Driver & Team Boss Comments 2019 German F1 GP
Whether or not this was the last German F1 GP for a long time, it sure was a great one! After two days of very hot weather, the German Grand Prix was held in wet conditions nearly all the way to the finish, leading to a chaotic race with multiple pit stops and four safety cars. Red Bull's Max Verstappen eventually won the race, having stopped five times, ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat.
A wide mixture of strategies (from 3 to 6 stops) were used throughout the 64-lap race due to changeable weather conditions. All the tyres in the range were used at various points, with the exception of the hard. A total of 78 pit stops were made, with the drivers using 97 sets of tyres throughout the race.
All the drivers started on full wet tyres, after three formation laps behind the safety car. The teams then reacted to changing grip and circumstances, with the timing of the final stop onto slick tyres proving to be crucial to the race outcome.
Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel started from the back of the grid following a technical problem in qualifying. He used a five-stop strategy to finish second on a near-identical strategy to Verstappen. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton went off twice and stopped six times (like Haas's Kevin Magnussen) en route to 9th.
Drivers had to take care not to overheat the intermediates on a drying track, which nonetheless coped very well with the conditions. Ambient temperatures at the start of the race were 22 degrees centigrade, while track temperatures were 28 degrees. By the end of the grand prix, the surface was mainly dry.
Both Alfa Romeo drivers received a 30 seconds penalty after the race for using driver aids at the start of the race and saw their 10 points going up in smoke. Alfa Romeo will appeal the stewards decision.
We have summed up the drivers and team principal comments after the 2019 German Formula 1 Grand Prix for you.
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen (finished 1st, started on P2)
Max Verstappen
“To come out on top after a race like that is amazing and for the Team to win for the second time this year with Honda is incredible. I don’t know exactly what happened at the start but it seemed that everyone on the right side of the grid had a bad getaway and low grip. I had a particularly poor start when I released the clutch but stayed calm and followed the Mercedes cars closely. It was hard to pass due to the dirty air and the tyres started to struggle as the track dried.
From there onwards we always made the right decisions. Even though the first slick tyre was maybe a bit hard and I had a few moments, with a 360 spin, I luckily kept going. Once I was back on the Intermediates and in the lead I was able to control the race and really show the pace of the car. Once you are ahead you can take a few less risks and everything feels a bit nicer.
The conditions were very tricky and it was all about survival. It was definitely not an easy race and very tricky with the changing conditions. The Team made all the right calls. They were giving me the right information and keeping an eye on all the other teams and sector times. They were really on top of things and everyone worked so well together. It has been one of my most difficult races and it is great to come out on top.
For sure I enjoy driving in the wet but also you need a good car for that. You can find a bit of pace in yourself but today we had both things right and I’m very happy with the result. The orange fans were standing up, especially when I was in the lead which was also amazing to see. A big thank you to the whole Team and it has been a crazy but amazing Sunday.”
Pierre Gasly (P14, started on P4)
Pierre Gasly
“That was an insane, crazy race and it just had everything. With the rain, crashes, safety cars and pit stops, it was a lottery and there were a lot of opportunities so I’m quite disappointed not to have made the most of it on my side and not finish the race.
Towards the end, I was fighting with Alex during the last few laps and we made contact, which took my front wing off and gave me a puncture, so I had to stop the car. I don’t know what to say but it’s annoying not to score points when you have a race like this.
At the start, I had wheel spin so I was slow off the line and I lost a lot of positions into Turn One so it was quite hectic from there. In these conditions, it’s a gamble when to pit and when not to and sometimes you just need to get lucky but the pace was there so we will keep pushing and next week, we go again in Hungary.
For the Team and Honda, it was great to get Max’s win today and bag another decent amount of points.”
Christian Horner - Team Principal
Christian Horner
“What an unbelievable performance from Max and the Team today and it took five pit stops to win that race. Max kept his head in tricky conditions, he had great pace when he needed it and he made that win happen. It’s fantastic for Honda to see two engines and both teams on the podium, and a massive congratulations go to Toro Rosso and Daniil Kvyat, who also became a father last night.
