Lap 66/67: The rain will be with us on the final lap…
Lap 65/67: The rain will be with us imminently, and it’ll be heavier apparently. But it’d best get a wriggle on…
Lap 64/67: There’s a threat of rain, but it’s not going to matter. The leaderboard now reads:
1. Hamilton
2. Bottas
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3. Raikkonen
4. Verstappen
5. Hulkenberg
6. Perez
7. Ocon
8. Grosjean
9. Ericsson
10. Sainz
Lap 62/67: Hamilton’s lead is up to 2.561s. What a drive, set up by how quickly he moved through the field at the start and elevated by the perfect tactics for the circumstance.
Lap 61/67: It starts to rain again, but the gap from first to second is up to two seconds. And behind them, Raikkonen isn’t within DRS range, which makes this an incredible weekend for Mercedes.
Lap 60/67: well who expected this?! Maybe not even Lewis Hamilton! Bottas has been told to hold his position now – with an apology, which I’m sure made him feel so much better – so as long as Hamilton stays on the track, he’s going back on top of the drivers’ championship!
Lap 59/67: DRS is back involved at the end of the next lap, but Hamilton is going to be too far ahead for that!
Lap 59/67: Sainz is under investigation for overtaking while the safety car was out, while Hamilton extends his lead to 1.960.
Lap 58/67: With Bottas looking to overtake Hamilton, Raikkonen closes and that’s great for Hamilton who bousts out of DRS range.
Lap 58/67: And Hamilton streaks away … just!
Lap 58/67: And off we go! Hamilton has his team-mate Bottas behind him which might help … or not as Bottas has a go and they’re wheel to wheel!
Lap 57/67: The safety car is off at the end of the lap … what a race this has been! What a race this now is!
Lap 56/67: Sainz is up into eight, Ocon is seventh, Perez sixth, Hulkenberg 5, Verstappen fourth, Raikkonen third, Bottas second … and Hamilton first. The safety car will surely depart now…
Lap 55/67: We’ve still got the safety car on, so it’ll be a sprint for the line. Hamilton, whose tyres are the oldest, will have to fight to maintain his lead, but surely he’ll have enough from here!
Lap 54/67: They reckon in commentary that Vettel was too cautious, and I wonder if the strategy was part of the problem – obviously it didn’t overshoot the corner, but it did cause an unhappy driver.
Lap 53/67: So Raikkonen leads … but pits, and now Hamilton leads! Oh I say! Raikkonen comes out behind Bottas, and Hamilton is literally going to win isn’t he! Mercedes have got their strategy absolutely bob-on here, even if they did need a serious error to bring it home.
Lap 52/67:Vettel made an error heading into the Saxe Turn, going too wide, and found himself unable to correct – there wasn’t the room – so into the barrier he went, and oh dear me!
Lap 52/67: The safety car is on!
Lap 52/67: Hamilton is gaining on Raikkonen now – AND VETTEL IS OUT OF THE RACE! HE CRASHES INTO A BARRIER!
Lap 51/67: Bottas attacks Raikkonen, who shuts the door, while Magnussen and Perez duel and the latter spins off! Then Raikkonen has to move over and Bottas powers past!
Lap 50/67: There’s a bit more rain, but only a bit.
Lap 49/67: My guess is that Vettel will be able to hang on, but Mercedes seem to have read the conditions better, saving their pit til the last possible moment and giving Hamilton the best chance of moving the furthest through the field.
Lap 48/67: The rain appears to be done. That’s a kick in the goolies for Verstappen, who’s just stopped on its account, while it transpires that Gasly is on full wets. Whoops!
Lap 48/67: Vettel appears to have lost a bit of car after running over the kerb. He’s still fine, but that’s one to keep an eye on.
Lap 47/67: Verstappen pits and comes out behind Hamilton. Vettel, meanwhile, keeps doing what he’s been doing, and don’t forget that he has Raikkonen bodyguarding is anyone else decides to get wide.
