth-place finish after fighting up from his 14th place on the grid following the hydraulic failure in qualifying.
Hamilton began to carve into the advantage of the three leading drivers - Vettel, his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen and Bottas - as chaos erupted down the field.
And then, as the rain became heavier, Vettel lost control at the Sachs Kurve hairpin in Hockenheim's Stadium section in front of tens of thousands of his home fans.
He swore over the radio as he took in the potential damage to his title hopes - and Hamilton pulled away at the front after a safety car period for Vettel's crash, ending the race with a 17-point advantage when it looked like he would lose further ground.
German Grand Prix 2018 results, Standing.
1. Hamilton - 1: 32: 29.845s
2. Bottas - - 4.5 sec.
3. Raikkonen- - 6.7 sec
4. Verstappen- -7.6 sec
5. Hulkenberg- 26.6 sec
6. Grosjean
7. Perez
8. Ocon
9. Ericsson
10. Hartley
#F1 - Podium of the #GermanGP 🇩🇪⬇ pic.twitter.com/6QFseEcLT3— FIA (@fia) July 22, 2018
What They Said, Drivers Reactions (Quotes):
Lewis Hamilton (Winner): I did [believe I could win]. It's obviously very difficult front hat position but you have always going to believe. We did the parade lap, I could see how much support I had. I wanted to stay collected and stay calm. Honestly, I am so grateful. I just kept pushing and believing and it happened. Big, big thanks to God. It was so tough out there, conditions were perfect for the business time. When it rained I knew I would have a good position. For those who don't know me. Now you do
Valtteri Bottas (2nd Position): Yeah, you know, as a driver the win is what you are looking after. When Seb went off I thought now was a good chance but for Lewis, the Safety Car was at a better time. Perfect result for us [as a team]. We had a bit of a battle lap one after safety car with Lewis and I didn't get past them and they told to minimize the risk.
Kimi Raikkonen (3rd Position): We have certain rules but it wasn't clear enough. It didn't really change an awful lot in the end. I had a small moment with one of the lappers, a Sauber, on the braking and then Valtteri got past me. Happy to finish but a bit disappointed.
F1 Drivers' Championship standings (Updated)
1 - Lewis Hamilton - 188
2 - Sebastian Vettel - 171
3 - Kimi Räikkönen - 131
4 - Valtteri Bottas - 122
5 - Daniel Ricciardo - 106
6 - Max Verstappen - 105
7 - Nico Hulkenberg - 52
8 - Fernando Alonso - 40
9 - Kevin Magnussen - 39
10 - Sergio Perez - 30
Formula 1 Constructor standings 2018 (Updated)
1 - Mercedes - 310
2 - Ferrari - 302
3 - Red Bull - 211
4 - Renault - 80
5 - Force India - 59
6 - Haas - 59
7 - McLaren - 48
8 - Toro Rosso - 20
9 - Sauber - 18
1- Williams - 4
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