The pit stop crew were unbelievable today and that was the reason for sending our Chief Mechanic, Phil Turner, up to collect the Constructors’ Trophy as he did an amazing job. For Pierre, it was a shame as he had sections of the race that were going really well for him and it looked like he would finish in the top five, but it wasn’t to be. He had an incident with Albon late in the race which I’ve only briefly seen, but thankfully both of them were unhurt and Pierre will bounce back.”
Scuderia Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel (finished 2nd, started on P20)
Sebastian Vettel
“That was quite a race. I enjoyed it even though it was a tricky race, something of a lottery. It was a very long one and I don’t even remember all of it. It was very tough at times, especially on the intermediates in the slippery conditions.
I made up a lot of ground immediately after the start and in the first couple of laps, even though it was difficult to see. After that, it was quite hard to get into a rhythm as I did not feel so comfortable on the intermediates and their degradation was quite high. It was hard to tell if the lack of grip was because of the track being greasy or because the tyres were going off.
To be honest in these kind of races you can’t count on anything until the last couple of laps. I think I was about P8 when the last safety car came out. There are so many decisions to make, but overall we stayed on track and in the race. In mixed conditions when it was starting to dry on the slicks I felt comfortable and that’s when we made up the most ground.”
Charles Leclerc (DNF, started on P10)
Charles Leclerc on the podium in France (2019)
“It is a disappointing end to the weekend for me. After a good start, we worked our way forward in rather tricky conditions. The team did a great job and let me arrive in second place to fight for the win. The strategy was the right one and the car felt good.
Unfortunately, I made a mistake in turn 16 and lost control of the car. I hit the wall and that was the end of my race. It’s a shame and I am sorry for the team and our fans. Seb did a great job today and his result is well-deserved.
Our car and performance were strong all weekend, in both wet and dry conditions, which is a positive. We have to stay focused and we will give our best again at the next race in Hungary.”
Mattia Binotto - Team Principal
Mattia Binotto
“What a race! The car worked well all weekend, in all conditions. Today it proved to be quick, even in the final part of the race in the dry on a much cooler track than we had to deal with in the extreme heat on Friday. That is definitely an important consideration, as was the fact it also went well in the wet.
We are very happy for Seb as this fantastic second place is a great confidence boost. He has been in great form all weekend and today he produced a brilliant drive, coming through from the back of the field.
As for Charles, he’s aware today was an opportunity missed, but he will get over it. There are plenty more races and there is no doubt that the guy is very quick and today he was delivering an extraordinary performance.
It’s true that maybe we could have come away with more today, but that’s racing. Thanks go to all the crew in the garage who worked so hard to get the cars fixed this morning so they were ready to race. We’ve had some difficult moments, but it’s at times like these that you see what the team is made of and that’s the important thing.”
Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda
Daniil Kvyat (finished 3rd, started on P14)
Daniil Kvyat
“I think the race wasn’t too bad today. In the end, we did the best job possible and we had some good battles on track, I made a nice move on the outside of Grosjean and had an enjoyable battle with Alex towards the end of the race - it was quite fun! I’m not sure where we would have finished if we had of started further up the grid without the penalty, but I think it would have been a bit of a challenge to finish inside the points today. Now we need to analyse everything in order to come back stronger in Austria.”
Alexander Albon (finished 6th, started on P16)
Alexander Albon
“It was a good race today! I was a bit scared at the start, learning how the car behaves in the wet around this track, although, I’m really happy with how I performed as it was my first time in these conditions in an F1 car.
The pace was really good, we were a bit fortunate and we timed our first pitstop right, and I was really excited racing in P4, I was thinking ‘OK here we go!’ Unfortunately, at the second stop we were caught out and pitted a lap later than Dany to switch from wet tyres to dry, so four cars passed us. It’s funny, it’s like a disappointing P6 because we were running in P4 for quite a while.
It was an amazing job by the team, the strategy was great and we were able to bounce back from a difficult Qualifying.”
Franz Tost (Team Principal)
Franz Tost
“It was another fantastic and very exciting Formula 1 race. Congratulations to Max Verstappen for the victory and to Honda, for their second win in the turbo era. Enormous congratulations to Daniil Kvyat, he really deserved this third position! He had a fantastic race, he showed really good overtaking manoeuvres and he could keep focused until the end without any mistakes, in difficult conditions. The rain seemed to be on our side, so thanks to the rain Gods!!
