Nurburg: In a hotly contested German Grand Prix, Lewis
Hamilton won the race and equalled the mind-blowing record of 91 wins set by
the former German legendary driver Michael Schumacher. Hamilton was unable to
take pole in the qualifying as his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas took the
first place on the grid. The Dutch racer, Max Verstappen took the third
position in qualifying. The first two practices were absconded after the
unrelenting rain showed signs of stopping. The free practices were absconded
because the medical helicopter could not be able to reach the nearest hospital
from Nurburgring. If any driver were to unfortunately involved in an accident
or sustained injuries, the authorities would have been forced to take the
injured driver by road and it take 45 minutes to reach in Koblenz. It would
only take 20 minutes for the medical helicopter to transport an injured driver.
The clouds cleared on Saturday, and the racers began their
last free practice under the clear sky. Notably, one of the two Racing Point
cars was left in the garage with only Sergio Perez driving around the track.
Later, it was reported that Lance Stroll had taken ill and would not be able to
participate in any events during the weekend. And for the third time this year,
Racing Point has called up their reserve driver and fan-favourite Nico
Hulkenberg to drive the second car. Hulkenberg arrived during the third free
practice and took part in the qualifying session later in the day. He finished
last in the qualifying while the familiar trio of Bottas, Hamilton and
Verstappen nabbed the first three positions on the grid for Sunday race.
Valtteri Bottas was off to a jittery start at the start of
the race on Sunday as Lewis Hamilton came incredibly close to overtaking the
Finn at Turn 1. But, Bottas managed to retain the pole position but not for
long. He began to experience power and mechanical problems in his car allowing
Hamilton to easily pass him. Bottas fell down the positions and Renualt’s
Daniel Ricciardo quickly responded and took the third position which he
impressively held onto the final lap and secured a podium for the first time
since 2018 Monaco. The crew of Renault were ecstatic and could not contain
their happiness after Ricciardo finished third. Verstappen held onto his second
position and finished the race but surely in another disappointed run for the
talented Dutchman who could not survive the Mercedes domination this year. Nico
Hulkenberg started in the 20th position and by the end of the race,
he secured eighth position. In an impressive race which also has seen
Hulkenberg taking the driver of the day honours from the fans.
Mick Schumacher was scheduled to drive Alfa Romeo during the
first free practice on Friday but rain prohibited the young German to do so. On
Sunday, Mick Schumacher stood in Alfa Romeo’s garage as he watched on Lewis
Hamilton equal his father’s record of 91 wins in Formula 1. Later, in a
touching moment, Mick gifted a Michael Schumacher helmet to Hamilton
congratulating him on winning the 91st race of his career.