Lap 46/67: Hamilton is absolutely bousting! He’s fifth at the moment, 20 seconds behind Vettel, but making up a second or so a lap and there are 20 laps left…
Lap 45/67: Those are gambling, because half the track is still enjoying sunshine.
Lap 45/67: Sauber call Leclerc in for intermediates, then Alonso comes in for the same…
Lap 44/67: In commentary, they reckon ultras will be fine, which puts Hamilton in a strong position – if it rains, he’ll be set far better than anyone else. But here comes the rain!
Lap 43/67: And Hamilton pits, onto ultrasofts … do they think it might not rain? Or might rain only a little? If so, he’s in serious business.
Lap 41/67: The shower is coming, and will hit turn 2 first apparently.
Lap 40/67: Rain in eight minutes … apparently.
Lap 39/67: Raikkonen is told that he and Vettel are running different strategies, and not to hold up his teammate, a polite version of get out the road. He doesn’t make it easy for them, making them spell it out, but eventually they twig, get it said, and Vettel now leads.
Lap 37/67: Still eight minutes from rain as Vettel locks up again. He alerts his team to the tyre temperature and what’s going on here is hard to understand.
Lap 34/67: We see Hamilton’s tyres which don’t look that bad – I guess the problem comes if the rain is delayed. Meanwhile at the front, Raikkonen leads by 1.060s.
Lap 33/67: Vettel’s rears are getting hot and it looks like Ferrari’s strategy isn’t quite working here. Rain is predicted for 10-15 minutes, while we wonder if Hamilton can hang on that long – if he can, he’s well set to change once and do more damage than we might’ve expected…
Lap 32/67: Hamilton is now lapping 0.3s faster than Raikkonen, whose lead is 1.267s. They’re all waiting for it to rain now.
Lap 31/67: Raikkonen is still setting down fire, putting in the fastest lap of the race. The gap, though, is still minor; Hamilton, now in third, is 3.5s behind or so, but is yet to stop.
Lap 29/67: The rain is headed towards us, apparently. Raikkonen now leads from Vettel by 1.068s, though at some point he’ll have to sneak in an extra pit.
Lap 29/67: It’s Bottas, who rejoins behind Hamilton … while Ricciardo is out! It’s a power problem of some sort, and that’s a shame because he was moving through the field nicely.
Lap 28/67: Apparently it’s absolutely caning it down just a few miles away from Hockenheim. Bottas is nearly six seconds ahead of Verstappen, but Mercedes are out – someone is pitting…
Lap 26/67: Mercedes leave Bottas out there…
Lap 25/67: It’s all gone a little quiet a the front. Raikkonen, whose stop was perhaps to keep Hamilton away from Vettel, is pulling him through thanks to his new tyres – he’s just set a fastest lap. But Vettel suffers a minor lock-up, pits, and is now fourth,while Bottas leads for a bit.
Lap 22/67: It looks like Raikkonen is the only man on a two-stop strategy. Meanwhile, Hamilton is the fastest man on the track now, but Raikkonen’s change is keeping him at bay.
Lap 20/67: So we’ve got:
1. Vettel
2. Bottas
3. Verstappen
4. Raikkonen
5. Hamilton
6. Perez
7. Grosjean
8. Ricciardo
9. Alonso
10. Magnussen
Lap 20/67: Ricciardo hauls himself into tenth, diddling Leclerc around the outside of turn 11. That was very nice.
Lap 18/67: Vettel steps on it, widening the gap by 0.5s to 4.685. This is serene from him so far.
Lap 17/67: Hamilton is 3.0s behind Raikkonen, who has just set the fastest lap so far. Vettel, meanwhile, is just doing the necessary, maintaining rather than increasing.
Lap 16/67: Alonso attacks Leclerc and ends up right off the track, while Bottas goes round quicker than Vettel; Raikkonen’s tactic does not look like it’s going to work.
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