Hockenheim's tops and flops

The tops

Fernando Alonso
Inevitably, the Spaniard is to be placed in this category, even if his victory is tainted by the instructions given by Ferrari to Felipe Massa. But, winner of his second Grand Prix of the season, Fernando Alonso was able to put himself back in the race for the world crown by obtaining victory at Hockenheim. Pressing his team, the double World Champion got Felipe Massa to give him first place as the finish approached. If the gesture is reprehensible, Fernando Alonso is doing a very good job in the title race.

Lewis Hamilton
The more time passes, the more the Briton positions himself as a serious candidate for the world title. Winner in Istanbul and Montreal, Lewis Hamilton has been very consistent since. Second at Valencia and Silverstone, fourth this weekend at Hockenheim, the 2008 World Champion retains the lead in the World Championship and even increases his lead over his second, Jenson Button. In addition, Lewis Hamilton regularly took the advantage over his teammate, overtaking him at the start and resisting his comeback at the end of the race.

Vitaly Petrov
By scoring a point at Hockenheim, the Russian scored more points in the mind of his boss, Eric Boullier. The team manager of Renault F1 was also very satisfied with the work provided by Vitaly Petrov. The latter was able to keep up with the pace of Michael Schumacher and keep him in his sights, finishing four seconds behind the seven-time World Champion. He who had until the Hungarian Grand Prix to prove himself, did most of it in Germany.

The flops

Ferrari – Alonso – Massa
The spectacle offered by Ferrari, and the controversy that resulted from it, marked this Grand Prix with an indelible stain, in the manner of the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix (Barrichello – Schumacher). Ferrari can legitimately want its best-placed driver in the championship to compete for the world title, but the way it is done is regrettable. Radio conversations (“ it's ridiculous » by Alonso, « Fernando is faster than you, can you confirm to me that you understood this message correctly? » from Massa?s engineer to the Brazilian) were heard, the blatant erasure of Massa, the total scandal. The team has already been condemned and could be even more so but, in terms of image, the results are negative. Ferrari, Alonso and Massa, who each have their share of responsibility, do not come out any better.

Sebastian Vettel
The German driver did not win at Hockenheim, in front of his home crowd, despite a sixth pole. While he seems to have all the assets to be World Champion, “Baby Schumi” loses big points every weekend and fails to get back to the top of the World Championship standings. As at Silverstone, his start was not perfect. He was even strategically bad: by trying to crush Alonso in the first meters, he let Massa pass, and Alonso also took advantage of it. If his RB6 is still the most efficient car on the field, the list of lost opportunities is growing. He might regret it at the end of the season.

Williams
Despite two cars in the top 10 in qualifying, Williams failed to score any points. Rubens Barrichello suffered a bad start, while Nico Hulkenberg took too long to change tires.

Toro Rosso
The sister stable of Red Bull imitated her elder sister, seeing her two drivers collide on the first lap. Jaime Alguersuari hit the back of the car Sébastien Buemi in the hairpin and the two men had to return to the pits. The Swiss, hit hard at the rear, retired on the first lap.