Vettel on pole at home, hydraulic problem for Hamilton

Covering the 4.574 km of the Baden-Württemberg circuit in 1'11''212, the driver Ferrari signs a new track record at the same time as the 55th pole of his storied career. Despite a final sector a bit below, Hag still ahead of the Mercedes de Valtteri Bottas of a pair of tenths. His teammate Kimi Räikkönen completes the Top 3.

While we were expecting rain and storms, a completely different thunderclap hit Mercedes on home soil. Victim of a hydraulic problem in Q1, Lewis Hamilton had to stop his Silver Arrow at Turn 10. The Briton tried to return to the pits by pushing his car bruised but he had to face the facts quickly.

Before giving up, Hamilton had veered wide at the first corner, blithely climbing over the curbs. Mercedes does not yet know if this excursion could have caused the problem suffered by the four-time world champion. Hamilton, who is 9 points behind Vettel in the championship, will start on the 14th Sunday.

Qualifying heartbreak for Hamilton

The defending champion tried everything to get his car back to the pits, but he will start the #GermanGP from 14th on the grid pic.twitter.com/9aebWvbn7q

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 21, 2018

Behind Räikkönen, Max Verstappen must settle for 4th time with the best representative Red Bull. Kevin Magnussen et Romain Grosjean, 5th and 6th, confirm that Haas is indeed the 4th force on the field this weekend in terms of pure performance. THE Renault de Nico Hulkenberg et Carlos Sainz However, they remain in ambush in 7th and 8th positions. Just like the Sauber of Charles Leclerc, 9th and again in Q3. Sergio Pérez completes the Top 10 for Force India.

Fernando Alonso finished at the gates of Q3, however more than six tenths behind the Mexican. The Spanish of McLaren, 11th, will be the first to be able to choose his tires for the race. As a reminder, the Top 10 drivers must start with the set of tires used during their best lap in Q2.

Alonso beats Sergey Sirotkin at the wheel of a Williams who we haven't seen so dashing for a long time, and Marcus Ericsson (Sauber). Besides Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo did not sign a lap during the intermediate phase of qualifying. The Australian has known since Friday that he will have to start from the back of the grid due to a penalty for changing engine components.

Deep in the rankings, Stoffel Vandoorne's nightmare weekend continues, with the McLaren Belgian once again finishing last on the timesheet, as in Free Practice 1 and 2 on Friday. The McLaren driver is almost 2 tenths behind the Williams of Lance stroll.

Both Toro Rosso-Honda Pierre Gasly et Brendon Hartley had also fallen by the wayside in Q1, just like the Force India ofEsteban Ocon. Note that the yellow flag brought out at the end of Q1 following the immobilization of Hamilton's car had deprived certain drivers of a final opportunity for time improvement.

With local hero Vettel on pole, and the Hamilton-Ricciardo duo far from the front, this certainly promises a spectacle on the track and in the stands on Sunday. Lights out at 15:10 p.m. and race to follow live commentary on CARhebdo.fr.