Formula 1: Max Verstappen wins dramatic 2019 German Grand Prix

Max Verstappen earned his second victory of the 2019 Formula 1 season by winning what was a wet, dry and dramatic German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring.

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen earned his second victory of the 21-race 2019 Formula 1 season by winning the race that officially took the season past the halfway point.

The 21-year-old Dutchman won the season’s 11th race, the German Grand Prix, at the Hockenheimring, and he did so in dramatic fashion in what was a race for the ages.

Verstappen started this 64-lap race, which was shortened from 67 laps due to rain, around the 16-turn, 2.842-mile (4.574-kilometer) Hockenheimring road course in Am Motodrom, Hockenheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany in second place, and he won it by 7.333 seconds over Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who started in 20th (last), in second.

More from Formula One

• Formula 1: Top Red Bull threat identified for 2024
• Formula 1: Why the Max Verstappen retirement obsession?
• Formula 1: Williams ‘mistake’ hints Logan Sargeant’s future
• Formula 1 awaiting key confirmation for 2024 season
• Formula 1: The ‘championship’ Max Verstappen only leads by 3 points

After the excitement and drama, it was Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat who rounded out the podium by finishing in a surprising third place to give Honda a double podium finish with Verstappen winning. But the surprises didn’t end there in the slightest.

SportPesa Racing Point’s Lance Stroll and McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. rounded out the top five by finishing in fourth and fifth, respectively. Toro Rosso were the first team to place two cars, as rookie Alexander Albon finished in sixth.

At one point, Stroll led the race — legitimately. He did not, however, lead any laps.

Sainz Jr.’s fifth place finish came even after he went spinning off the track early and appeared to be slated for a poor result, certainly not the second best finish of his career.

But the surprises didn’t end there, either.

Alfa Romeo Racing teammates Kimi Raikkonen and rookie Antonio Giovinazzi finished in seventh and eighth place, respectively, while Rich Energy Haas teammates Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen rounded out the top 10 by finishing in ninth and 10th, respectively.

When all was said and done, ROKiT Williams Racing had a better race than Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport in the latter’s home race.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton dominated the early stages of the race after starting from the pole position, as he led the race’s first 29 laps. But as the conditions began to change, everything went wrong for the man who has singlehandedly dominated the 2019 season.

He had to settle for 11th place ahead of Williams teammates Robert Kubica and George Russell in 12th and 13th, respectively. Kubica and Russell were the lowest placed drivers among the 13 drivers who actually finished the race. A total of 20 drivers started it, and all 13 of the drivers who finished it finished on the lead lap.

Hamilton went off the course and hit the wall, damaging his front wing, due to the wet weather while the race was neutralized due to an incident. Upon deciding to come into the pits for a lengthy stop for repairs, he had already gone past the pit entry bollard, which caused him to be issued a five-second time penalty. He spun out later in the race as well.

Racing Point’s Sergio Perez was the first of seven drivers who retired from the race when he crashed early. Then Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo experienced a mechanical issue. McLaren rookie Lando Norris experienced a mechanical issue shortly thereafter.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas all crashed as well. All were running toward the front with a chance for a podium finish if not a win at some point in the race. Red Bull Racing’s Pierre Gasly was also forced to retire late in the race after running into the back of Albon.

Verstappen lost massive leads several times due to the many safety car periods that this race featured as a result of the seemingly endless string of incidents, but he was the class of the field on whatever particular tires were suitable for the current conditions.

Despite the fact that he spun out before the halfway mark of the race, he won the race after making a total of five pit stops for new tires and leading the final 35 laps.

Here are the full race results of the 2019 German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring.

Race Results
1st – Max Verstappen
2nd – Sebastian Vettel
3rd – Daniil Kvyat
4th – Lance Stroll
5th – Carlos Sainz Jr.
6th – Alexander Albon
7th – Kimi Raikkonen
8th – Antonio Giovinazzi
9th – Romain Grosjean
10th – Kevin Magnussen
11th – Lewis Hamilton
12th – Robert Kubica
13th – George Russell
14th – Pierre Gasly
15th – Valtteri Bottas
16th – Nico Hulkenberg
17th – Charles Leclerc
18th – Lando Norris
19th – Daniel Ricciardo
20th – Sergio Perez

Formula 1 action is scheduled to resume next Sunday, August 4 with the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring in Modyorod, Hungary. This race is set to be broadcast live on ESPN2 beginning at 9:10 a.m. ET.