• German Grand Prix

Post-race driver rundown

ESPNF1 Staff
July 25, 2010
An awkward moment on the podium © Getty Images
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Fernando Alonso - 1st: Never has Alonso looked so downbeat after winning such a crucial race. The reason why seems fairly obvious but he later played down any talk of team orders. The good news is that the Ferrari is again competitive but that might get a little lost amid FIA WMSC hearings over the next few races.

Felipe Massa - 2nd: "Magnanimous" doesn't do Massa's actions justice. He could have won the German Grand Prix and indeed should have won it. He claimed it was his own decision to let Alonso pass, but looking at his reaction after the race he may well be regretting it. It's a year after his horrific accident at the Hungaroring and it would have been the perfect result after a tough recovery. Sadly, it wasn't to be.

Sebastian Vettel - 3rd: His car bogged down off the start and forced him to go defensive into the first corner. In doing so he lost position to Massa on the outside and Alonso on the inside. From that point on he never got a serious look up the inside of the two Ferraris as the aerodynamic supremacy of the RB6 waned every time he got in the dirty air. The result could have been better, but it's worth remembering that he outscored both McLarens and team-mate Mark Webber. He is now equal on points with Webber.

Lewis Hamilton - 4th: After his spin on Friday and the realisation that the blown diffuser wasn't living up to expectations, it became clear this was a weekend of damage limitation. In that respect he did a very good job, getting ahead of his two closest title rivals on the first lap and scoring the best result he could. However, the underlying truth is that the car simply isn't fast enough on this type of circuit.

Jenson Button - 5th: He lost three positions at the start and spent the rest of the race trying to gain them back. The straight-line speed of the McLaren allowed him to get two at the start and then he leapfrogged Mark Webber in the stops. Much like Hamilton, he got the best from the car and limited the damage to his title campaign.

Mark Webber - 6th: After being centre of attention at Silverstone, the German Grand Prix was a fairly quiet affair for Webber. He got swamped at the start by Hamilton and then his team made a mistake by pitting him too early and he rejoined the circuit in heavy traffic. As a result he lost position to Button and then had to back off to look after his engine.

Robert Kubica - 7th: Another weekend as the best of the rest for the Renault driver, but rather worryingly for him, he was further off the pace than usual. In the end he was lapped by Alonso and the other top drivers.

Nico Rosberg - 8th: The result rather summed up Mercedes' weekend but was still pretty much the best he could have hoped for. After losing position to Schumacher at the start, he will be relieved that he managed to hold onto the top spot in the team, even if it did mean finishing eighth.

Michael Schumacher - 9th: It was far from what he or the home fans had hoped for on his return to Hockenheim, but it could have been worse given that he qualified 11th. He pitted too early and that cost him position to Rosberg.

Vitaly Petrov - 10th: A much needed point and a solid race for Petrov, having started 13th on the grid. At one point he was told to shift earlier or he would have his engine turned down remotely from the pits, which proves that, although he is making improvements, he is still very much a rookie.

Kamui Kobayahsi - 11th: The car wasn't as fast at Hockenheim as it had been at previous races but that didn't stop him putting in another spirited drive. In the end he finished just 1.2 seconds shy of Petrov.

Rubens Barrichello - 12th: A poor start dropped him down the order and he never really recovered. He felt the car had more potential but couldn't exploit it behind the Sauber of Kobayashi.

There was contact further down the field © Getty Images
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Nico Hulkenberg - 13th: Much like his team-mate, a bad getaway at the start defined his race. However, Hulkenberg said the car was then off the pace for the rest of the 67 laps and as a result he was twice passed by de la Rosa on track.

Pedro de la Rosa - 14th: He went longer than anyone else on the hard tyre and it nearly paid off. Although he didn't gain any positions through strategy, he then had a pair of fresh soft tyres to attack Hulkenberg and Barrichello. Unfortunately his charge was ended when he collided with Kovalainen while trying to lap the Lotus.

Jaime Alguersuari - 15th: He will not have been the most popular man at Toro Rosso on Sunday night after he rear-ended his team-mate on the first lap. The collision forced Buemi to retire and put an end to Alguersuari's chances of scoring a meaningful result.

Tonio Liuzzi - 16th: An accident on the first lap forced him to pit for a new nose and then a mix up by the team put him on his team-mate's tyres. By the time that had been sorted he was well down the order and any hopes of points had gone.

Adrian Sutil - 17th: He had planned to make an early stop to put on hard tyres and then wanted to go the length of the race on them. However, the strategy was ruined when his team mistakenly put Liuzzi's tyres on his car. But even his correct set of tyres went off before the end of the race and he had to make a third visit to the pits.

Timo Glock - 18th: He was the best driver among the new teams but had to work for it. He overtook both HRTs at the start but then had to do it all over again when he was pushed wide in the opening corners. He managed to get the positions back and then benefited from the retirements of his team-mate and the two Lotuses.

Bruno Senna - 19th: After a race on the sidelines in Silverstone, Senna came back and delivered a very good drive. A slow puncture prevented him showing his true potential but the fact he finished was enough to secure a solid result.

Heikki Kovalainen - DNF - Collision: He was having a reasonable race until he closed the door on de la Rosa under blue flags. He didn't protest and admitted to a mistake. Such is the lot of a backmarker in 2010.

Luca di Grassi - DNF - Suspension: He made a good start and was keeping up with Kovalainen's Lotus - an achievement in itself for a Virgin driver this year. However, in pushing hard he hit a kerb and broke his suspension.

Sakon Yamamoto - DNF - Gearbox: The retirement wasn't his fault but the performance beforehand hadn't been up to scratch. He was over a second off Senna in qualifying and at this level that simply isn't good enough. But in F1 money talks.

Jarno Trulli - DNF - Gearbox: He was looking forward to a strong race but lost second gear on the first lap and had to return to the pits. It's a problem that has struck all too often this year.

Sebastien Buemi - DNF - Collision He made a good start but then lost his rear wing in the rush down to turn six. The incident was made all the more painful because it was his Toro Rosso team-mate who had rear-ended him.

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