The run of misfortune has put Hamilton eight points behind Vettel in the overall standings and he had gone into the weekend, marking the halfway stage of the season, determined to begin bridging the gap
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel blitzed to pole position for his home German Grand Prix, delighting fans already revelling in title rival Lewis Hamilton's misfortune, after technical gremlins brought the Briton to an early halt. Vettel, 31, rode the wave of home support, dancing his Ferrari around the Hockenheim racetrack in one minute, 11.212 seconds. Valtteri Bottas was second quickest, 0.204 seconds off the pace. The Finn was left to lead Mercedes' challenge at what is also a home event for the team after teammate Hamilton ground to a stop with a loss of hydraulic pressure in the dying seconds of the opening phase of qualifying.
"Gears won't change," the Briton reported to his team over the radio, before being instructed to pull over by his engineer. "Guys, I need to make it back! It's trundling," Hamilton, now set to start from 14th at best, pleaded after being asked to stop. "Negative," Mercedes responded out of concern that he could damage his engine. "Stop, stop! Stop, stop!" Hamilton's problem in qualifying is the latest in a run of setbacks to have blighted his campaign. He retired from the race in Austria earlier this month after having already lost the lead to a botched strategy call. He was favourite to win at home two weeks ago in Silverstone but was punted out on the opening lap by Kimi Raikkonen.
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The run of misfortune has put Hamilton eight points behind Vettel in the overall standings and he had gone into the weekend, marking the halfway stage of the season, determined to begin bridging the gap. On Saturday, Hamilton cut a devastated figure as he first tried to push his car back to the pits before then kneeling down next to it and resting his head against its nose. "I've never seen body language like this from Lewis, this is a huge setback," his former team-mate and rival Nico Rosberg, in the paddock as a TV pundit, commented. "I have no idea," Hamilton said when asked if he can scythe back through the field like he did two weeks ago in Silverstone where he recovered to finish second. "I'm sure I'll be able to get through to some point but I don't know where. "It's not going to be like Silverstone." Hamilton's early exit smoothed Vettel's way to his 51st career pole position.
The German also goes into today's race favourite to win. If he delivers, it would be his first win at Hockenheim, located only a half hour's drive away from the town of Heppenheim where he was born. Vettel has only won at home once, in 2013, when the race was held at the Nurburgring. "To do it here just minutes away from where I was born and grew up means a lot," said Vettel. "Really cool. Looking forward to tomorrow." Raikkonen will line up third after setting a time 0.335 seconds off his team-mate's pace. Max Verstappen was fourth for Red Bull. Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were best of the rest for Haas in fifth and sixth ahead of the Renault cars of Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz. Force India's Sergio Perez rounded out the Top 10.
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