I must compliment the strategy team, the call to bring Daniil in for Option tyres quite early was a risky one but it paid off and he was able to finish on the podium. We had a fantastic car today, the engineers did a great job on the setup side. I’m also very satisfied with Alex’s performance as he had a fantastic race. It was the first time for him driving an F1 car in such changing conditions and he had everything under control, including managing the tyres, which was very important to finish in sixth position. I want to thank the everybody in Toro Rosso, who have made this possible. We are now looking forward to Budapest, in the past we showed good performances there and we can’t wait to do it again.”
SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team
Lance Stroll (finished 4th, started on P15)
Lance Stroll
“I’m really happy with that. What an amazing day! Fourth place feels great considering everything that happened this afternoon. I was running at the back for most of the race; I spun a couple of times and we pitted five times! As special as it is to finish fourth, I am disappointed that the podium slipped away from us. I think a critical moment was the mistake I made in turn eight on my second or third lap on slicks, which is when Daniil [Kvyat] managed to get ahead of me.
We tried our best to keep the quicker cars behind, but the podium was just out of reach. Today’s race shows why you should never give up because it’s never over until it’s over. It’s great to see how much this result means to the team and it was so special to see the crew celebrating on the pit wall when I crossed the line. This important result is for everyone in the team and we will enjoy this moment.”
Sergio Pérez (DNF, started on P14)
Sergio Pérez
“First of all, I need to apologise to my team because I made a mistake. I've thrown away a great opportunity today to score big points for the team. The first rule in these conditions is not to make a mistake and I did. I was picking up the power and then had some aquaplaning on the rear. I lost it and just couldn't recover from it. I put my hands up for it - I'm extremely disappointed with myself.
Watching the race from the garage is always tough, but I’m happy that Lance had such a great race. We needed those points and it’s a boost for everyone. I think we've definitely taken a step forward this weekend. Now we look forward to Hungary where hopefully we can come back stronger.”
Otmar Szafnauer - Team Principal
Otmar Szafnauer
"What a race! It was a rollercoaster ride from start to finish, but to come away with fourth place for Lance and 12 points is a tremendous effort by the entire team. We rolled the dice a few times with Lance’s strategy, but we timed the final switch to dry tyres perfectly and Lance emerged in the lead of the race for a short while.
We gave it everything to try and bring home the podium and we were looking comfortable holding off Bottas. Without the late safety car, we might have pulled it off, but the fourth place feels incredibly satisfying. It was a fantastic drive by Lance in very tricky conditions.
It was a shame Sergio couldn’t have been there too but these wet races are often a lottery. All the cars were struggling for grip in the early laps and Sergio lost it on the exit of turn ten. Overall, though, it’s been a brilliant day for the team and a result we will celebrate.”
McLaren F1 Team
Carlos Sainz (finished 5th, started on P7)
Carlos Sainz Jr.
“Quite an intense Sunday and a good day for Formula 1. On my side, I’m very happy with that P5. Obviously the podium opportunity was there and now it’s easy to say we could’ve made it, but when we were P5 under the Safety Car, it was a very tough call to pit for slicks and nobody around me was stopping.
“We decided not to and the guys who were further behind had more margin to take that risk. In general we made the right decisions at the right time. Clever race and well-managed under stressful conditions, so congratulations to the team.”
Lando Norris (DNF, started on P19)
Lando Norris
“The start was tricky because of poor visibility and it was still very slippery even on Wets. Everything was going okay, making up some positions here and there when we didn’t box under the first Safety Car, which in hindsight may have been the wrong decision.
“I made up a couple more places after boxing onto Inters and my pace was good before I stopped for slicks, as it had dried just about enough. I got ahead of the Toro Rosso immediately after that stop on the back straight. Things were looking good but then the car lost power. It’s a shame as points were definitely possible in what was a manic race.”
Andreas Seidl - Team Principal
Andreas Seidle
“There was so much going on in this race that it's actually difficult to recap everything that happened right now. It was great for us to score some more important points after a difficult race weekend compared to our main competitors. Carlos delivered a great drive, especially after his 'off' in the middle of the race, to battle through together with the engineering team and score this P5.
