2018 German Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Lewis Hamilton turned fourteenth on the grid into victory at the 2018 German Grand Prix as rain transformed the race at the Hockenheimring. Sebastian Vettel had led his home event from pole, but a slide into the barriers handed the championship initiative back to his Mercedes rival.

Pole position
Driver	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Time	1:11.212
Fastest lap
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:15.545 on lap 66
Podium
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Third	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
20 July 2018	Practice 1	11:00 – 12:30
20 July 2018	Practice 2	15:00 – 16:30
21 July 2018	Practice 3	12:00 – 13:00
21 July 2018	Qualifying	15:00 – 16:00
22 July 2018	Race	15:10

All times are local (UTC+02:00). The race time is the scheduled start.

Championship background

Vettel arrived eight points ahead of Hamilton after winning at Silverstone Circuit. The German Grand Prix returned following a year’s absence, and a strong Ferrari performance in qualifying promised another opportunity to extend that advantage.

Race entries

Nicholas Latifi replaced Esteban Ocon at Force India in FP1, while Antonio Giovinazzi took Marcus Ericsson‘s Sauber. The regular race drivers returned afterwards. Daniel Ricciardo faced a substantial power-unit grid penalty.

Free Practice

Daniel Ricciardo led FP1 in 1:13.525, only 0.004 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen completed the top three.

Verstappen headed FP2 with a 1:13.085, followed closely by Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Dry running suggested a tight contest between the leading teams.

Heavy rain limited FP3, with only nine drivers setting times. Charles Leclerc led in 1:34.577 ahead of Marcus Ericsson and Sergey Sirotkin, an unusual order that reflected the conditions rather than the expected qualifying hierarchy.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2018 German Grand Prix FP1, 20 July 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:13.525	22
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.004s	29
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.189s	34
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.271s	23
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.378s	30
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.742s	24
7	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.166s	29
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.328s	28
9	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+1.572s	25
10	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+1.757s	32
11	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.890s	29
12	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.019s	13
13	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+2.104s	32
14	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+2.244s	10
15	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+2.339s	36
16	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+2.351s	34
17	34	Nicholas Latifi	Force India	+2.498s	27
18	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+2.546s	32
19	36	Antonio Giovinazzi	Sauber	+2.611s	23
20	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.624s	14

Free Practice 2 Classification

2018 German Grand Prix FP2, 20 July 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:13.085	18
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.026s	39
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.105s	39
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.225s	46
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.342s	41
6	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+0.888s	34
7	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.104s	36
8	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+1.289s	41
9	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+1.411s	31
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	+1.423s	39
11	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.467s	38
12	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+1.507s	43
13	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.597s	36
14	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+1.698s	38
15	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+1.708s	44
16	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+1.745s	45
17	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.751s	38
18	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+2.184s	36
19	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+2.323s	41
20	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.369s	34

Free Practice 3 Classification

2018 German Grand Prix FP3, 21 July 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1:34.577	8
2	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+0.423s	9
3	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+0.757s	9
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.996s	5
5	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+1.082s	6
6	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+1.574s	6
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+2.296s	4
8	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+3.178s	4
9	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+3.816s	7
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	No time	2
11	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	No time	2
12	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	No time	1
13	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	No time	1
14	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	No time	2
15	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	No time	1
16	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	No time	2
17	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	No time	2
18	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	No time	2
19	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	No time	1
20	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	No time	2

Qualifying

Sebastian Vettel took pole with a 1:11.212, ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen. Max Verstappen qualified fourth, with Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean filling the third row for Haas.

Lewis Hamilton suffered a hydraulic problem after setting a Q1 time quick enough to progress. He could not take part in Q2 and qualified fourteenth. Daniel Ricciardo also sat out Q2 because his existing penalties already committed him to a back-row start.

Qualifying Classification

2018 German Grand Prix Qualifying, 21 July 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:12.538	1:12.505	1:11.212	16
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:12.962	1:12.152	1:11.416	18
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:12.505	1:12.336	1:11.547	17
4	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:13.127	1:12.188	1:11.822	18
5	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:13.105	1:12.523	1:12.200	18
6	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:12.986	1:12.722	1:12.544	17
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:13.479	1:12.946	1:12.560	17
8	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	1:13.324	1:13.032	1:12.692	19
9	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1:13.077	1:12.995	1:12.717	23
10	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:13.427	1:13.072	1:12.774	19
11	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:13.614	1:13.657	—	16
12	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1:13.708	1:13.702	—	13
13	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:13.562	1:13.736	—	17
14	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:13.012	No time	—	8
15	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:13.318	No time	—	6
16	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:13.720	—	—	10
17	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:13.749	—	—	9
18	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	1:14.045	—	—	8
19	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:14.206	—	—	10
20	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:14.401	—	—	10

Daniel Ricciardo received a 20-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.

Pierre Gasly received a 30-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.

What happened in the 2018 German Grand Prix?

Vettel led from Bottas and Räikkönen, while Hamilton began working through the midfield. Ferrari stopped Räikkönen early, and the different strategies eventually placed him ahead of Vettel after the leaders’ stops.

