Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton wins dramatic 2018 German Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton earned a dramatic victory in the 11th race of the 2018 Formula 1 season, the German Grand Prix, at the Hockenheimring.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton entered the 11th race of the 21-race 2018 Formula 1 season, the German Grand Prix, with 65 career Formula victories. Of those 65 victories, he had earned zero after starting lower than sixth place.

That changed in the German Grand Prix after Hamilton started in 14th place and won the race in dramatic fashion for his fourth victory of the 2018 season and the 66th victory of his career, moving him one win closer to Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 victories.

No driver had won a Formula 1 race after starting as far back as 14th place since Fernando Alonso won the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix after he started in 15th.

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Hamilton won the 67-lap race around the 17-turn, 2.842-mile (4.574-kilometer) Hockenheimring in Am Motodrom, Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany by 4.535 seconds over his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in second place. Scuderia Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen rounded out the podium in third place.

The race featured a five lead changes, which is tied for a season-high, among a four drivers, which is also tied for a season-high. Aside of Hamilton, who led only 15 laps of the race, three drivers led at least one lap of the race. Those drivers were Bottas, Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel.

Among the top three teams, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing, only Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo did not lead the race. Max Verstappen led the race, but he was not officially scored as the race leader since he did not complete a lap while leading. Ricciardo, meanwhile, was the first driver forced to retire, and he was forced to do so as a result of mechanical issues.

Vettel, who started the race from the pole position, led more laps than anybody in the field with 38 laps led and appeared to have the race in the bag until he reached turn 12 on lap 52.

At that point, Vettel had a lead of more than nine seconds over Bottas in second place, but he slid off the track and into the wall, causing him to retire and lose what appeared to be a sure victory that would have extended his lead in the driver standings over Hamilton in second by a sizable margin.

Hamilton took the lead of the race before the restart after Bottas and Raikkonen, who took over first and second place, respectively, following Vettel’s wreck, came into the pits during the safety car period, and he held on to win the race.

Of the 20 drivers who started the race, 15 finished it. Of those 15 drivers, 13 finished it on the lead lap.

Here are the full race results of the 2018 German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring.

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Tune in to the 12th race of the 2018 Formula 1 season, the Hungarian Grand Prix, at 9:10 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 29. That race is scheduled to be broadcast live from the Hungaroring on ESPN2.