Ferrari appear to have the edge in terms of engine speed but something was lost over the radio for Kimi Räikkönen
The rain played its part in Hockenheim, as did good fortune and Sebastian Vettel’s very costly mistake but there was no doubt that by t,he time Lewis Hamilton took the flag, he had deserved it. He opened with a piece of clinical driving to move up to the front-runners, careful at the start where any contact could have ended his race and then passed 10 cars within 14 laps, all cleanly. He did so while managing to make his tyres last 42 laps – while in dirty air – an achievement that put him on the ultrasofts at the end, which was key to being able to stay out in the wet. When he took the new boots, he charged. He was 24 seconds behind Vettel after the stop – seven laps later he had halved the gap, pressure that may well have contributed to Vettel’s error. Then in the closing stages his defending against Bottas, before the team orders, was immaculate and tenacious. A superb day at the office by any standards and he rated it as one of his best.
Written by Giles Richards
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2018/jul/24/lewis-hamilton-pressure-sebastian-vettel-f1 under the title “Lewis Hamilton knows how to apply the pressure to Sebastian Vettel | Giles Richards”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