Vettel spent several laps behind his team-mate before Ferrari instructed Räikkönen to let him through. Hamilton extended his first stint, preserving strategic flexibility as the possibility of rain grew. Ricciardo’s recovery ended with a loss of power.

Rain arrived unevenly around the circuit, creating a difficult tyre decision. Some drivers switched to intermediates or wets too early and lost time, while Hamilton’s pace on slick tyres became increasingly threatening.

Vettel then slid into the barriers at the stadium section and retired from the lead. The resulting safety car brought further pit stops, but Hamilton stayed out after aborting a call to enter the pits. That left him ahead of Bottas and Räikkönen.

Bottas challenged briefly at the restart before Mercedes asked its drivers to hold position. Hamilton won, with Bottas second, Räikkönen third and Verstappen fourth. Nico Hülkenberg took fifth, followed by Grosjean, Sergio Perez, Ocon, Ericsson and Brendon Hartley after Carlos Sainz‘s penalty.

Hamilton received a reprimand for his aborted pit entry but retained the victory. He left Germany 17 points ahead of Vettel after one of the season’s biggest swings, with Mercedes also returning to the top of the constructors’ standings.

2018 German Grand Prix race results

The 2018 German Grand Prix was held on 22 July 2018, with a scheduled start of 15:10 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	67	1:32:29.845	25
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	67	+4.535s	18
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	67	+6.732s	15
4	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	67	+7.654s	12
5	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	67	+26.609s	10
6	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	67	+28.871s	8
7	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	67	+30.556s	6
8	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	67	+31.750s	4
9	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	67	+32.362s	2
10	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	67	+34.197s	1
11	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	67	+34.919s	0
12	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	67	+43.069s	0
13	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	67	+46.617s	0
14	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	66	+1 lap	0
15	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	66	+1 lap	0
16	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	65	Gearbox	0
Ret	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	53	Brakes	0
Ret	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	51	Accident	0
Ret	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	51	Oil leak	0
Ret	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	27	Power loss	0

Carlos Sainz originally finished 10th, but received a 10-second penalty for overtaking under safety car conditions demoting him to 12th.

Fernando Alonso retired from the race, but was classified as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.

2018 German Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	66	16:44:17	1:15.545	217.968
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	65	16:43:05	1:15.721	217.461
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	66	16:44:25	1:15.852	217.085
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	64	16:41:51	1:15.990	216.691
5	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	66	16:44:45	1:16.716	214.641
6	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	39	16:04:17	1:17.290	213.046
7	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	63	16:40:54	1:17.430	212.661
8	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	67	16:46:20	1:17.537	212.368
9	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	66	16:44:49	1:17.681	211.974
10	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	66	16:44:50	1:17.697	211.930
11	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	60	16:38:19	1:17.741	211.811
12	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	65	16:43:29	1:17.745	211.800
13	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	66	16:46:12	1:17.762	211.753
14	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	64	16:43:37	1:17.852	211.509
15	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	66	16:44:44	1:17.867	211.468
16	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	66	16:44:41	1:17.910	211.351
17	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	64	16:42:10	1:17.941	211.267
18	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	22	15:42:38	1:18.262	210.400
19	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	35	16:00:41	1:18.861	208.802
20	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	36	16:02:04	1:18.934	208.609

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear in this table. Time of Day is local time; average speeds are in km/h. No championship point was awarded for fastest lap in 2018.

2018 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for drivers and teams after the 2018 German Grand Prix.

2018 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	188
2	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Ferrari	171
3	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Ferrari	131
4	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes	122
5	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Red Bull Racing	106
6	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	105
7	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Renault	52
8	Fernando Alonso	ESP	McLaren	40
9	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas	39
10	Sergio Perez	MEX	Force India	30
11	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Force India	29
12	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Renault	28
13	Romain Grosjean	FRA	Haas	20
14	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Toro Rosso	18
15	Charles Leclerc	MON	Sauber	13
16	Stoffel Vandoorne	BEL	McLaren	8
17	Marcus Ericsson	SWE	Sauber	5
18	Lance Stroll	CAN	Williams	4
19	Brendon Hartley	NZL	Toro Rosso	2
20	Sergey Sirotkin	RUS	Williams	0

2018 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	310
2	Ferrari	302
3	Red Bull Racing	211
4	Renault	80
5	Force India	59
6	Haas	59
7	McLaren	48
8	Toro Rosso	20
9	Sauber	18
10	Williams	4

2018 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2018 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	25 March
2	2018 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	8 April
3	2018 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	15 April
4	2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	29 April
5	2018 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	13 May
6	2018 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	27 May
7	2018 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	10 June
8	2018 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	24 June
9	2018 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	1 July
10	2018 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	8 July
11	2018 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	22 July
12	2018 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	29 July
13	2018 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	26 August
14	2018 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza	2 September
15	2018 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	16 September
16	2018 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	30 September
17	2018 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	7 October
18	2018 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	21 October
19	2018 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	28 October
20	2018 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	11 November
21	2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	25 November