HOCKENHEIM – Sebastian Vettel could have been forgiven
for being miserable ahead of his home German Grand Prix, but he ended
it with a huge smile after one of the drives of his career rocketed
the Ferrari driver up to second from last.
Ferrari's much-hyped Formula One season has failed to produce a win
at the halfway stage and a string of mishaps reached their nadir on
Saturday when a power failure meant Vettel never set a time in
qualifying and had to start from the back of the grid.
But the four-times world champion showed why he remains one of the
best drivers in the sport despite his recent woes by perfectly
navigating a wet track at Hockenheim when all around him were
spinning off.
"It was a long race, at some stage it felt never ending. It was very
fun, it was tough with the conditions and tough to read what was the
smartest move," Vettel said.
"I'm just happy. I think before the last safety car I realised I was
quite a bit faster, and I had some good moves on the back straight.
It was about getting the next car, and the next car, and the next
car."
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/GermanGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GermanGP🇩🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/bN5xQ5gsA6
— Formula 1 (@F1)
Vettel is fourth in the driver standings, 82 adrift of championship
leader Lewis Hamilton who failed to get into the points having
finished 11th in his Mercedes.
The Briton clipped a wall as he struggled in the wet when seemingly
poised for victory.
Vettel in contrast was again the master in the rain, as he was when
winning his shock maiden grand prix in Italy back in 2008.