“Lando’s starting position was further compromised today when we needed to change the battery pack and MGU-K this morning. He made up places and actually ran ahead of Carlos after his spin, but unfortunately Lando’s car lost all engine power in the middle of the race, which took away the possibility for him to have a similar race to Carlos and score more points.
“A big thank you to the entire team here and back at the factory for another solid race weekend where we scored valuable points. It was a challenging weekend, not only in terms of performance, but also the working conditions – especially with the heat earlier in the weekend – were very tough. Next stop Hungary, where we aim to continue our progress.”
Rich Energy Haas F1 Team
Romain Grosjean (finished 7th, started on P6)
Romain Grosjean
“I’m very happy with the double points finish. It was obviously a bit of a crazy race. I don’t think we’ve quite sorted our race pace. When you see the midfield being in front of us and only the Williams behind. Anyway, we survived when we had to survive, but it was very difficult.
You saw all the top guys going out and off the track – conditions were very tricky. I’m happy to have a double points finish, but when you see a Toro Rosso on the podium, you wish you were there. With all the experience we have, we should be able. It’s just that the race pace on inters and slicks wasn’t good enough.”
Kevin Magnussen (finished 8th, started on P12)
Kevin Magnussen
“It was a very crazy race. It was entertaining and exciting all the way through. There are always hard decisions to make with all the changing weather, having to decide the tires and so on. The way we earned the points today was to be good on the dry tire in the mixed conditions.
That’s when we made up on the opposition. In the dry we didn’t have any pace, so we fell back. At least we got both cars in the points, I don’t think we could have done that in the dry.”
Guenther Steiner - Team Principal
Gunther Steiner
“The result looks better than it is. Our speed was just not there, but we kept out of trouble. In the end I would say we got everything out of the situation we were in. We just need to keep on working.”
Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport
Lewis Hamilton (finished 9th, started on P1)
Lewis Hamilton
"What a crazy race. This has been one of the most difficult races we’ve had as a team for a long time. I thought I had the race under control, but we took a risk going out on slicks and the race fell apart from there. I went wide at Turn 16 and it was like ice out there, then hit the wall and damaged my wing. I made a mistake and paid the price.
I was in the lead and then finished P11. I’m not even sure how, but that’s very painful and I’m just glad it’s over. It’s hard to perform when you’re not at 100 per cent. I need to make sure I’m fit and healthy again in time for the next race. You live and you learn from days like this. It’s important now that we regroup for Hungary. I’m happy for Seb, who fought his way back to P2 from the back, and how good to see Daniil and Toro Rosso on the podium too - good for them."
Valtteri Bottas (DNF, started on P3)
Valtteri Bottas
"That was a really tough race and I’m very disappointed. It was tricky out there: the track was very slippery and the conditions changed all the time. It was very easy to make a mistake and unfortunately I made a mistake in the end which lost us a lot of points. It’s a shame because today was a good opportunity for me to make up some points to Lewis and it was my own fault that I ended up not getting any points at all in the end.
I had a good shot to get a podium and I was pushing hard to get past Stroll. I was quite close to the limit in Turn 1, then I suddenly lost the rear and just went off; I don’t think there was any time to catch the car. It’s very disappointing for the entire team, but we’ll give it everything to come back stronger in Hungary."
Toto Wolff - Team Principal
Toto Wolff
"This one hurts us to the core: it was a disastrous result today. We had a decent start of the race with good pace. Then obviously you add incidents, crashing out, tricky conditions, the wrong calls and in the end you’re left with zero points after running 1-2 in the opening laps.
Lewis’s incident happened right at the pit entry, so we were not prepared when he came in and made the wrong calls afterwards. Valtteri crashed like many other drivers today, which made a bad day even worse for us.
Our 200th race in F1 has been the most difficult day we’ve had in a long time, but we are united in the pain as we are united in the joy of winning. Today is a day for us to look at our mistakes and to learn from them, so we can come back stronger next weekend."
ROKiT Williams Racing
Robert Kubica (finished 10th, started on P18)
Robert Kubica
"It was a crazy race today and track conditions were very slippery. I managed to bring the car home with no mistakes which is the most important thing.
Although racing in wet and changeable conditions isn’t new for me, it’s been nine years since I last experienced it in a Formula One car and it certainly refreshed my memory."
George Russel (finished 11th, started on P17)
George Russell
“It was extremely challenging. It wasn’t ideal conditions for anyone out there and it was a long race. We should have taken slicks under the penultimate safety car, but I think we took the conservative approach when we should have maybe rolled the dice.
There were 13 or 14 other drivers on the grid who didn’t do that so it’s not exactly that we made the wrong call, but we had the opportunity to make the right call. We kept it on the black stuff when a lot of people didn’t, and it was the best result of the year. It seems okay but there was a chance for more.”
Dave Robson - Senior Race Engineer
Dave Robson
The wet conditions made for a hectic and unpredictable race but gave our drivers a chance to try the 2019 Pirelli wet and intermediate tyres in anger for the first time. At times the conditions were difficult to judge, especially when it became tempting to fit the slick tyres, however, both drivers made sensible decisions and did well to stay on track. The race team delivered some more excellent pitstops helping us gain a couple of places in the pitlane. The engineers and strategists worked well together in difficult circumstances and delivered a very solid performance.
As this is a back-to-back race, we don’t have long to prepare the cars for Hungary and so we head back to the UK for a couple of days to review this weekend, analyse the last of the data from Friday’s running and finalise the plan for FP1 in Budapest.
Alfa Romeo Racing
Kimi Räikkönen (finished 12th, started on P5)
No comments
Antonio Giovinazzi (finished 13th, started on P11)
No comments
Frédéric Vasseur - Team Principal
Frederic Vasseur
“It is extremely disappointing to have both cars penalised and pushed out of the points in what had been such an exciting race. The situation arose during the laps we spent behind the Safety Car ahead of the standing start: we suffered a dysfunction of the clutch that was beyond our control and we will further investigate the issue.
We respect the FIA’s process and the stewards’ work, but will appeal this decision as we believe we have the grounds and evidence to have it overturned. In this regard, we will be in touch with the FIA soon. Kimi and Antonio drove very well in challenging conditions and seventh and eighth place were the rightful reward for their performance. The team worked really hard to put both cars in the points and we showed once again that we have the pace to fight at the sharp end of the midfield. This race was a great showcase for Formula One and it’s a pity it ended this way.”
Renault F1 Team
Nico Hulkenberg (DNF, started on P9)
Nico Hulkenberg
“It’s a tough one to take. I’m upset for myself, the team and for Renault because they deserved an excellent result today. It’s one of those days where you have to make it stick, and I’m just gutted with how it ended especially in front of the home crowd.
The final corner was very tricky as it was damp. I lost the rear a bit, went into a spin so I opened the steering and went onto the black tarmac. It was like ice there and by that point I couldn’t stop the car. We were doing a phenomenal job, strategy was very difficult so it hurts and it will hurt even more tomorrow.”
Daniel Ricciardo (DNF, started on P13)
Daniel Ricciardo
“We had an exhaust failure today, which caused the retirement. I could see a lot of smoke coming out from the back of the car and that was our day done. It’s certainly a shame. I watched the rest of the race and it looked a lot of fun out there.
I would have loved to have been racing as there were opportunities for big points. It’s disappointing but we’ll move on to next week. It’s a tough overall result for the team, but hopefully Hungary will be better for us.”
Cyril Abiteboul - Team Principal
Cyril Abiteboul
“It was an emotional rollercoaster today with highs and lows. Unfortunately, we’re finishing on a low with two retirements. Daniel’s was caused by an exhaust leak and we need to look into the problem, which is our first reliability glitch in a while.
Nico had been driving an amazing race and was supported by decisions from the pit wall and good execution by the pit crew. We made the call not to put dry tyres on too early and made up a lot of positions to second. The final corner looked tricky all day and Nico could not save the car from the wall.
It’s difficult to take as it was an exciting race and we’d have liked to have been part of it until the end. We missed an opportunity for big points over our direct competitors, but there are certainly positives from the weekend. We want to taste being higher on merit more regularly. It doesn’t deter from our focus of pushing on and building a more competitive car.”
✅ Check out 2019 German F1 Race Report & Classification
✅ Check out 2019 F1 Championship Standings
✅ Check out more posts with related topics:
it was good and to show the younger drivers in the wet good race and to learn fast cars in all types situation its a shame if they stop racing on that track is was finished in 1923